writing
author bio
Suzanne Johnston is a writer and marketing professional living in Calgary, Alberta. She writes risk-taking short stories and novels, drawing inspiration from her prairie roots. When not writing, Suzanne is travelling or creating content about travelling or dreaming about travelling. She is a member of the Writers’ Guild of Alberta (WGA) and the Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society (AWCS). Her short fiction has appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, The Globe and Mail, Quagmire, New Forum, Broken Pencil, FreeFall, Agnes and True, and Montreal Writes.
She won first place in the AWCS’ “Write Your Way Out of Isolation” contest for a series of short stories, and received honourable mentions for short stories in the Literary Taxidermy Short Story Competition and also in the WGA’s Pandemic Postcards Contest. Her short fiction was longlisted in The New Quarterly’s Peter Hinchcliffe Short Fiction Award.
A smattering of published works.
CONFIDANTS
PUBLISHED BY THE SATURDAY EVENING POST
Honourable Mention, Literary Taxidermy Short Story Competition
Everyone missed Rick. The staff had drawn hearts and crosses and We Miss You!s in washable marker on the coffee shop’s front windows. Annie’s manager said it was okay. But Annie’s manager said it was not okay for Annie to draw a gang of meerkats. “Weren’t you friends?” her manager asked, wiping away Annie’s meerkat burrow.
other writing samples
DINNER SERVICE
Flash Fiction published by Brilliant Flash Fiction
It was between the last bite of chicken cordon bleu and before the cheesecake arrived that the commotion at table four started.
only good swimmers can read my book
Flash Fiction published by The Hooghly Review
@TravelswithTito “brings sinking news with a buoyant lining for swimmers”
Grandpa taught me how to cheat at cards
Personal essay published by The Globe and Mail
At first, I was terrible at cheating. So bad it wasn’t even funny. So bad Grandpa would tell me to stop or he’d quit the game.
Paddling for pooches fundraiser
Short fiction published by Quagmire Magazine
In the middle of the Martensdale Community Lake, a canoe rocked back and forth under the weight of three dancing women.
The trouble with sisters
Short fiction published by Broken Pencil
Pauline thought about killing her sister every day. A ghastly, violent death is what Enid deserved.
Broadway Bridge
Short fiction published by Agnes and True
“And you don’t know the half of it!” Derek shouted, efficiently ending our two-year relationship. Did he literally mean the three betrayals I knew about could be doubled, or even tripled?
MIDNIGHT INFERNO
Short fiction published by Montreal Writes
The last time I struck a match, I lit the sky on fire. Up, up, up galloped the pillows of smoke, stacked on top of each other like scorched marshmallows…
HELLO FROM THE BUNKER
HONORABLE MENTION: Short fiction published by Writers’ Guild of Alberta
Why resurface when the livin’ is easy?
uncovering saskatchewan’s history: finding and protecting artifacts
Archeologists are uncovering hundreds of artifacts in Saskatchewan every year. When there's a risk of development impacting heritage resources, a screening process determines whether or not an impact assessment is required.
5 women in STEM who are paving the way for the next generation
Learn how five women came to be in a STEM career and what and who inspired them - and continues to inspire them - to stick with it.
Saskatchewan's Uranium Mining Legacy: A Complex Road to Remediation
A project in northern Saskatchewan aims to cleanup 37 abandoned uranium mine and mill sites to reduce hazards to the public and to the environment.
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