Issue No. 9

Winter 2026

In the ninth issue of The Ampersand Review, we are proud to present a variety of short stories, poems, and works of creative nonfiction that showcase innovative writing in the Canadian literary landscape. This issue features an exclusive interview with Anuja Varghese, poetry by Catherine Graham and Chris Johnson, fiction by Aaron Tucker, and more!


Contents

From the Editor

Paul Vermeersch

Stay Human

Poetry

Chris bailey

Melt

Reinterment


Emma rhodes

Navigate What


Nicholas Bradley

Paleontological Evenings

Flower


Catherine Graham

Winter Mind

Disturbing Presence


Dave Margoshes

Phone Booths

Odysseus


t.m. chalk

Dubblespeak

All Choice Is But Heifers


Jessica Bebenek

The Burden of Ownership


Angela hibbs

Familiar Ideas

That Moon

Peter richardson

Calabash

Mass Pike

Sneha subramanian kanta

Ornithomancy

Leah Duarte

Serra de Monchique, Finn do Mundo / End of the World

Chris johnson

Polymeric Matrices

Courtney bates-hardy

A Dream

Fiction

alya somar

This Is What I Was Afraid Of


Aaron tucker

The Horseman


sanchari sur

Sorry Doesn’t Make a Dead Man Alive

Non-Fiction

Jean sheppard

Empty Tubs and Oilskins


ayomide Bayowa

Leaking Water

Feature

Anuja varghese

A Conversation

Interviews

Three Short Interviews With Reading Series:

Chi-Leung Lee (李智良)

Ellen Chang-Richardson & Nina Jane Drystek

David Barrick

Reviews

aviva rubin

I Remember Lights by Ben Ladouceur


kimberly cameron

Diving Board by Tomás Downey (trans. Sarah Moses)


Kathryn MacDonald

Unravel by Tolu Oloruntoba


lynda williams

A Place for People Like Us by Danila Botha


j.m.

Field Work: On Baseball and Making a Living by Andrew Forbes