Heather Ramsay
Education
- M.F.A. Creative Writing (Fiction), University of British Columbia. Susan Musgrave (supervisor), Kevin Chong, Maureen Medved (thesis committee), 2017
- Wired Writing Program, Banff Centre for the Arts (Jacqueline Baker), 2010
- Writing with Style, Banff Centre for the Arts, (Audrey Thomas), 2017
- Humber College Writers Correspondence Program, (Paul Quarrington), 2005
- B.A. in Communications, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, 1992
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
2018 Open Season Non-fiction Award, Malahat Review (finalist)
2017 Penguin Random House/Hazlitt Award in Creative Writing
2016 Woodward Award, GSI Award
2010/07 Gwaii Trust Arts Grant
2005 Fraser Ellis Award
2003 Ma Murray Community Newspaper award
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS – Publications
A Room in the Forest
Caitlin Press, 2025. A novel that delivers hidden secrets, clashing cultures and mysterious figures against the rugged landscape and ancient forests of Haida Gwaii.
Gyaagang.ngaay: The Monumental Poles of Skidegate
Haida Gwaii Museum Press, 2012. A look at the continuum of monumental carving on Haida Gwaii with a focus on the poles in the community of Skidegate.
Gina ’Waadluxan Tluu: The Everything Canoe
Haida Gwaii Museum Press, 2010. The Everything Canoe offers insights from carvers, elders, artists and voices from the past on the great cedar canoes. From how supernaturals first gave the technology to the Haida, to how carvers find a tree that will eventually become an ocean-going vessel, the book describes how the canoe has influenced everything from food gathering and trade to the Haida language. Written and edited with Kwiaawah Jones.
Living Works Legacy
Living Works Education, Inc. 2013. This book, co-written with Richard Ramsay, explores the 30-year history of a suicide intervention training program developed by four volunteers in Calgary, Alberta. The program has reached over 1,000,000 people and in 2009 it was named one of Canada’s Culture of Peace Gifts by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Writing About Your Place 2018-2021
Two day workshops about breathing life into writing about place held in Wells and Smithers, BC.
My Chilliwack: What it’s like living here March 2018
Developed and delivered full day writing workshop at the Chilliwack Museum.
Writing on the Edge August 2017
Developed and delivered a one-hour creative writing workshop for the Edge of the World Music Festival and Skidegate Adult Day Program.
Teaching Assistant Sept. to April 2017
Creative Writing for New Media 213, University of British Columbia
Developed and delivered lectures and assisted with marking, class logistics and administration.
Creative Writing Instructor Jan. to April 2017
University Hill High School, Gr. 11
Designed and delivered creative writing lectures and facilitated peer workshops.
Mentor 2011
Queen Charlotte Secondary School
Mentored Gr. 12 student on writing and interviewing techniques for publication.
ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Interpretive Sign Developer 2021-present
Mission Municipal Forest
Consult, research, write and obtain photos and other media for interpretive signs in the Stave West Forest and Recreation Area, an area managed cooperatively by the City of Mission and the Kwantlen, Matsqui and Leq’á:mel First Nations.
Outreach and Communications Manager May 2018 – July 2023
Stó:lō Xwexwílmexw Government
Work with a team of four to communicate the successes of six Stó:lō First Nations as they work towards completion of a modern self-government agreement. We create, produce and/or manage communication tools that include community engagements, print and digital media, such as, the Stó:lō Signal podcast and Light the Fire videos.Committees Assistant (acting) Jan – June 2018
University of the Fraser Valley
Managed the business of several meetings run through the Dean of the College of the Arts. Set agendas, wrote reports and communicated with members, as well as supported program and course approval processes. Special projects included curating a UFV-sponsored literary event at the Harrison Music Festival and creating video and written content for the Arts blog.
Promotions and Non-Personal Media Officer
Fort Langley National Historic Site Jan. 2015 – Mar. 2016
Managed promotion campaigns via website, social media, print, television, radio and community outreach. Raised attendance by 14% at special events and programs in 2015. Engaged and collaborated with destination tourism marketing organizations, First Nations and other partners. Wrote, designed and distributed brochures and posters. Led the research, wrote and managed the creation of exhibits, interpretive signs, banners and other non-personal media products. Participated in a team-based management committee.
Public Relations and Communications Officer
Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site Nov. 2011 – Jan. 2015
Created and evaluated strategic communications campaigns that garnered unprecedented international, national, local, and regional media attention. Wrote and managed budgets for web, social media, photography, videography and publications. Recruited media and coordinated trips into remote areas. Trained and supervised summer students. Collaborated in a team environment.
Newsletter Editor
Various locations 2010-2011
Researched and wrote stories, as well as managed the publication of stories for community groups, such as The Office of the Wet’suwet’en, Haida Gwaii Community Futures and Gwaii Trust.
Staff Reporter
Various Locations 1992 – 2011
Developed story ideas, made connections and wrote award-winning copy for The Smithers Interior News, The Yukon News and The Haida Gwaii Observer.
Intern Program Manager
The GAIA Project, Smithers, BC 1998-2001
Implemented an international work experience program that placed youth with 10 overseas organizations. Developed and delivered training for youth interns. Managed the budget, fundraising, reporting, strategic planning, publicity, recruitment, training and travel. Created and publicized programs to inform Canadians of this other international work. Networked and liaised with a variety of organizations in Canada, Southeast Asia, South and Central America.
FESTIVAL, READINGS AND CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Decency Be Damned Writers Retreat, Yorkshire May 2024
Words in the Burbs, Port Coquitlam January 2024
Wine Country Writers Festival Open Mic September 2023
Lay it On the Line, Newfoundland (On-line) December 2022
YYC-Pop Portraits of People, Calgary Oct 2020
Words in the Burbs, Port Coquitlam September 2019
Listen, Write, Now (organizer/reader), Chilliwack Feb 2018 – Jan 2019
Locution, Cottage Bistro, Vancouver March and Oct 2017
Summer residency, UBC, Vancouver, July 2016
With Susan Musgrave, Masset February 2012
Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff, Alberta October 2010
Artists of the New Moon, (organizer) Queen Charlotte, BC July 2009
TEXTured, (organizer/reader) Skidegate March 2008/9/10
Divas Night Out, Queen Charlotte, BC November 2007
Listen Write Now (organizer/reader) Queen Charlotte, BC November 2007
Writing with Style, Banff Centre September 2007
Queen Charlotte Islands Arts Council AGM October 2005
Midsummer Festival, Smithers, BC June 2000/1
Creekstones Book Launch, Smithers Art Gallery 2000
Mocambo Café in Victoria 2000
PUBLICATIONS
2024 The Literary Review of Canada: Little Miss Picky (March)
2023 Don’t Tell: Family Secrets Anthology (January)
2022 Fiddlehead: “Sixteen” (Winter)
Fiddlehead: “I found a photo of my Great-Aunt” (Summer)
The Literary Review of Canada: “And the Waters Increased” (Jan)
2020 YYC Pop Portraits of People: “The Autograph Book” (April)
2019 The Malahat Review: “The Invitation” (Summer)
Raspberry Magazine: “Sumas: The Once and Forgotten lake” (Fall)
2018 carteblanche: “Easy” (Fall)
The Malahat Review: “The Invitation” (Summer)
The Antigonish Review: “Progress”
2017 Numero Cinq: “What it’s like living here” (July)
Raspberry Magazine: “Welcome to where you live” (June)
Montecristo Magazine: “The Tireless Runner” (April)
The Tyee: “Art and Decolonization: This is My Activism” (Jan. 30)
2016 Prism International “Now that You Know” (December)
The Tyee: “Now that You Know You Can’t Turn a Blind Eye” (Dec. 19)
The Tyee: “Hours left to Reverse attack on Fisheries Act (Nov. 24)
Maisonneuve: “The Coming Flood” (September)
Canada’s History: “Following in footsteps of fur traders” (August)
BC Business: “Here Comes the Rain” (July/August)
2014 BirdWatch Canada & BC Nature Magazines: “Making Islands Rat-free for Seabirds.” (Spring editions.)
Explore BC blog: “Spring in Gwaii Haanas” (April)
2013 Living Works Legacy, Living Works Education Inc. (June)
2012 Gyaagang.ngaay: The Monumental Poles of Skidegate, Haida Gwaii Museum Press
2011 Canadian Geographic: “How to Speak with Ravens” (December)
The Tyee: “A Hog of One’s Own” (December 27)
The Tyee: Bless our Little Pigdom (December 26)
The Tyee: “That Which Makes Us Haida” (November 3)
The Tyee: “Why Shave Your Nether Regions?” (August 17)
The Tyee: “The Everything Canoe” (July 4)
The Tyee: “Getting the Kids on the Land” (May 20)
The Tyee: “Totem Poles: Myth and Fact” (March 31)
2010 The Tyee: “Beyond Eden: A Musical Set on Haida Gwaii” (Jan. 15)
Gina ’Waadluxan Tluu: The Everything Canoe: Haida Gwaii Museum Press.
Vancouver Review: “The Pigdom” (Winter)
Room: “Dropped in the Desert” (July)
Canada’s History Magazine: “Cowboy School” (June)
2009 Galleries West: “BC Arts: A Cultural Cash Crunch” (December)
The Tyee: “The Haida Challenge: An Unofficial Account” (Oct. 26)
The Tyee: “Did you want your Milk Raw?” (September 11)
British Columbia Magazine: “Northern Groove” (June)
Heritage Walking Tour of Queen Charlotte: a booklet written by me and published by the Queen Charlotte Islands Visitor Centre.
The Tyee: “Life without Ferries” (January 13)
2008 BC Business: “Hey Big Spender” (December)
The Tyee: “Never Shoot a Stampede Queen” (December 22)
The Tyee: “First Nations Wary of Harper Majority” (Oct. 14)
The Tyee: “Is there a First Nations Vote?” (Oct. 9)
Galleries West: “Win, Place or Show” (August)
The Tyee: “Defusing Family Violence” (June 2008)
The Tyee: “Oil: A Slippery Concern for BC’s North Coast” (Mar 24)
Soar Magazine: “Hungry on Haida Gwaii” (January)
2007 The Tyee: “Turning the Corner on Suicide” (December 5)
The Tyee: “Exhibiting Conflicts” (Sept. 12)
Galleries West: “Meddling in the Museum” (August)
Soar Magazine: “Hungry on Haida Gwaii”
The Vancouver Sun: “A Day on Haida Gwaii”
The Tyee: “BC’s Risky Backroads” (July 4)
The Tyee: “Carbon Sinks on Haida Gwaii” (June 8)
The Tyee: “The Great Abalone Theft” (May 9)
The Tyee: “All Aboard the Vomit Comit” (April 13)
Galleries West: “Critical Space” (April)
The Tyee: “My Knotty Problem with Wood” (January 16)
2006 The Tyee: “Real Estate Boom Rolls North” (October 5)
BC Bookworld: “Do Glaciers Listen?” (April)
The Tyee: “Are Scallops Uslurping the Oyster?” (March 15)
The Tyee: “Can’t Slaughter Like You Used To” (Feb. 8)
2004 SubTerrain: “Not to be Missed” (March)
2002 Pagitica in Toronto: “Doing Nothing in Chiapas” (Vol. 2, No. 2)
2000 Creekstones: Words and Images (an anthology). “Doing Nothing in Chiapas” Creekstone Press, Smithers BC.