Portal Hosts First In-Person Launch Since 2020

The launch is on April 29 at The Grand Hotel from 6-8:30 pm.

Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) student-run annual literary magazine is going to be celebrated in-person for the first time in three years thanks to the lifting of Covid restrictions and a desire for face-to-face festivities to mark the accomplishments of nearly 90 contributors since 2020.

Portal 2022, a full-colour magazine, is on newsstands across the country in May. It launches in Nanaimo April 29 at The Grand Hotel from 6-8:30 pm (doors open at 5:30 pm). The evening will feature readings from contributors to issues from the past three years, a performance by local musician Soren Van Helm, and the awarding of Creative Writing department scholarships. The issue’s Managing Editors Brennan O’Toole and Chris Beaton will emcee and Arts & Humanities Dean Marni Stanley, department Chair Sonnet L’Abbe, and other faculty will be there to cheer them on.

Portal 2022 brings to vibrant life fiction, poetry, nonfiction, scripts, artwork, and photography within its 100 pages, transporting readers from the mountains of Nepal to the edges of space. This issue also bravely tackles important topics of abuse, loss, difference, identity, recovery, and healing. 

“Its themes subtly remind us that, like the interior of a moss-covered van on the cover, it’s time to step back into the driver’s seat and own the road," says Portal Publisher Joy Gugeler.

In assembling these 100 pages, Portal also shares an exclusive interview with celebrated Canadian poet and current Toronto Poet Laureate A. F. Moritz, which was conducted in March when Isabella Ranallo and Sophia Wasylinko sat down with Moritz to learn about his writing process and passions over an enviable 50-year career.            

Also unique to this issue is the Portfolio Spotlight on two students, Susan Garcia and Zeel Desai, who share personal stories from their Indigenous and Indian cultural backgrounds respectively. The issue also features the winning screenplay from Portal’s Portent Script contest by Sarah Stirling, Be My Neighbour. Next year’s $500 Portent Prize is for Nonfiction.

Tickets are $15 and include a copy of the 2022 edition of the magazine. They can be purchased at the door or in advance by emailing Gugeler at joy.gugeler@viu.ca. Capacity is 120 people.

“Celebrating three years’ worth of Portal issues, April 29 at the Grand Hotel is sure to be a gala affair and a fitting end-of-semester party,” says Gugeler.

Follow Portal on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for sneak peeks of the cover and excerpts from the magazine’s nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and scripts unveiled in advance.

Portal 2022 can be purchased for $10 at the launch, on newsstands, and at VIU’s bookstore and online shopping cart.  

For more information about Portal’s launch please contact Joy Gugeler by emailing Joy.Gugeler@viu.ca.

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Media Contact:

Rachel Stern, Communications Officer, Vancouver Island University

C: 250.618.0373 l E: Rachel.Stern@viu.ca | T: @VIUNews