Celebrated Alberta-based fiction and non-fiction writer to inspire and mentor, helping others use their voices to tell their stories
Acclaimed author Naomi K. Lewis is Athabasca University's 16th writer in residence—a role that gives students and the wider public new opportunities to access support to improve their writing.
Led by AU's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the program fosters the development of literary talent in Canada—regardless of location—and delivers on AU's commitment to improving access and opportunity to learning like no other.
Lewis is the author of the novel Cricket in a Fist and her collection of short stories I Know Who You Remind Me Of was nominated for two Alberta book awards. Her memoir Tiny Lights for Travellers won Alberta's Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Nonfiction, the Vine Award for Canadian Jewish Literature (nonfiction), and the Pinsky Givon Family Prize for Nonfiction, a Western Canada Jewish Book Award. The memoir was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction and the W.O. Mitchell City of Calgary Book Award.
Lewis co-edited the anthology Shy and her journalism has been shortlisted for provincial and national magazine awards. She has previously served as writer in residence at the Calgary Public Library, University of New Brunswick, and MacEwan University. Born in England, Lewis grew up partly in the Washington, D.C., area and has lived in seven Canadian cities. For last 16 years, she has called Calgary, Alta., home.
I love the process of helping others fine-tune their voices on the page, helping to draw out what they wish to express and how they wish to express it.
Naomi K. Lewis, AU 2025-26 writer in residence
Taking her fiction from what is to what if
With dedicated time and space to create, Lewis will work on her current project, the alternate reality novel Riley Mallory, slated for publication in 2027.
“Throughout my writing career, my fiction has shifted from realism toward speculative, science fictional, and surreal, and I’m excited to continue following this interest in the novel I’m working on now,” said Lewis.
As part of her writing practice, she said she is looking forward to the opportunity this residency provides. It will allow her to explore the unique culture and landscape of contemporary Western Canada, particularly that of the Rocky Mountains, and to reflect on the evolution of her approach.
“I’m also hoping to consider more thoroughly how and why it feels to helpful and apt to tell stories of today’s world through a more kaleidoscopic, speculative lens,” said Lewis.
“I am certainly not the only literary novelist to adopt such a perspective, and I plan to make my analysis of this phenomenon the topic of one of my lectures during the residency.”
Writer in residence a helpful resource for writers from across the country
Lewis, currently acquisitions editor at Freehand Books, has worked as a magazine writer and editor, creative writing instructor, and ghostwriter. These aspects of her work have involved supporting, collaborating with, and “acting as a mirror for other thinkers and writers,” Lewis said.
“I love the process of helping others fine-tune their voices on the page, helping to draw out what they wish to express and how they wish to express it.”
The virtual nature of the AU residency means that students and creative writers from all over Canada and beyond can connect with her and benefit from her expertise. She is now available for one-on-one consultations with writers looking for feedback on their work.
“So many peers and mentors have helped inform my own writing and my confidence as a writer, I hope to offer that kind of support and assistance to the folks who trust me with their work during the next months.”
Stay tuned for more announcements about the 2025-26 writer in residence.
16 years of talented writers in residence
2024-25: Bertrand Bickersteth
2023-24: Christian Bök
2022-23: Myrna Kostash
2021-22: Michael Winter
2020-2021: Joshua Whitehead
2019-2020: Steven Heighton
2018-2019: Katherena Vermette
2017-2018: Richard Van Camp
2016-2017: John Vaillant
2015-2016: Esi Edugyan
2014-2015: Anita Rau Badami
2013-2014: Tim Bowling
2012-2013: Hiromi Goto
2010-2011: Tololwa M. Mollel
2009-2010: Joseph Boyden