This essay will be a two-parter. I've never done this before, but it seems fitting. See, I'm always telling you (and anyone who will listen) that we must face our discomforts to level up, so it seems apt that you should join me through a joyful discomfort.

As the excitement and energy of Fringe season descends upon Montreal once again, Forget The Box is gearing up for our third annual Review Lottery. While you pour your heart, soul, time, and finances into crafting the most compelling FringeMTL production possible, we're diligently assembling our review team and finalizing our coverage plan for this year's festival.

While it should go without saying, allow me to open this essay by clarifying that I am not a doctor. I do have a correspondence school diploma in Adult Psychology, an expensive piece of paper I was really proud to get, and Concordia says can get me out of Psych101.

It was a chilly evening when I braved the typical November cold. I left my cozy couch to walk to a wine bar I had not yet heard of in Beaubien. I was meeting my friend, Karina. We had met in a screenwriting class six months prior and usually gathered with our other screenwriting classmates every other Tuesday for a writing group of our own.

As the temperatures hesitantly begin to rise, the Montreal literary scene is flourishing. Starting April 24th, it’s time for the annual Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival!

I believe that it's now actually Spring. Sure, I could be wrong; stranger things happen regularly. It could yet snow record amounts, but I doubt it. Flowers are blooming, grass is greening, and the air smells like life and dirt. 

“It’s impossible to live here [Pointe-Saint-Charles] and not get sucked into the culture,” says Jules Rodschat, who moved to the neighbourhood nestled in the borough of Le Sud-Ouest in Montreal in 2024.

Tina Cruz is a multidisciplinary artist, comedian, and writer known for her sharp, introspective humour that skillfully explores the intersections of cultural identity, family dynamics, and personal experiences.

We talk about everything these days. Through cursory conversations and social media posts, we learn about someone's politics, preferences, the cycles of their mental reality.

When my grandmother told me the family used to be bookmakers, I thought they were publishers. Turns out, that's not at all what she meant. When Jessica Bebnek talks about bookmaking, she couldn't be more literal.