About
Biography
I’m a writer, podcaster, and storyteller whose work explores our forgotten histories, unresolved griefs, and the magical journeys that shape us. I’m the author of Man & Other Natural Disasters, the host of the upcoming CBC podcast Haunted, and a traveler sharing journeys from my retrofitted Sprinter Van. I’m represented by Westwood Creative Artists.
My work has been shortlisted for FreeFall’s Fall Fiction Contest and the Event Non-Fiction Award. My novel was a finalist for the Colophon Prize and ranked seventh for the Scotiabank Giller Reader’s Choice Award.
The Podcast
Haunted
Can unearthing a century-old mystery help a grieving mother heal?
In the aftermath of my daughter’s tragic death, I became obsessed with solving a hundred-year-old whodunit related to a ghostly woman we’d encountered the winter before everything went wrong. But what began as a historical true crime investigation turned into a meditation on grief, resilience, and the quiet, complicated ways we try to make peace with the unbearable unknown.
Haunted is forthcoming from CBC, expected Fall 2027.
The Novel
Man & Other Natural Disasters
Design and typography by Relish Design Studio Inc.
Enfield & Wizenty, an imprint of Great Plains Publications, 2012
print ISBN 978-1-926531-12-0
Currently available digitally on Amazon.ca
Out of print in physical form.
Simon Peters, a bookbinder full of theories on everything from heart-broken shrimp to the consciousness of DNA, is hiding from his horrific past in the basement of the Calgary City Library. Enter Minerva, a twenty-two year-old student. Her ghostly resemblance to Simon’s dead sister compels him to slowly reveal the shocking story of the various natural disasters that killed his family. Only Simon’s story does not add up. When he finds Minerva bleeding on his bathroom floor, he must conquer the tyranny of his own memory and confront what really happened that summer of 1962. But the truth proves no less confounding, or tragic, than the original tale.
What Readers and Critics Say
…a delightfully quirky and strange story with a narrative that is in turns funny and heartbreaking.”
An engaging and thoughtful piece of Canadian literature.”
…passages that beg to be read over and over…”
Parry’s prose is enjoyable and elegant and spiced with clever metaphors.”
Strap yourself in and enjoy.”
Writing Elsewhere
- “Enter the Labyrinth”, Canadian Consulting Engineer
- “Hello, Goodbye”, Canadian Consulting Engineer
- “On Your Own”, Canadian Consulting Engineer
- “Safeguarding Nature”, Canadian Consulting Engineer
- Travel blog — ongoing, hosted separately on Blogger.
Appearances and Workshops
- Workshop development and delivery, “The Write Stuff”, City of Ottawa, 2016
- Workshop delivery, Ottawa Independent Writers, 2014
- Judge, Writer’s Union Annual Postcard Story Competition, 2012 — reported in the Brandon Sun
- Interviewee, CBC Calgary and CBC Ottawa (radio), 2012
- Interviewee, CTV Ottawa and Rogers Television, 2012 — Rogers TV, on my inspiration for Man & Other Natural Disasters
- Panelist, Ottawa International Writers’ Festival, 2012
- Reader, Ottawa Public Library’s Author Series, in association with the Ottawa International Writers’ Festival, November 2011
- Reader, CKCU Radio, Ottawa, Ontario, 2011 — Three Women/Three Books, on joining together for book promotion
- Reader, Words Alive Literary Festival, Brandon, Manitoba, October 2011
- Workshop leader, “Creating Memorable Characters”, Capital Crime Writers, 2011
