Photo Credit:
Photo credit
Sapha Burnell
Sapha Burnell
BIO
Biography

“Sapha is like a young Wolfgang Pauli, in every laboratory he went, there was a little explosion.”


Sapha Burnell teethed on images of the Berlin Wall falling down. The product of Vancouver’s multiculturalism, Sapha steeped in divergent cultures, religious experiences and gender roles, until battling with traditional opinions became a daily war. On hiatus from the written word, she volunteered in West Africa, and returned to Canada with an international perspective. 

Sapha’s 2014 debut poetry collection Usurper Kings was viewed by Huffington Post author & poet Kevin Hogan as “a work of jaw-droppingly beautiful discovery”.

The first novel in her cyberpunk series Neon Lieben hit August 2021, and has been called “a hauntingly beautiful work”. 

RL Arenz III, author of Aegis defines Sapha’s style with his signature aplomb. “What she manages to do is tiptoe you on that line of emotional, gut wrenching scenes which can bring you to the brink of hysteria. And with a sentence from a character she offers that breath of humour that pulls you back from the brink. Then dropkicks you over the ledge when you thought you were safe. An insane, diabolical, kick-ass rollercoaster.” 

Sapha lives in BC with their spouse and speaks on cyberpunk, mythpunk, martial arts, comparative mythology & religion, when the #hallowesfam isn’t chatting it up on discord or twitch.

ADDRESS
City: Vancouver, Province/Territory: British Columbia
EMAIL
GENRE
Cyberpunk Science Fiction, Magic Realism
LANGUAGES
English, Norwegian
PUBLICATIONS
Publications
Title
Usurper Kings
Publisher
Vraeyda Literary
Year
2014
Title
Son of Abel
Publisher
Vraeyda Literary
Year
2017
Title
NEON Lieben
Publisher
Vraeyda Literary
Year
2021
Title
Future's Lens
Publisher
InExhaustible Media
Year
2023
Title
Judge of Mystics 1: Char & Ash
Publisher
Vraeyda Literary
Year
2023
Title
Judge of Mystics 2: Son of Abel
Publisher
Vraeyda Literary
Year
2023
Title
Warped Lens
Publisher
InExhaustible Media
Year
2023
Title
Macabre and Monstrous
Publisher
Vraeyda Literary
Year
2023
Title
Lenses
Publisher
InExhaustible Media
Year
2023
Title
Cocoa Craze
Publisher
Blade & Banter
Year
2023
AWARDS
Awards
Name
Cinergy Film Festival Audience Choice Award
Publication
Towards Our End
Year
2009
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS
Presentation details
Audience Size
Audience size
5 - 150+
Presentation Genre
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Presentation Length
45 minutes
Presentation Fee(s)
$100
Workshop details
Audience Size
5 - 30
Intended Audience
New Adult/General Adult
Workshop Length
2 hours
Workshop Fee(s)
$45/person
EQUITY INITIATIVE
As part of the Union’s Equity Implementation Plan, we are committed to increasing awareness of authors who are Black, Indigenous, racialized, LGBTQI2S, or living with a disability. This author identifies as:
Members who identify as:
LGBTQI2S
Programs & Interests
Interested in participating Union’s Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program:
All members are eligible for the Union’s Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program. Are you interested in participating in this pro
No
Interested in participating in the Northern Ontario WITS program:
The Union’s Northern Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program funds in-person visits to northern Ontario schools when possible. Ar
No