Staff Rant

Dear readers,

The Geist newsletter has remained in a state of, er, potential for some time now. Subscribers could expect it to arrive. When, exactly, and with what news, could never be pinned down. Not that we strive to be pin-downable, but consistency creates space for anticipation. Geist shares good news. You deserve to anticipate something good. Thus, we would like to introduce our redesigned, reimagined and open-to-revision monthly newsletter.

What you can expect in the first week of every month: newsy updates about calls for submissions, contests, issue launches, and writing workshops; comics and overheards; event recaps; and most vitally, micro-horoscopes: monthly divinations, as concocted by Geist’s in-house bootleg astrologers.

We hope you like it.

—The Editors

Help keep Geist in thriving mode for 2026

We are seeking financial support for the year ahead— donate to our fundraiser here.

“I first joined Geist as a volunteer when I was 19. Later, I was taken on as a paid intern, and then staff, and now, over ten years later, I’m president of the board. Magazines like Geist are absolutely indispensable to the literary culture of Canada. Geist also pays their writers—all of them!—industry standard rates, and stands out as one of only a few surviving print magazines in an age where that’s becoming more and more difficult.”

—Roni Simunovic, President, Geist Board of Directors

Thank you to all who have contributed so far! You can donate here and learn more about our goal to raise $20,000 by February 27.

Dream Reportage: Creative Writing Workshop with José Teodoro

Geist is thrilled to present Dream Reportage , a creative writing workshop facilitated by José Teodoro, writer, artist, curator, and musician. This workshop takes place over two consecutive Sundays, February 15 and 22, each with a 90-minute session.

Workshop Dates: Sunday, February 15 + Sunday, February 22 (participants will attend both sessions)

Time: 11:30am to 1pm (both days)

Location: Geist Magazine office, Vancouver

Dream Reportage asks participants to use dreams as raw material for the crafting of writing, to probe the unconscious as a means of excavating personal histories, desires, and anxieties. Because this process inevitably involves extrapolation, it offers participants a method through which to balance found material with narrative development and imagination.

There are only 16 spots available. Register now and reserve your spot at geist.com/blogs/dream-reportage !

2026 PolterGeist Writing Contest

Trick or treat? Fact or fiction? Send us your eerie prose, haunted moments, and uncanny tales, from the strangeness of the everyday to the sublime. The PolterGeist writing contest is open to Canadian and international entrants.

How it works: tell us a ghost story in 500 words or less. We welcome works that orbit fact and fiction.

Winning entries get cash prizes and publication in Geist, so pack your pen, paper, and flashlight and start ghost hunting now!

Submit via submittable by February 19, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT 👻.

Find out more at geist.com/contests

Geist is open for Submissions

Calling all writers and artists: Geist is seeking NON-FICTION and COMICS submissions for our upcoming issues, as well as ART & PHOTOGRAPHY.

We love innovative, thoughtfully researched and emotionally resonant narrative non-fiction in all its forms. Send us your personal essays, hermit crab pieces and collage works. We’re interested in comics that are weird, funny, unexpected or experimental.

Submit via submittable by March 12, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT 🐠.

Please take a look at our website for examples, and read our Submission Guidelines to find out more about what we're looking for and our payment rates: geist.com/submit

We encourage applications and submissions from BIPOC artists and writers, artists and writers with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ artists and writers, and artists and writers from other intersectional and marginalized groups.

Geist & Friends Celebrate: 35th Anniversary Celebration & Issue Launch Party

Three and a half decades, 131 issues, one big community. Much to celebrate!

So we did.

On Friday, January 30, Geist gathered at The Pleasant on Main Street in East Van, along with fellow lit mags, EVENT and subTerrain—both of whom were quick to remind us that they’ve been around even longer than Geist.

Unfazed, Stephen Osborne stepped up to the mic to share a bit of Geist history and funny stories about co-founding the magazine with Mary Schendlinger back in 1990. We just wish we’d figured out how to get the mic working before his speech.

We launched our special anniversary issue, 131, with readings by Erika Thorkelson, Morgan Leathem Ventura, and Adèle Barclay. We also heard from subTerrain authors Erin Ashenhurst and Natasha Sanders-Kay, and EVENT authors Adèle Barclay and Jade Y. Liu. Big thanks to Danielle Goldenberg for the incredible cake. Check back on our website and social media for more photos to come. Photos by Matt Sawatzky.

Three Films by Peter Mettler at The Cinematheque, curated by Geist author José Teodoro

Nothing But Time: Three Films by Peter Mettler

February 19–March 1

Peter Mettler’s singular gift as an unobtrusive interviewer and his capacity to discover shared sensibilities between people of vastly diverse cultures and creeds are on ample display in this three-film series. The opening-night screening on February 19 will be introduced by curator José Teodoro, followed by a conversation with director Peter Mettler.

Tickets + More info | thecinematheque.ca