FYI: this is what February looks like in Victoria. (We do like to remind the rest of Canada every year around this time, as they don parkas and shovel driveways.)
It’s a month that can’t fully be trusted, though. There can be absolutely stunning, sunny days when it seems as though everyone is outside, as was the case on February 15th during the Family Day long weekend — pedestrian traffic around the Inner Harbour was nearly at summertime levels. Some years, it rains every day for a month or two, and it takes all your energy to get out of bed in the morning. When this occurred during my third year at the University of Victoria, I rolled down my car windows and blasted music on the way to campus, despite the rain, to wake myself up. Or, sometimes, just as the city’s settled into spring, a huge dump of snow shuts everything down, but not before the panic buying that empties grocery shelves of milk and bread.
In 2026, I’ve seen so many flowers during my walks and it’s made me happy. How’s your February been? (And I don’t just mean weather-wise.) Do you find yourself stuck under a gloomy cloud, Eeyore-style? Struggling to get through each day or turning your face to the light? Fearful of a storm that may or may not come? All of these are valid. But know that sooner or later, the flowers will come to you, too. Eventually, you will bloom again.
Beyond the Book
There’s a new writers festival in Victoria! Hosted by KWENCH, it’s a festival of multidisciplinary writers across all mediums. And I’m thrilled to be giving my “From Research to Story: An Archivist’s Perspective” workshop on Day 1!
It’s not just about books; it’s about every wild, wonderful, and unlikely place that words can take us.
The festival goes beyond fiction and nonfiction to explore every page of the writing life: comedy and cookbook writing, journalism and arts & culture, screenwriting and songwriting. We’ll spotlight everyone from ghostwriters to BC voices who have made their mark far beyond the province, and we’ll examine how writing intersects with urgent cultural questions—plagiarism, cancel culture, and the influence of AI.
By bringing together diverse forms, voices, and perspectives, Beyond the Book invites participants to see writing not as a single path but as a future-proof tool for making sense of the world.
About the Festival
The two-day festival will take place at KWENCH from Saturday, February 28th to Sunday, March 1st, 2026. Attendees can take part in hands-on workshops, engaging panels, and inspiring keynote talks. Tickets will be available as single-day or full-weekend passes, offering flexibility for participants.
Set within KWENCH’s stunning 25,000-square-foot coworking and event space—a hub designed to bring people together in comfort and style—the festival creates a space where collaboration, conversation, and connection naturally thrive.
Saturday Storytelling
Thanks to the 45 people who attended my workshop on January 31! I was blown away by the interest and support, and I hope everyone walked away with new inspiration for writing and sharing their family stories. Here are just a couple of the comments I received afterwards:
“Wow. You are such a great presenter with the perfect voice, tone and manner. Loved it.”
“I really enjoyed your talk today at VGS. Just right: information, examples, experiences, honesty, personality and humour.”
Thank you also to Victoria Genealogical Society for inviting me to do this. I loved being able to bring together archives and storytelling!
(If anyone missed out and would like to know more, or attended but still had more questions, please reach out via my website — I’m always happy to chat.)
I forgot to get photos of the actual workshop, but this screen grab says it all. My goal when talking about writing your family history? To present you with resources and options you might not have considered. To get you thinking outside the box!
The Paris Effect
I knew my writer friend, author and Hemingway aficionado John Vintar, was going to be spending some time in Paris, and I knew he was taking a copy of Provenance Unknown along for the ride. Still, I was blown away when he sent me this photo. The email subject was “What one does in Paris.”
Here’s the thing: it isn’t just any room. It’s the room at the Hotel D’Angleterre where Hemingway stayed in Paris when he and then-wife Hadley arrived in 1921. And what was John’s answer to what one does in Paris? “Why, one reads Provenance Unknown, of course!” Amazing.
A serving Army officer, John Vintar has deployed on NATO and United Nations peacekeeping missions in Bosnia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Mali. He has worked as an instructor on United Nations peacekeeping courses and has lectured on the topic of contemporary peacekeeping at several Canadian universities. His writing is underscored by an interest in history, literature, and his own experiences in conflict and post-conflict environments, with a focus on moral and ethical ambiguity, institutional friction, and the psychological impact of service. His memoir of his South Sudan mission, A Swamp the Size of Belgium, was published by Double Dagger Books in 2023 and is available on Amazon.
Repeat Performance
There’s a new link for my video reading of “bare” (poem published by The Amazine last June), so I’m sharing it here in case you missed my recorded awkwardness the first time around!
Taking Flight (A New Feature)
Now that I’m an Editor-in-Chief (!!), I’ll be sharing regular updates from my fledgling venture, Andorinha Press, including submission calls, news about themed issues, and more.
Looking for a home for your poetry, micro-fiction, and bird photography? There are only TWO spots left (at the time of writing) for yearning-, romance-, nostalgia-, memory-, and place-themed submissions in Issue 1! (Bonus points if you’re a Canadian creative. 🇨🇦) Watch for the theme announcement for Issue 2 next month.
There’s something new and bird-shaped on our desk. Well, not ACTUALLY bird-shaped, but there’s a very important bird on it. What a lovely, thoughtful gift!
Thinking we may do a giveaway in future for one of these from the set. What do you think?
Les Bouquinistes
(Be sure to scroll to the bottom for an extra entry this month: a poem.)
A Paris Apartment, by Michelle Gable
This is a title I was pleasantly surprised to find in my local little free library. Of course I had to snap it up!
Based on the fascinating true story of a treasure-stocked Parisian apartment opened for the first time in seventy years.
April Vogt, Sotheby’s continental furniture specialist, is speechless when a Paris apartment shuttered for seventy years is discovered in the ninth arrondissement. Beneath the cobwebs and stale perfumed air is a goldmine, and not because of the actual gold (or painted ostrich eggs or mounted rhinoceros horns or bronze bathtub). First, there’s a portrait by one of the masters of the Belle Epoque, Giovanni Boldini. And then there are letters and journals written by the very woman in the painting, Marthe de Florian. These documents reveal that she was more than a renowned courtesan with enviable decolletage. Suddenly April’s quest is no longer about the bureaux plats and Louis-style armchairs that will fetch millions at auction. It’s about discovering the story behind this charismatic woman.
“On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs” by Renée Nicole Macklin
A friend shared this poem with me recently, in memory of Renée after she was killed in Minnesota. You can read it on Poets.org, through the direct link above.
Her death, and the turmoil going on next door to us here in Canada, is such a tragedy.
As always, thanks for reading. Merci!
Sonia
Sonia Nicholson 