Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry
Services:
Available for:
Bio
Writer, spoken word artist, editor and arts educator Liana Cusmano was the 2018, 2019 and 2023 Montreal Slam Champion and runner-up in the 2019 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship. Their first novel, Catch & Release (2022), was published by Guernica Editions. They were also a 2022 finalist for the QWF Spoken Word Prize and the winner of the 2024 Society Pages Poetry Contest. They are currently Fiction Editor at carte blanche and Associate Editor at Accenti Magazine. They have led workshops for writers of all ages and levels of experience through Youth Fusion, ELAN (English Language Arts Network), QWF (Quebec Writers’ Federation) the Répertoire culture-éducation, and PIV/LVP (Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie), where they were Director of Communications. They have offered writing and editing mentorships through the Association of Italian Canadian Writers and the carte blanche magazine Fresh Pages Initiative. Liana has been a guest speaker and performer at various universities, conferences and literary festivals in Canada, the United States, Portugal, Spain, Italy, England and China. An open, inclusive and intersectional approach is at the core of their practice.
Services Offered
Beta Reading for a number of genres, from articles and blog posts to full-length poetry manuscripts and fiction or non-fiction books. Coaching/Mentoring for writers, spoken word performers and speakers of any age, especially those new to the craft. Editing, copyediting and proofreading of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Sensitivity reading for works dealing with certain mental illnesses and LGBTQ+ identities. I can provide quick feedback to help improve a piece or work with a client over an extended period of time, from the early planning stages up to the completion of a writing project.
Special Interests
Book-length fiction, short fiction; narrative, free-verse and spoken word poetry; creative non-fiction, autobiography and memoir; working with first-time writers and authors.
