Bianca Lakoseljac (née Planinčić) is an award-winning author of two novels, Stone Woman (2016) and Summer of the Dancing Bear (2012); a collection of stories, Bridge in the Rain (2010); and a collection of poetry, Memoirs of a Praying Mantis (2009). She holds an MA and an Honours BA in English Literature from York University, and has taught communications at Humber College and Ryerson University in Toronto.
Upcoming publication: Rudy Wiebe: Essays on His Works is slated for release by Guernica Editions on Nov. 1, 2023.
Her awards include the Matthew Ahern Memorial Award in Literature from York University for essay writing, and the Book Excellence Award for Fiction. Bianca is past president of the Canadian Authors Association, Toronto. She was the Open Book Toronto Writer in Residence in 2016; a defender for Georgian Bay Reads in 2018; and has judged various national literary contests such as the National Capital Writing Contest and the Dr. Drummond Poetry Contest. She has also served on the awards panels for the League of Canadian Poets and the Writers Union of Canada. Her poems, essays, and stories have been anthologized nationally and internationally, including in 50 + Poems for Gordon Lightfoot, published by the Stephen Leacock Museum; Canadian Woman Studies, Inanna Publications, York University; Migrating Memories: Central Europe in Canada, the Central European Association for Canadian Studies; War of 1812 Poetry and Prose: an Unfinished War, Black Moss Press; and Musings, The Heliconian Club: Women Living in the Arts. She has served as a board member at The Writers Union of Canada, the Book and Periodical Council, the League of Canadian Poets, among other writers’ associations, and is also a member of PEN Canada.
Bianca lives with her family in Woodland Beach on Georgian Bay where she continues to write, tend to her flower beds, herbs, and the organic vegetable patch, and is inspired by the majestic pine trees and the ever-changing cobblestone beach at the edge of her backyard bordering the lake. She adores her grandchildren and loves cooking nutritious and she hopes delicious dinners for her family and friends. She admires the rugged beauty of the region and the spectacular sunsets of Georgian Bay.
www.biancalakoseljac.ca
