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).

Lauren Jean Lawlor, 2023 Hideout residency scholar

Island writer named Hideout residency scholarship winner

Island writer Lauren Jean Lawlor has been named this year’s Hideout residency scholarship winner. The scholarship will allow Lawlor to attend a one-week self-directed fall writing residency at The Hideout, a boutique retreat and vacation property located in North Tryon, PEI.

“We created the Hideout residencies as a low-cost opportunity for writers, wellness practitioners, and other artists to remove themselves from responsibilities and dedicate themselves fully to their creative and personal practice,” says Trevor Corkum, co-owner of The Hideout. “Lauren’s project is a great fit for our residency program and we look forward to welcoming her to The Hideout this fall.”

Lauren Jean Lawlor is a writer currently based in Charlottetown. She was shortlisted for the Irving Layton Fiction Prize and her work has appeared in carte blanche and at the Neighbourhood Film Festival. During her time at the Hideout, Lawlor plans to work on a short story collection that re-imagines queer narratives in rural spaces.

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About The Hideout Residency Program

Located on PEI’s South Shore, The Hideout is a vacation and retreat property co-founded by author Trevor Corkum and therapist Joshua Lewis. The Hideout residency program provides low-cost opportunities for writers, artists, and practitioners from across Canada and the world to spend a full week focused on their practice. Each year, up to two full scholarships are awarded. Hideout scholars join a line-up of invited artists and a limited number of artists and practitioners chosen through a general application process.