Barb Howard is a Calgary multi-genre author who has published five books of literary fiction and more than 50 short stories and essays in magazines, journals, and anthologies across Canada. Her recent experience as a mentor includes the 2024 Writers’ Guild of Alberta mentorship program, the 2024 Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation mentorship program, the 2021 Own Voices Alberta mentorship program for emerging BIPOC writers, and four years as a writing mentor for The Shoe Project — a literacy and performance workshop for immigrant women.

Barb’s writing has won the Howard O’Hagan Award for short story and The Canadian Authors Association Exporting Alberta Award. Her work has been shortlisted for the international High Plains Book Awards, the Alberta Trade Fiction Book of the Year, and several Alberta Literary Awards.

An active member of the provincial and Mohkinsstsis writing communities, Barb has been President of the Writers' Guild of Alberta, Writer-in-Residence for the Calgary Public Library, editor of FreeFall Magazine, and a board member for Calgary Arts Development. She taught Creative Writing at the University of Calgary, the Alexandra Writers’ Centre, and the Banff Centre. Her formal post-secondary education consists of a Bachelor of Arts (Canadian Literature) from the University of British Columbia, a law degree from Dalhousie University, and a Master of Arts (Creative Writing) from the University of Calgary.

www.barbhoward.ca