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 I had a lovely chat with Bianca Vandenbos at Book Notions, and we talked about my latest novel The New Empire, my Author Versus AI project, and much more. You can check out the full interview HERE.
Also, there's a new podcast episode that came out and includes me chatting with my writing buddies Henry L Sullivan III, Debra Every, and B Marcus Walker in The Writer's Room where we talk about AI and other human-made disasters (just kidding... sort of). Check out the full episode HERE. Last but not least, I'll be one of the panelists at Wordbridge, a writers' conference in Lethbridge, Alberta this weekend from April 18th-19th. If you're attending the conference and see me wandering about, please stop and say hi! Always happy to chat with fellow readers and writers. It's been a busy month! More news coming shortly, so stay tuned.
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I'm so excited to be one of the poets chosen by the Alexandra Writers' Centre Society (AWCS) to be a part of their Poem a Day for the month of April. For those non-poets out there, April is National Poetry Month, so there are usually a ton of poetry events to usher in the spring weather.
My poem is called The Path to Peace, and I actually wrote it when attending the AWCS's weekly Write-In Group. So, the poem has come full circle! It's a villanelle, a French poetic format that follows a specific structure of repeated lines and a specific rhyme scheme. I hope you enjoy reading it!
I'm still working on some larger projects, so stay tuned for some news on those hopefully soon, but I've had some recent success with my poetry that I'd love to share.
My poem "drought" was recently published in the Stroll of Poets Anthology, which came out in mid-March. It's a beautiful print anthology, released every year by the Stroll, and I was happy to be included with so many of the wonderful poets local to Edmonton. When I pick up my copy of it at the next Stroll meeting, I'll be sure to include a photo of the collection in my next post. I'm also super excited that my poem "Chains of History" was published in Penumbric Speculative Fiction Mag. Not only is Penumbric a fabulous magazine, but I'm especially attached to this poem. It intertwines the ideas of science fiction and slavery, and it's a bit thematic to the times we're living in. Hope you enjoy reading it. And I just found out that I have two more poems coming out within the next month or two. My Shakespearean sonnet "Like Mother, Like Daughter" took home an honorable mention in the March 2026 poetry contest at Off Topic Publishing, and will likely be published in the next couple of weeks. And my poem "Lost", originally published in Write City Ezine, was chosen by the editors for inclusion in The Chicago Writers Association 2026 anthology, in association with Eckhartz Press, forthcoming in June 2026. Whew! A good warmup of poetry to get ready for National Poetry month in April. Until next time - happy poeting!
I'm about to hop into my car and drive five hours southwest to the lovely town of Banff. I'm one of the invited attendees to the National Summit on Artificial Intelligence, and I'm excited to be part of this important discussion when it comes to AI and how it's being used in the creative industries.
From the government website: "The National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture, presented in partnership with the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, will convene leaders from the cultural, government, technology, academic, and civil society sectors to shape a shared vision for the future of culture in the age of artificial intelligence." Here's the initial question that usually gets asked: does AI have benefits? And the answer seems to be a resounding yes when viewed across multiple industries - it's had positive results in the medicine, scientific research, agriculture, and other fields. But I'm one of a growing number of creatives who are questioning its validity when it comes to our own work, which, in essence, is meant to capture the human experience. Can a non-human program do so, and do it for the benefit of those who consume the content we produce? That's a more complicated question. Now, it's no secret that I've been against using AI in the creative sphere ever since it first appeared. My Author Versus AI project in 2024, where I wrote a book a week for 34 weeks using NO AI at all, was essentially a way to open up the conversation about how creatives don't have to turn to this shiny new thing and incorporate it into their writing process. Human ingenuity, to me at least, will always be more desirable than something produced without effort on the "author's" part by using a program to write instead of drawing on their own lived experience. And I'm not alone. Many authors haven't used AI and don't plan to - there's been a growing backlash against AI in the the creative arts, including thousands of authors publishing empty books in protest to AI using their copyrighted works without permission to build LLCs to Amazon being kicked out as a sponsor for a Paris book festival due to protests against the company allowing the market to be flooded by AI-generated works to the UK Society of Authors launching a logo to identify solely human-created books. In the rush to stay "cutting edge," some authors ARE using AI, and that's their choice - I'm not evangelical in my approach to AI, although I will often advise against its use, especially to new writers. But I'm hoping to see a balanced discussion at the Summit about both the benefits - and pitfalls - to the merging of creativity with the so-called "slop" that AI is producing en masse. I don't think the answer is better AI - I think the answer is a separation between what creatives do because they love it, and what programs do because someone wants to benefit in what they see as the next get-rich-quick scheme. What's the answer? I'm not the only voice chiming in on the debate, but my grand hope is that we'll see a way to both ethically protect creatives and appreciate their original, human-created work for many years to come.
Ever wondered what it's like being part of a writing group with other authors? Well, you don't have to wonder anymore - just check out The Writing Room. I'm one of four writers who appear regularly on the podcast every month. The host is the fabulous science fiction author Henry L Sullivan III, and fellow guests are horror writer extraordinaire Debra K. Every and the amazing fantasy/spec fic author B. Marcus Walker.
The four of us belong to a writing group that meets every Sunday afternoon, and we enjoy shooting the shit about our works-in-progress, politics, and life. But we always have a few insightful tips and tricks about how we got to where we are today, as well as a blooper reel of all the mistakes we made that (so far) haven't killed us. All of us are published authors with at least one novel under our belts, and we keep writing in the face of constant rejection and self-doubt, among other lovely speed bumps along the way. You can watch the episodes for free on Substack or YouTube, and I've included the first two episodes below. For future months, you can follow along on my PODCAST page, where I'll be posting the links every time a new episode drops. Hope you enjoy listening! Just wanted to post a quick update because there are a lot of things I'm working on behind the scenes that aren't yet ready for me to talk about, but hopefully will be soon. I also have several short publications coming out in February and beyond, so I'll be writing an update about those soon. I've also been on a number of podcasts and chatting with some lovely interviewers recently (and with a few more coming up), so I'll be updating this space soon with more info. Until I get myself organized and can share some news about all the stuff going on, here's a pic of my cats having a snooze. Hope y'all are adjusting well to the new year! (I can't believe we've reached 2026 - I'm still writing 2025 on everything, LOL.)  I am so excited to be a guest on the First Time for Everything Podcast tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET. You can click the link below to watch live, where I'll be chatting with the fabulous host Juliet Rose. We'll be talking about a lot of firsts when it comes to writing, so hope you tune in!  Craft fairs and book fairs, that is! I'll be busy this month and the next at a number of fairs where I'll be out and about the Edmonton area, selling books and crafts. I'm a big proponent of buy local, sell local, so please stop by and say hi, browse around, and get your Christmas shopping done early. Hope to see you there! Here's where I'll be:
 Photo by Rebecca Scholz Okay, so there aren't any puppies - not really. Just the puppy in the picture above. BUT there are plenty of podcasts and several publications. So, I'll start out with the pubs.
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Who the heck is Alison McBain?I am a freelance writer and poet with over two hundred short pieces published in magazines and anthologies. Check out my 2024 writing challenge to write a book a week at Author Versus AI. For more info, please check out my "About Me" page. © Alison McBain. All rights reserved
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