Surrey Libraries welcome a series of Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) alumni to host writing workshops starting in March.
Chantal Houle is a KPU alum and just debuted her first picture book, Where Kitty Belongs, at the end of January 2026.
The story follows a cat named Kitty who lives alone in a busy park, collecting treasures to stow high in branches of an oak tree. The story is said to be a sweet tale of acceptance, family and community that neatly explores a genre Houle has planned to unpack in her upcoming workshop.
“I’ve always been interested in genres that are meant to be spoken aloud, especially children’s stories like folk tales, fairy tales and picture books,” Houle shared. “I’m also great with kids, probably because I never forgot what it was like to be a kid.”
Houle is a graduate of the bachelor of arts program, majoring in creative writing, at KPU.
Houle’s workshop, coming to Surrey Libraries City Centre branch, is one of four upcoming workshops offered by KPU creative writing alumni.
Houle’s workshop is called ‘Writing for Children’s Literature.’
Houle explained the library is a perfect venue because she spent significant time surrounded by books at her local library growing up and furthered her love for books by developing her writing skills at KPU.
“Libraries always seem to be a hub for me, and that foundational path has always stayed. Even if I don’t remember all the books I read as a child and teen, I know they had an impact on me,” Houle said.
She says she was not surprised that the KPU creative writing department led her back to Surrey Libraries.
“This time, as an author who will hopefully help people find their own voice as I found mine through my time at Surrey Libraries and KPU,” said Houle.
In her workshop, Houle will teach participants the basics of children’s picture books and how to draw from personal experiences and imagination to write a story.
“My advice is to read as many children’s picture books as you can and read them out loud to understand the medium, and how your own unique voice can contribute to the genre,” shared Houle.
Another KPU creative writing alum, Winston Lê, will be leading a poetry workshop.
He will be using examples of dramatic poetry and is inviting participants to experiment with creating personas when writing poems.
“I am drawing on the theatre discipline of mask work to create new whole body expressions. Through the interlinked writing exercises, each participant will come out with a mask poem of their creation,” Lê explained.
Lê has written three poetry chapbooks: translanguaging, hybrid utterance and Thhhhh.
Through his poetry, he suggests to those who are new to it to find a new and provocative way to invoke images and expressions through the writing.
“Most importantly, remember to have fun in what you do. That’s something I have to constantly remind myself,” said Lê.
Since graduating from KPU in 2017, Lê has pushed his poetry to new heights.
Lê became an exhibitor manager for Word Vancouver in 2025, he has collaborated on interdisciplinary works, and immersed himself in international artist residencies.
“Many of these feats I’ve embarked on, I don’t think I would have had the courage to do so without the lessons I learned through my tenure in this one-of-a-kind program,” shared Lê.
He says that KPU was a place he was able to make a home amongst others for himself. “I felt joy. I found a place, purpose, and belonging amidst the chaos of the world.”
KPU shares that their creative writing department offers small class sizes and offers a variety of different writing styles.
Courses are offered in fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, screenwriting and new media, as well as specific genres such as young adult literature, spoken word and speculative fiction.
Creative writing workshops at Surrey Libraries will begin on March 25 with Writing Fictional Characters, presented by Carolina Chavarriaga.
Winston Lê’s Writing Poetry workshop is being held on April 29, Writing Children’s Literature with Chantal Houle will be on May 27, and Writing from the Land with Kayla MacInnis will be on June 24.
Registration for these workshops are open now.
For more information on the these workshops go to www.surreylibraries.ca