Ellen Symons, Author

Writing Spaces

  • The Menagerie

    “You can say no.” Could she? Susan’s finger flicked over the edge of the lawyer’s square conference table, wishing it were round. Straight edges unsettled her: dangerous cliffs, appearing from nowhere, causing her elbow to knock pencils, notepads, cups of coffee to the floor. Causing her brain to fill with images of herself sailing over,… Read more

  • “The Menagerie” makes Lanark Lit long list!

    In December of 2024, my short story “The Menagerie” made the long list for the regional Lanark Lit Writing Competition, in the Adults 30+ category. While it didn’t place in the top three, I’m very proud of this story for going as far as it did: one step before the final round. The jury, made… Read more

  • The Real Art of Writing Haiku–it’s not about the syllables

    The Real Art of Writing Haiku–it’s not about the syllables

    This post contains a participation component! Read to the end to jump in. Previously, on this blog, I spent a year or so writing what I thought was a form of haiku. How wrong I was! In November, 2024, Claudia Radmore, past president of Haiku Canada, led a workshop on haiku that showed us participants… Read more

  • The Honey Trap, How the Good Intentions of Urban Beekeepers Risk Ecological Disaster, by Dana L. Church

    The Honey Trap, How the Good Intentions of Urban Beekeepers Risk Ecological Disaster, by Dana L. Church

    Read this book if you want to keep honey bees. Read this book if you like honey. Read this book if you want to know more about pollinators and how they’re important to the planet. Read this book if you want to ‘save the bees’, but aren’t sure how to do it. This is a… Read more

  • Playing Army, a novel by Nancy Stroer

    Playing Army, a novel by Nancy Stroer

    Book review by Ellen Symons I get excited when people I treasure have a book published. Like Playing Army, by Nancy Stroer, which kept me reading not just once through, but twice; and I would read it again. This book is gritty, funny, moving, and important. Its characters are beautifully drawn and care about things… Read more

  • The Secret Practice: Eighteen Years on the Dark Side of Yoga: A Memoir, by Joelle Tamraz

    The Secret Practice: Eighteen Years on the Dark Side of Yoga: A Memoir, by Joelle Tamraz

    For any of us searching for acceptance and belonging outside ourselves, Joelle Tamraz has shared an important story that reaches beyond the yoga world and encourages us to take responsibility for shaping ourselves as we want to be. Read more

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