Violet Hour: PEI

With Christopher DiRaddo, Hayden Little, Vanessa Bradley, LJ Lawlor, Debbie Langston, and Julie Bull

Join The Hideout’s inaugural writer-in-residence, Christopher DiRaddo on Thursday, October 10 for a fabulous evening of writing, community, and celebration in support of the Queer Youth Writing Club. The event will be held from 7:00-8:30 PM at the Gallery Coffee Shop and Bistro.

The Hideout Residency program welcomes writers, artists, and self-care practitioners from across Canada and internationally to PEI’s south shore each spring and fall. A new writer-in-residence component of the program was recently launched to mark the fifth year anniversary of the Hideout residencies.

Christopher DiRaddo is based in Montreal. He’s the author of the novels The Family Way (2021), shortlisted for the F.G Bressani Literary Prize, and The Geography of Pluto (2014). His essays and short stories have appeared in First Person Queer: Who We Are (So Far), Here & Now: An Anthology of Queer Italian-Canadian Writing and The Globe and Mail. He has also written for several publications, including Elle Canada, Xtra magazine and enRoute magazine, for which he won a National Magazine Award. In 2014, he created the Violet Hour Reading Series & Book Club, which has provided a platform for more than 250 LGBTQ writers in Canada. We’re so pleased to welcome Chris for his first Violet Hour event in PEI!

Joining Chris at Violet Hour: PEI will be Island writers and recent Susan Buchanan Hideout scholarship winners Vanessa Bradley, Debbie Langston, LJ Lawlor, and Julie Bull, as well as local author Hayden Little. Winner of multiple Island literary awards, as well as a PEI Book Award, Susan Buchanan was a well-loved and deeply admired Island writer and disability rights activist. One Hideout residency scholarship in Susan’s name is awarded each year to a deserving writer or wellness practitioner from the Maritimes.  

The evening will feature short readings, a Q + A session with Chris, and the opportunity to connect with Chris and local writers. Light refreshments will be served. This is a free event and everyone is welcome to attend. Donations to the Queer Youth Writing Club will be gratefully accepted and books will be on sale.

The Queer Writing Club was created as a collaboration between the PEIWG and PEERS Alliance as a way to provide an intentional comfortable, safe space for 2SLGBTQ+ youth aged 12 - 18 to learn and grow in their writing. In 2023, the Club produced an anthology of writing called Are We Friends Now? which won a PEI Arts Award.

Violet Hour: PEI is a proud partnership between The Hideout, Violet Hour, PEERS Alliance, and the Prince Edward Island Writers Guild (PEIWG).

Montreal writer Christopher DiRaddo named inaugural Hideout writer-in-residence

Credit: Marlon Kuhnreich.

Montreal-based novelist Christopher DiRaddo has been named the inaugural writer-in-residence at The Hideout in Prince Edward Island. Now in its fifth year, the Hideout Residency program welcomes writers, artists, and self-care practitioners from across Canada and internationally to PEI’s south shore each spring and fall. A new writer-in-residence component of the program is being launched to mark the fifth year anniversary of the Hideout residencies, with the goal of inviting prominent Canadian writers to visit the Island each year to engage in new work.

Christopher DiRaddo is the author of the novels The Family Way (2021), shortlisted for the F.G Bressani Literary Prize, and The Geography of Pluto (2014). His essays and short stories have appeared in First Person Queer: Who We Are (So Far), Here & Now: An Anthology of Queer Italian-Canadian Writing and The Globe and Mail. He has also written for several publications, including Elle Canada, Xtra magazine and enRoute magazine, for which he won a National Magazine Award. In 2014, he created the Violet Hour Reading Series & Book Club, which has provided a platform for more than 200 LGBTQ writers in Canada. He lives in Montreal.

“We’re so thrilled to welcome a writer of Christopher’s calibre as our first official Hideout writer-in-residence,” says Trevor Corkum, co-owner of The Hideout. “In addition to being a talented and highly-respected novelist, Christopher has been a vital force in Canadian literature and a powerful champion for sharing LGBTQ stories.”

DiRaddo will spend a week at The Hideout next fall, working on a new novel and connecting with local writers.

“I’m thrilled to be The Hideout’s first writer-in-residence,” says DiRaddo. “I have long wanted to come to PEI and experience the creative haven that Trevor and Joshua have created for artists. To have dedicated and uninterrupted time to work on my next novel in such a serene and stimulating environment is a huge gift and one I do not take for granted. I’m also looking forward to learning more about the community of artists living on the Island. My writing is heavily inspired by place, and I’m excited about the ways that The Hideout, and PEI, will make its way into my future work.”

About The Hideout

Created by writer Trevor Corkum and psychotherapist Joshua Lewis, The Hideout offers retreat and vacation space to writers, creative folk, and visitors from across Canada and around the world. The Hideout is located on the scenic South Shore of PEI, a few minutes outside the village of Victoria-by-the-Sea. The Hideout Residency program was founded in 2020.