When the wind blew this morning, my mind raced. I was immediately transported back to the night she blew in— FIONA. Islanders will not soon forget the storm that changed our land. Sometimes I think of it when a power truck goes by, or when my hot water runs cold, or when I can’t find a charger. It’s like a distant memory, but the memories rush back in fragments.
The power flickered in Charlottetown last week. I ran through my emergency supplies. Did I have candles? Did I have gas? I thumbed through my Fiona index and started to immediately compose a more robust list of emergency preparedness: camping propane. Ice. Next time, would I be ready?
There is no question, Fiona is still working her way through the hearts and minds of Islanders. Remember that first morning, when we were scared to go outside? The unreal visions of our trees, our homes, our power lines. Did you stand on the lawns with your neighbors, the kids playing on giant unearthed maples, like it was just another day?
Do you remember the afternoon when the double rainbow came out, or the moment you decided that power was just a state of mind, anyway? Can you call to mind the wondrous moment when someone close to you passed you a towel and closed the door? Each soapy bubble like a miraculous, joyful beam of light? Do you remember the first night you walked home in the dark, and how bright the stars were? Or do you remember the sweet smell of midnight candlelight?
We do.
This book is dedicated to you, brave Prince Edward Islanders. It’s dedicated to the people who stood in awe. To the moments of joy, to the moments unseen. It’s dedicated to the moments of destruction, the moments of reconnection and the moments that time suspended in the ether, where we could all come together to help each other, to lift each other up, and to create harmony. Those incredible revelations that teenagers can live without the internet.
A reminder of our call for submissions: Prince Edward Island’s Pownal Street Press is looking to capture personal essays, photography, poetry and the quiet moments of introspection in between in all that was post-tropical storm Fiona. This photographic & essay collection will be published in Spring 2023 and include personal stories from the storm and the days that followed.
We thank the Island Nature Trust, for being the stewards of our land, and we are happy to announce that all the royalties from the sale of this book will be going back to them. Listen to Gen and I chat more about this on Mainstreet with Matt Rainnie.
Submission Guidelines
- All contributors are asked to send their contributions, photos and artwork to fiona@pownalstreetpress.com.
- Submissions will continue until Friday, November 18th, 2022.
- Pownal Street Press is looking for nonfiction pieces, such as immersion reportage, memoir, poetry and personal essay. DocX or in the body of the email is preferred.
- You may submit two-four photographs with one piece, up to 1000 words, or up to three poems.
- To be chosen, your submission must include your address, email and phone number.
- Please send us your full resolution photographs (1200 pixels or larger; jpeg only please) and they will be used as sent, including captions of up to 50 words. All photography must be your own or used with permission by the photographer.
- Visual artists are also encouraged to submit high resolution digital imagery of their mixed media or works.
- If published in the collection you will receive ONE copy of the book, Fiona: Prince Edward Island Accounts of Canada’s Biggest Storm.
- Only entries which are selected for publication in the anthology will be contacted. You can expect to hear back from us by mid-December.
- Fiona: Prince Edward Island Accounts of Canada’s Biggest Storm will be published June 2023.
- All royalties donated to the Island Nature Trust.
Media inquiries about the book can be directed to the Press’s team at hello@pownalstreetpress.com
