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E. M. Williams, fantasy author 🌱📚

@emwilliamscanada

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Award-winning fantasy author | Chaos Calling: Book I of The Xenthian Cycle | Board Director @ WotS | Torontonian | she/her #indieauthor 🇨🇦

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Last Saturday marked my 12th anniversary of work on The Xenthian Cycle.

Why didn't I post on the day?

Well, I was at @torontowots for most of the afternoon. I joined the Board of Directors a week ago and it was fascinating and fun to experience another side of Toronto’s biggest open-air book festival (I was an indie exhibitor in 2023 and 2024).

Over the last year:
- Chaos Calling won the 2025 @thecanadianbookclubawards prize for SF/F (!!!)

- Last fall, I finished Book II’s 5th draft and submitted it for editorial feedback at Christmas.

- The feedback was deep and intense, which I expected. I’m 35% // 40k into the rewrite.

- I finished and then rewrote a short story that takes place between Book I and II (more to come soon).

- @weslynski and I are close to finalizing Book II’s cover design (I've purchased the stock photo that forms its base).

- @winterweix drew a skyworm for me and it’s the fiercest, scariest thing I’ve ever seen.

- I’ve seen the first page of @winterwei’s graphic novel adaptation of Chaos Calling’s Chapter 1 and 2.

- Other unexpected things happened that I can’t discuss.

Creativity is a marathon. I’m behind where I wanted to be in some ways and further ahead in others.

Thank you and happy anniversary to all the readers, beta readers, sensitivity readers, editors, illustrators and designers who’ve joined me on this project.

Most importantly, happy birthday, Xenthians!

As the saying goes, "My life for yours." White birthday cake candles in numerals "1" and "2" with rainbow edging burn against a bright yellow backdrop. by @emwilliamscanada

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7 days ago

I'm thrilled to announce that I joined @torontowots this week as a board director.

I've participated in past Word on the Street festivals as a book lover, as an indie author, and as a book vendor. It's a vibrant, important celebration that brings thousands of book lovers to downtown Toronto every year.

The festival's main book event runs tomorrow (11 to 6) and Sunday (10 to 5) at David Pecaut Square. The team expects over 140,000 visitors to gather and celebrate Canadian and Indigenous authors, publishers, and storytellers—all completely free to attend.

Like every arts organization in Canada, Word on the Street persists in the face of funding cutbacks. My follower base on IG is small but eclectic. If you're able, please consider making a donation to help keep the festival free and accessible for everyone. I'll put the link in the comments.

I look forward to collaborating with Kim and Kent Robinson, the board, and the wider team.

I'll be at the festival tomorrow afternoon. If you'd like to meet up and chat, ping me. On a yellow background: The Word on the Street at David Pecaut Square // September 26-27 // 11-6 Saturday // 10-5 Sunday // 215 King St. West Toronto. Celebrating the latest in Canadian and Indigenous Literature! Free for all ages to attend. taken in David Pecaut Square by @emwilliamscanada

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11 days ago

Capitalism has this idea: You break it, you buy it.

If I'm browsing in a store and I knock over a vase and it shatters -- that's on me and I'm on the hook to compensate the store.

But if I'm a government entity or a corporation and I poison your water with mercury so bad that your community members are still getting sick decades later . . . then the rule doesn't apply?

Make it make sense.

The people of @grassy.narrows.solidarity have suffered and deserve 1) fair compensation now and 2) a clean environment with safe drinking water to raise their children.

Great turnout today at Queen's Park.

#waterislife People gather in a park ahead of the march in support of Grassy Narrows. by @emwilliamscanada

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13 days ago

Hard to believe we are 5.5 weeks from this awesome Canadian books event that @jendraberri's been spearheading for the @buycanadianbookmarket!

On Sunday, June 7, I'm joining a host of talented Canadian authors in Scarborough for signings and swag.

Genres include fantasy, mystery, romance, young adult, and Sci-fi.

Looking forward to seeing Jendra, @willforrestthewriter and @lesterlingauthor again, and to meeting @arezoudeetoo, @carleebrae.author, @james_downe_author, @j.m.frey, @lindoforbes, @samjoycebooks, @hudsonlinwrites, @markedwithanm, @shortweird, and @allisontemplebooks.

Hope to see you there! A yellow-toned book explosion with maple leaves "Buy Canadian Book Market -- Canadian Books by Canadian Authors" Free entry June 7 from 1 pm to 4 pm, east york community centre, 1081 /12 Pape Ave, East York taken in East York Community Recreational Centre by @emwilliamscanada

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5 months ago

This week's office spaces included @torontolibrary's Reference Library. Located at Yonge and Bloor, it's an iconic piece of our landscape for Toronto book lovers.

Artists like The Weekend have also used it as a backdrop for their videos and it regularly turns up on film.

It's one of my favourite places to write. Learning that Chaos Calling had been added to TPL's collection was one of the proudest days of my life (video's pinned in my Reels if you're curious).

Have you ever visited? What's your favourite TPL branch? Or do you visit your library in another city? A view over the atrium from the fourth floor of the Toronto reference library. taken in Toronto Reference Library by @emwilliamscanada

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5 months ago

First time sending out a copy of Chaos Calling to a prize winner with a 2025 Canadian Book Club Award Winner sticker on it.

I thought about putting it in the top corner, but I don't want to hide the CN Tower lurking in the background.

Fear not, book lovers--the sticker peels off very easily if you don't want to leave it there.

Thanks to the @canadian.booklibrary for featuring my work in their "Canadians with Irish heritage" contest last month! A photo of Chaos Calling: Book I of The Xenthian Cycle by E. M. Williams, sitting on a green countertop. It has a "Winner of the Canadian Book Club Awards" sticker on it in the bottom corner--bright orange with white text. by @emwilliamscanada

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6 months ago

Author Spotlight #51 - E.M. Williams
Irish Heritage Month

Born in Northern Ontario, E. M. Williams has written all her life. Chaos Calling: Book I of The Xenthian Cycle is her first published novel.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Arts in Literary Theory from the University of Guelph. She also completed a course in writing speculative fiction through the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies, and is a former member of the Science Fiction Research Association.
In 2012, she gave a TedxTalk on women, superheroes and power. Originally intended to make her past scholarship work more accessible to a wider audience, it inadvertently supercharged her writing.
E. M. Williams currently lives with her family in Toronto, where she works in the technology sector. She is also a member of the Writer’s Union of Canada.

#canadianbooklibrary #canadalovesbooks #canadianbookstagram #canadianbookstagrammer by @emwilliamscanada

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7 months ago

Finally got a chance to meet the wonderful @weststandgirl at the shared Union Station pop-up for @littleghostsbooks & @hopelessromanticbooks! And scored a @demiwinterswrites scavenger hunt prize to win her whole series. Also picked up @joss.richard’s It’s Different This Time, which is a #canadareads2026 pick this year. Banner Saturday! #dawnscavhunt 💖💅🏽📚👻 by @emwilliamscanada

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7 months ago

Chaos Calling by E.M. Williams is the Sci-Fi / Fantasy winner of the 2025 Canadian Book Club Awards.

Congratulations to @emwilliamscanada! 👏

#SciFiBooks #FantasyBooks #BookAwards #CBCA2035 #CanadaReads by @emwilliamscanada

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8 months ago

Thanks to Jonathan Miller for inspiring me to make this cake video to celebrate my creative writing wins in 2025.

I’m also making space to welcome the two big items on my authorial to-do list for 2026.

Because I’m Canadian, I used a McCain Deep n’Delicious cake (IYKYK). @mccaincanada

How do you celebrate your creativity wins? What are you celebrating from 2025, and hoping for in 2026?

Writing folks mentioned:
- @fictionandfibre
- @thecanadianbookclubawards
- @newgrowthshow
- @jessjoyce
- @witchwood_bookshoppe_

#happynewyear2026♥️🎆🎉✨ by @emwilliamscanada

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9 months ago

I read more books this year than I ever have before. Since these images were sent to me, I’ve hit 180 books for the year.

How do I do it? It’s my primary hobby. I’ve largely stopped watching TV and film. I find book stories or RPG games so much more satisfying. I read physical, audio, and ebooks so I almost always have a book with me.

This year has been hard. Like many people, I wanted to feel good about something and books brought me both joy and that emotional escape. Other books challenged me or made me think more deeply about the world in reflective, non-reactive ways.

I will be posting my top reads for 2026 (10 non-fiction, 20 fiction) over the next week.

I want to note that Goodreads selects the books to showcase in the image for me and that the covers picked don’t reflect the diversity of my reading. by @emwilliamscanada

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