The Team - The X Page: A Storytelling Workshop

meet the team.

Tasneem Jamal was born in Uganda and immigrated to Canada in 1975. After more than a decade spent working as a journalist at a number of Canadian daily newspapers, she published her debut novel Where the Air Is Sweet in 2014.

Raised in Waterloo, Ontario, Lily is a seasoned actor, artist, and Journalism graduate who has mastered the diverse realms of performance art. Beyond her acting skills, Lily is a former executive for The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) and has made her mark as a director, cultural advisor & storytelling facilitator specializing in theatre & dance. Lily joined JM Drama/The Registry as a director in 2017, advanced to Vice President in 2019, and has been serving as the Chair since 2020.

Anandi Carroll-Woolery is an auditor with the Government of Canada. She is the host of Your Region This Week on Rogers tv, and also an active member of Toastmasters International. Anandi is a member of the local theatre troupe “Flex We Talent”, where she has served as writer, producer, and director for many of their projects. Anandi participated in the 2020 X Page Workshop and her story was titled “The Virgin.”

Maha Eid is a Graduate Studies and Research Officer at the University of Waterloo. She worked as a research assistant for the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition at the University of Saskatchewan as part of a data collection team for a study on household food insecurity of Syrian refugees in Canada. Maha participated in the first X Page Workshop in 2019 and her story was titled “My Cherished Siblings.”

Cecilia Vizcaíno is originally from Argentina where she studied Literature and Editing. In 2001 she moved to Canada and worked as a Spanish teacher and editor. She then studied to be a library technician, and a storyteller. She likes to tell stories in English and Spanish to children and adults. She is currently a Senior Library Assistant at the Kitchener Public Library. Cecilia participated in The X Page Workshop in 2021 with her story “Nunca más (Never Again.)” .

Melissa Durrell is an insatiably curious news junkie and political wonk. Sharpening her journalism and storytelling skills as a CTV reporter, she is now the President of Durrell Communications, where she ampliflies changemakers from tech firms to women’s human rights organizations. Melissa also served two terms as a Waterloo City Councillor in the Uptown ward where she lives.

Pamela Mulloy is the Editor of The New Quarterly and the Creative Director of the Wild Writers Literary Festival. Her debut novel The Deserters was published by Véhicule Press in April, 2018. She has lived in Poland, England and the United States and now lives in Kitchener, Ontario.

Carrie Snyder is the author of four books of fiction, including Girl Runner, which was translated into a dozen languages and was a finalist for the Rogers Writers Trust Prize, and The Juliet Stories, a finalist for the Governor General’s award. Her new novel, Francie's Got a Gun, is published by Knopf Canada (Summer, 2022). She has taught creative writing at the University of Waterloo.

Nada Abusaleh is a next generation theatre artist and core member of Cosmic Fishing Theatre, an experimental project-based collective based in Waterloo Region. She’s an actor, creator, and artistic producer. Nada is currently an Apprentice in Artistic Directing with MT Space in Waterloo, and an associate artist with Tottering Biped Theatre in Hamilton. She is currently developing SHADED, a shadow puppetry and mime performance creation. Nada made her debut in assistant directing with Theatre Mada’s I Don’t Know, which premiered at IMPACT Festival in 2021.

Lamees Al Ethari holds a PhD in English Language and Literature from the University of Waterloo, where she has been teaching creative and academic writing since 2015. She has published a collection of poems titled From the Wounded Banks of the Tigris (2018) and, more recently, a memoir titled Waiting for the Rain (2019).

Eleni Zaptses is the Managing Editor of The New Quarterly and Festival Manager of the Wild Writers Literary Festival. Born and raised in Waterloo to immigrant parents from Greece, she is also a fiction writer who's debut short story appeared in carte blanche. Her next story was published in The Fiddlehead's 300th issue in July 2024.

Tarunima Mittal is presently pursuing her MA in Child Study and Education at the University of Toronto as a Primary-Junior Teacher Candidate. When she is not thinking and reading about children and education, she enjoys creating art that captures people and their personalities. She is inspired by stories and by beauty emerging in unexpected places. One day, Tarunima aspires to illustrate a children's book.