Jay Manuel is a Canadian writer, educator, translator, and curriculum developer based in Burnaby, British Columbia. His work moves across philosophy of education, literary criticism, public scholarship, translation, and community-based learning.
He is the author of the forthcoming book Attention, Belonging, and Care: The Communal Self in Education (Vernon Press), a multidisciplinary exploration of attention, relationality, ethics, and education in contemporary life. His essays and articles have appeared in publications including CareerWise, the Vancouver Sun, Edmonton Journal, Sapere Aude, Antistasis, and Syllabus Journal.
Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Jay writes in both English and Portuguese and has translated literary works by Brazilian author Gustavo Bernardo. His writing often explores community, dialogue, moral imagination, curriculum, technology, and the struggle to sustain meaningful forms of human attention in an increasingly fragmented world.
Presentations explore themes including attention and technology, education and community, literary criticism, philosophy, ethics, translation, dialogue across difference, and the role of storytelling in public life. Sessions are interdisciplinary, accessible to broad audiences, and adaptable for academic, literary, and community settings. Topics may also include curriculum design, AI and education, relational learning, Machado de Assis, Nietzsche, and contemporary challenges surrounding attention and belonging.
Interactive workshops focused on writing, dialogue, relational learning, reflective practice, ethical attention, curriculum and facilitation design, literary interpretation, and community-building through education and storytelling. Workshops emphasize participation, critical reflection, and practical application, and can be adapted for schools, universities, libraries, conferences, and nonprofit/community organizations.
School visits focus on writing, storytelling, critical thinking, philosophy, education, attention and technology, community, and the role of literature in understanding ourselves and others. Sessions are discussion-based, interactive, and adaptable to classroom needs and student age groups. Topics may include the writing process, bilingual writing and translation, ethics and dialogue, media and attention, literary interpretation, and pathways into academic, creative, and community-based writing.
