Spring 2024
The Familiars Issue #1
The Familiars is proud to present its very first issue!
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Stumble your way into our forest of tales, and enjoy a variety of fiction and poetry that explore themes of growth.
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From sentient piles of laundry, mysterious telephone calls, beings with no brains and no body, and more, we hope you enjoy the issue.
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Our Contributors
Meet the mysteriously cool authors of our Spring 2024 issue.
QUINLIN CAID
Quinlin Caid is an aspiring author with a developing love of poetry.
He likes to write about identity and disability, but tends to hide those themes within allegories inspired by fantasy, science, or elements of nature.
He’s had other poems published in the B222 Journal and The Publisher’s Desk (Pandamonium Publishing House).
Q&A with Quinlin
TF: How often would you say you wonder through the woods unprompted?
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QC: Occasionally
TF: You get lost in a haunted woods with one person and one object? Who/what are you taking?
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QC: I’m taking my partner and some sunscreen. Nothing scarier than a sunburn.
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TF: What do you think of growth?
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QC: Doing it 24/7
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TF: Generally speaking, what do you hope people take away from the work we're publishing?
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QC: I hope people can learn from this magazine that creativity isn’t supposed to be conventional.
ASHLEY HAYNES
Ashley Haynes is a graduate of the Creative Writing & Publishing program at Sheridan College. Her interests include photography, art, nature, and dystopian literature. She enjoys books and films that require her to think critically.
Ashley has had ten short stories and two poems published with Polar Expressions Publishing, two of which received honourable mentions for placing among the top ten. She previously served as the Event & Communications intern for The Ampersand Review where she strived to help build up the community that she loves.
Q&A with Ashley
TF: How often would you say you wonder through the woods unprompted?
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AH: Frequently
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TF: You get lost in a haunted woods with one person and one object? Who/what are you taking?
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AH: My sister Caitlyn, and a hoola-hoop filled with salt. We've practiced for situations like this so I think we'd be okay.
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TF: What do you think of growth?
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AH: Sometimes fun, sometimes painful, but over time... worth it.
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TF: Generally speaking, what do you hope people take away from the work we're publishing?
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AH: I hope they discover something that excites or frightens them, maybe both. But ultimately I hope they walk away from the journal with a new, interesting perspective on something that always seemed ordinary.
DOLORES KIT
Dolores Kit is a Canadian American who was raised in Alaska and now proudly calls Toronto home. Her passion for writing is fuelled by her experiences as a queer, neurodivergent woman and her belief in
the healing and transformative nature of art. She is currently studying creative writing.
Q&A with Dolores
TF: How often would you say you wonder through the woods unprompted?
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DK: Frequently
TF: You get lost in a haunted woods with one person and one object? Who/what are you taking?
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DK: I would bring my best friend because she can find the silver lining anywhere and a rain coat because if I have to handle a haunted forest I might as well be dry and warm while I do it.
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TF: What do you think of growth?
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DK: It's terrifying and thrilling all at once.
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TF: Generally speaking, what do you hope people take away from the work we're publishing?
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DK: We all have moments when we look inwards and are uncomfortable with what we see in ourselves. Whether we think we are strange or not good enough those unsettling moments of introspection are something we all experience and no one should feel alone in that.
MEGHNA CHEMBIL PALAT
Meghna Chembil Palat is a South Asian Canadian author based in Brampton, Ontario. Her passion for mental health and domestic violence, stemming from personal experiences is reflected in her
work. Although she is not known for her poetry, her published works include the poems, “Fairy Moon” and “The Evolutionary Eye”. She enjoys writing drama and horror short stories, poems and scripts.
Q&A with Meghna
TF: How often would you say you wonder through the woods unprompted?
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MCP: Never.
TF: You get lost in a haunted woods with one person and one object? Who/what are you taking?
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MCP: My friend, Britni and probably, and my amethyst crystal.
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TF: What do you think of growth?
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MCP: It scares me, but I feel like its one of those things that I can't avoid.
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TF: Generally speaking, what do you hope people take away from the work we're publishing?
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MCP: I hope that people can resonate with the odd aspects of life and take something away from the pieces that relates to their own personal life..
ALEXIS STEFANOVICH-THOMSON
Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson is a writer living in Toronto. He is the past winner of the Black Orchid Novella Award (2021) as well as the Crime Writers of Canada Best Novella Award (2023) for “The Man Who Went Down Under.” He also placed third in the Toronto Star’s Short Story Contest (2022) for “The Unfinished Book.” In June 2024 his first novel The Road to Heaven is being published by Dundurn Press. Alexis is currently working on a sequel to The Road to Heaven.
Q&A with Alexis
TF: How often would you say you wonder through the woods unprompted?
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AST: Occasionally.
TF: You get lost in a haunted woods with one person and one object? Who/what are you taking?
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AST: My partner and my jar of marmite.
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TF: What do you think of growth?
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AST: Is it benign?
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TF: Generally speaking, what do you hope people take away from the work we're publishing?
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AST: I hope people read it; enjoy it; and want to read the next edition.
ALEX YAU
Alex Yau is from Mississauga, Ontario. His writing accounts the lived experiences and reflections of second-generation Canadian-Chinese bicultural identity. His stories have been included in the B222 Journal and The Publishers Desk. Outside of writing, Alex spends his time plotting with his dog, Kiko.
Q&A with Alex
TF: How often would you say you wonder through the woods unprompted?
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AY: Occasionally.
TF: You get lost in a haunted woods with one person and one object? Who/what are you taking?
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AY: Shaggy from Scooby-Doo (with more than 1% power) and a video camera (so we can get viral views).
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TF: What do you think of growth?
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AY: Bittersweet: you gain some things and lose others.
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TF: Generally speaking, what do you hope people take away from the work we're publishing?
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AY: That there are strong, upcoming individuals in both writing and publishing, and that established literary journals can be nontraditional, even 'silly' (in theme and work).