in the neighbourhood
Posted by Daniela Elza on Mar 05 2026 | Comment now »
I went up to Broadway to run some errands and go to the medical building. That was not supposed to take more than an hour. Two and a half hours later I make it home after stopping by the Book Warehouse on Broadway and impromptu chatting with booksellers, signing books, and taking photos. My book was right between Mary Oliver and Crushed Wild Mint. Here is the impromptu photo that happened.
Half a block later I ran into a neighbour drinking coffee outside Elysian Coffeeshop on the corner of Broadway and Ash, and we talked about Scar/city, our co-op, and Bulgarian literature. Ate for the first time a triangular snack of rice, and BBQ eel wrapped in sea weed. Like sushi, but to-go. Got Brita filters and chocolates at London Drugs. They still did not have tea lights. Then ran into a few more people before I got home. That is what good neighbourhoods do. That is why it is worth fighting for them.
*Puncturing holes in social norms*
Posted by Daniela Elza on Feb 12 2026 | Comment now »
Puncturing holes in social norms is the first review of Is This an Illness or an Accident?. It just came out in the British Columbia Review this week. I read it with trepidation … as this is my debut foray into prose.
I appreciate how the reviewer pulled through various threads and picked up on unifying themes. This is one of the questions that sat in the back of my mind. I know the unifying themes, and intuit them. I wanted to trust the reader they will pick up on them too, did not want to be too obvious. The gifts reviews give are exactly answers to such quandaries and questions you are left with after the book is published. I hope the book is also funny, in ways that one can be funny about very serious things.
“Elza’s essay collection, Is This an Illness or an Accident? is a wide-ranging, introspective essay collection that punctures holes in capitalism, small talk, and social norms. Elza writes about the nebulousness of belonging from the perspective of a “third culture kid”—she was born in Bulgaria, grew up in Nigeria, attended school in America, and now lives in Canada—the financial precarities and social interpretations of working (mothering, volunteering, writing) that isn’t recognized as work, the relationship between trees and language, the absurd impact of bureaucratic forms, the over-romanticization of travel, the lack of affordability in Vancouver, the evolution of her marriage, the vagaries of online dating, and the glorious superiority and family legacy of homemade yogurt.”
Daniela Elza puts everyday assumptions into a scrutinizing light.
“Is This an Illness or an Accident? is a deep-hearted memoir full of uncomfortable reflections and questions, and while hardly overwhelmingly optimistic, there are grounded, practical ideas for local improvement and involvement—perhaps starting with your gut. Best read under a tree, if you can.”
Thank you Jessica Poon for your engagement with this close to my heart book. Thank you Caitlin Press for the work you put into bringing this book out into the world. And thank you British Columbia Review for your dedication to the good work of engaging and connecting readers with books.
Lunch Poems 12-1pm on January 21st
Posted by Daniela Elza on Jan 19 2026 | Comment now »
You are invited to Lunch Poems on January 21st, 12noon -1pm
I will be reading from Scar/city (MQUP, 2025) during the lunch hour. I will be sharing the stage with Daniel Cowper.
at the Teck Gallery,
SFU Vancouver,
515 W. Hastings, Main Floor.
Hope to see you there.
books on display in my local branch of Vancity Credit Union
Posted by Daniela Elza on Jan 12 2026 | Comment now »
My Credit Union, Vancity, provides space for local businesses and artists to display their work. This month my books are on display. This is a first.
I’ll keep working on populating the top shelves, with some more colour, posters etc. Currently there are some poems on display from the latest book Scar/city and a description of the essay book Is This an Illness or an Accident? with QR codes.
What a great idea for a community bank where people line up to do their banking.
Thank you Vancity Credit Union. 
Happy New Year
Posted by Daniela Elza on Dec 31 2025 | Comments Off on Happy New Year
Here she comes!
Here we go!
Happy New Year.
May she be kinder, much wiser,
and a lot more peaceful.
May we come out the other end
more connected,
more loved and loving,
much stronger,
and more resilient.
the new books in the media
Posted by Daniela Elza on Dec 21 2025 | Comments Off on the new books in the media
I love when I hear back from people who are reading the new books. Thank you for all your thoughts on the essays and the poetry. These reflections and echos are little compasses for me, telling me what lands well with readers.
CBC posted a list of books by past CBC Literary Prizes winners and finalists that came out in 2025 . And Is this an Illness or an Accident? and Scar/city are on it.
Scar/city also made the BC Review Year-end Reviewer Picks. Thank you to the reviewers who selected my book for this list and this one sentence that says so much:
“These poems—on the tough topic of community and the forces that break it—dance through the streets with characteristic pitch-perfect timing, self-awareness, and sheer lyric exuberance.”
The latest issue of BC Book World newspaper had a paragraph on my twin book adventures this year and mention of the books, both of which speak of home and the fight we are in, but Scar/city exclusively focuses on what we are up against.
Here again is the first review of Scar/city in case you had not seen it. And I am looking forward to a first review of my debut prose collection: Is this an Illness or an Accident? I love firsts and the challenges and celebrations that come along with such moments.
Wishing every one a wonderful holiday season. May you rest, rejuvenate, and may there be much love and laughter and magic during this time of moving from the old year into the new.
Happy Solstice to all; may peace around the world grow with the light.
Fraser Valley Writers Festival – Nov. 7 & 8
Posted by Daniela Elza on Oct 20 2025 | Comments Off on Fraser Valley Writers Festival – Nov. 7 & 8
November 7/8th, I will be part of this years Fraser Valley Writers Festival. Check out the line up and schedule and sign up for these free events. Hope to see you there.
I will be taking part in the Panel on Silence. Currently I am writing a piece for that panel.
SILENCE PANEL
Date: Saturday, November 8th, 2025
Time: 11:15 a.m
Venue: B Building, Room B101
Tickets: FVWFsilence.eventbrite.com
I will also be doing a workshop on Metaphor.
WORKSHOP:
To Carry Across: The Power of Metaphor in Your Writing:
Date: Saturday, November 8th, 2025
Time: 1:30 p.m
Venue: B building, room B161.
Author: Daniela Elza
“To Carry Across: The Power of Metaphor in Your Writing”: Participants will explore how to use metaphor to maximum effect in their writing, and approach the idea of metaphor as a way of thinking.
Register for this workshop here.
Check out the other workshops and events, including the keynote the day before and uign up early as there is likely limited space.
Double Launch in Burnaby – Nov. 6th
Posted by Daniela Elza on Oct 20 2025 | Comments Off on Double Launch in Burnaby – Nov. 6th
Next up: November 6th I will be doing the final launch planned for the year with guest reader JJ Lee and moderator Onjana Yawnghwe. We will have some fun discussing cross genres from fiction to nonfiction, poetry to essay, personal narratives to spoken word.
DOUBLE LAUNCH for
SCAR/CITY and Is this an Illness or an Accident? by Daniela Elza
Guest reader JJ Lee, author of Measure of a Man, and editor of the Christmas anthology Better This Year
Moderator poet Onjana Yawnghwe, author of We Follow the River and the artist’s book Cloud.
Date: November 6th
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Studio 103,
6450 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby
This will be the last launch for the year. Come and join in the readings and conversations and perhaps get some books for your seasonal gifts and readings. Hope to see you there Burnaby.
DOUBLE LAUNCH – One Author – Two Books
Posted by Daniela Elza on Oct 09 2025 | Comments Off on DOUBLE LAUNCH – One Author – Two Books
The final planned launch event for Vancouver is October 15th at the Book Warehouse on Main Street. This will be a DOUBLE book launch for both books with moderators Rob Taylor and Christina Myers to speak across the genres the books span.
You can reserve a seat at the link below. Just scroll to the bottom of this link. Seating is limited. For those who want a seat I would suggest reserve your seat. 
It should be fun and a first for sure.
Thank you Book Warehouse for hosting us.
For those living in Burnaby, next up:
In November, I will do a similar event in The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts on Nov. 6th. Here is the poster for this upcoming event.