The biggest and scariest question when we closed our studio doors was — if we don’t have this, who are we?

Of course I knew we weren’t books and walls and chairs, but I needed something else to grip onto. So we started to talk about it. A lot.

Here we are in the last wisps of the year, and I’m thinking about what I want to be a part of building in 2022. I say “part of” because I’m not interested in making things alone anymore. I actually think that whole idea is a sham.

Hello Kind One,

If you give gifts in December, or any time, finding the right one for a writer can be hard.

Hello Dear Heart.

It’s been a gorgeous five years at 1898 Danforth.

Hello beautiful community. It’s Coach Ailsa here. Ever since I moved to Canada, nine years ago, fall has been my favourite season.

Hello Sweet One. I’m sitting in the main room of the studio, early morning, with a ball of sadness in my throat.

Hello Beautiful Human.

Mid-August can be a little strange, can’t it? Whatever I do, I get tugged down by all the things I thought the summer would be.

Is anyone else feeling super awkward about this transition out of COVID-19 restrictions? I was somehow imagining a feeling of total freedom and safety, everyone out in the streets, in restaurants. Hugs are back, stores are open, take a lick of my ice cream, let’s go to the dentist. Of course that’s not what’s happening…

Hello! Sophia here, one of the writing coaches at Firefly, with a story. It was 2015 and I was in the deep woods of California, struggling to maneuver up a ropes course.

Has it been “one of those weeks”? Already?

I think we’re all feeling it… Like the tide is rising on our little island of okayness, and there’s less and less space to move. Maybe we’re already standing on one foot…

Here’s one thing I know but constantly forget about writing — it takes a lot more time than I think.
Not only time but patience.
Not only patience but surrender.
Not only surrender but generosity.

Hello! Asifa, Kim and Mary here, three of the coaches at Firefly.

Way back in March, we ran our first ever retreat for BIPOC writers, and it was so beautiful that we quickly decided we wanted to create a space for BIPOC writers (us included) that meets regularly.

I want to take you back to a day in grade four.

It was spring, warm. My classmates and I streamed into the classroom and found, curiously, that all the desks had been rearranged.

A little while ago, Coach Britt texted a photo to the Firefly team and said — this reminds me of us.

It was taken by her friend, Lisa…

Thank you.

We’re in the last hours of 2020 and I don’t know if anyone is checking their email, but I’m slipping out of vacation to say — thank you so much for helping to keep Firefly humming through this difficult year.

The other day I was clicking through old newsletters and I found one from right after lockdown started in Toronto.

It announced — in what felt like a VERY cautious tone — that the studio would be closed for two weeks.

Here we are, late fall, holding on tight.

The nights are sinking in, COVID-19 numbers are skyrocketing, the American election remains in tense limbo, and some of us are preparing for holidays we never imagined.

We have news!

After many years, two beloved behind-the-scenes Fireflies will be moving on to new horizons — our office manager Bree is pivoting her attention to her organizing business Well Placed, and our Hello Writer manager Emma is refocusing on her new life in Australia.