Fear in Fiction

Five celebrated novelists and short story writers discuss how to channel fear in fiction, sharing their secrets to transforming a protagonist’s rock-bottom moments into compelling stories. By employing inventive and sensitive worldbuilding techniques, Mallory Tater, Zalika Reid-Benta, Rebecca Fisseha, and Rhea Tregebov explore how to make sense of the human condition through the written word and reveal how to take control of any given narrative. Moderated by Doretta Lau.

Event Type: Panel
Event Code: REH/SAT-5
Venue: Rennie Hall, Emily Carr University
Date: Saturday, March 14, 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Cost: Pay What You Can (recommended: $12.50)
ASL Interpretation Available by Request Before February 15, 2020

Share this event on Facebook


Doretta Lau is the author of How Does a Single Blade of Grass Thank the Sun? and cofounder of the culture website The Unpublishables.

Mallory Tater is a writer from Ottawa living in Vancouver. Her debut novel is The Birth Yard (HarperCollins Canada, 2020). Mallory is the publisher of Rahila’s Ghost Press.

Rebecca Fisseha’s fiction and non-fiction explore the Ethiopian diaspora. Born in Addis Ababa, she currently lives in Toronto. 

Rhea Tregebov is the author of poetry and fiction, most recently the novel Rue des Rosiers. She taught creative writing at UBC until 2017.

Zalika Reid-Benta is a Toronto-based writer whose debut short story collection Frying Plantain was longlisted for the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize. She is currently working on a young-adult fantasy novel drawing inspiration from Jamaican folklore.