The horror of it all ~ delve deep into the spooky world of writer Amelinda Bérubé, as interviewed by Elysia Rourke
Presented as part of the Lanark Lit Festival of Writing, Almonte Readers & Writers is pleased to invite you to travel into the darkness with writers Amelinda Bérubé and Elysia Rourke, two local-area writers who share a passion for horror, and writing for young readers. This event is coming up on Thursday, May 22, 2025, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Equator Coffee Almonte – 451 Ottawa Street, Almonte. Admission is pay-what-you can at the door or in advance via Tickets Please.
Amelinda hails from Ottawa, where she writes books for young adults about things that go bump in the night—The Ones Who Come Back Hungry (2024), Bram Stoker Award finalist Here There Are Monsters (2019), and The Dark Beneath the Ice (2018). Local readers might find her settings familiar, since they’re all inspired by places in the Ottawa area—including the swampy woods near Corkery where she spent her teen years.
Amelinda will be joined by Elysia, a middle grade author from Almonte whose debut novel, Whale Fall, is slated for publication with Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books in 2026. Elysia is the founder of the Almonte Writers Guild and fiction editor for The LAM, a literary arts magazine for Lanark County.
Amelinda and Elysia will discuss what draws them to the world of horror writing, and will allow us an opportunity to get a glimpse of what it takes to become a writer for children and teens, the varying paths to get there, and how they use stories to capture the attention of youth seeking to find their place within their families, communities, and the world. Join us for an opportunity to learn more about what inspires Amelinda to write such spine-chilling novels rife with psychological tension and how she crafts her strong and captivating main characters, and how she developed a style that tends to blend weird Canadiana and the occasional zombie metaphor. And don’t miss this opportunity to hear Elysia’s reflections on writing and why she loves a good coming-of-age story, and what horror stories can do better than any other. Curious? See you there!
Tickets Please: https://almontereadersandwriters.ticketsplease.ca/product/delve-in-close-conversation-with-amelinda-berube/
Full event description: https://www.almontereadersandwriters.org/events/delve-amelinda-and-elysia
