The Fires We Lit: Now Published!
What if imagination is our greatest superpower for change?
The Fires We Lit: Illustrated Stories of Women Reimagining the Rules brings together 25 women connected to STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) and innovation. Through a guided creative writing process, we transformed lived experience into speculative storytelling – asking what becomes possible when we stop only surviving the rules, and begin reimagining them.
The book was published on July 28th and became a #1 bestseller in 3+ Amazon categories: Canadian Literature; Canadian Short Stories; and Canadian Women Writers.
We are launching a community celebration in Calgary on Sep 12, which includes book signing, readings, food, and an art exhibit of the illustrations – join us!
The Process
Workshops and community-building are at the heart of this anthology. Gayathri led a series of writing sessions centred on feminist fantasy, fiction, and guided autobiography, with special guest talks from Amy Abe, Lina Bahlawan, and Kelly Kaur. All 25 writers were also supported through peer feedback and professional editorial guidance.
Each story is paired with an original interior illustration by fine artist Cynthia Cabrera, who also created the book’s cover. In keeping with the spirit of the project, the anthology is intentionally human-made: the stories and illustrations were created through reflection, craft, dialogue, and care — not AI generation.
The Team
This project is made possible in part due to a grant from Calgary Arts Development awarded to Gayathri Shukla, lead editor and author. Co-authors include:
Najah Al-Atassi, Akanksha Anshu, Lina Bahlawan, Laleh Behjat, Jane Desrochers, Maryann Deutscher, Dania El Chaar, Elena Esina, Miriam Fabijan, Morgan Garnett, Monica Hernandez, Jasmine Kang, Kelly Kaur, Geri Livell, Carrie McManus, Zoong Nguyên, Bukola Ojemakinde, Charlotte Anyango Ong’ang’a, Kinia Romanowska, Humaira Salik, Navshina Bhojani Savory, Gayathri Shukla, Puja Suri, AJ Vallis, and Stephanie Vanvliet-Wells
We are grateful to be joined by copyeditor Lindy Pfiel, illustrator Cynthia Cabrera, community engagement lead Anshu Stephen, Foreword author Josee Tremblay, and STEM champion Dr. Laleh Behjat.
Common Questions
During times when uncertainty surrounds us — and hope feels out of reach — this project offers a space to reimagine bold new futures. Our genre is auto-fiction. Each author crafted stories (approx. 1,000-1,500 words) through a guided process led by Gayathri and her team.
Rooted in lived experiences, but infused with fiction, fantasy and imagination, The Fires We Lit is philosophically informed by bell hooks’ work Feminism is for Everybody, which inspires us to create spaces grounded in empathy, mutual care, and truth-telling. Learn more about the story themes and author bios (also shown in flipbook above).
We offered a three-part virtual workshop series combining guided autobiography with creative writing tools:
1. Story Sparks – exploring lived experiences in STEM through story prompts inspired by feminist storytelling frameworks
2. Story Arc – playing with character development and world-building, using fiction approaches to plot
3. Story Mechanics – refining story voice and short story narrative structure
Participants also gained the support of a professional editor, received inspiration from guest speakers who shared their creative process, and a supportive community to share and receive feedback on their stories.
Unlike other anthologies which typically charge participation fees (needed to cover costs of publication), this project was completely free for participants! We are fortunate to have artist funding support from Calgary Arts Development, awarded to Gayathri as the lead author and editor.
This project has also been substantially subsidized by Campfire Kinship Storytelling Inc. through in-kind donations of time to fully execute the project end-to-end, which are outside of CADA artist funding.
We opened a call for applications in Nov 2025 and welcomed applications from:
Women and gender-diverse individuals (18+) of all backgrounds in Canada.
With lived experience navigating STEM or an interest in STEM themes.
Those who are open to exploring both autobiographical and fictional writing. Applicants did not need to be a professional writer to work with us.
Those committed to the community process, which includes attending workshops, respectful and generous conduct in giving/receiving peer feedback, and last but definitely not least, an eagerness to have fun growing their voice within a supportive group.
For all who applied to be part of the cohort – thank you for your interest! We did have a waitlist and hope to offer future writing opportunities on our newsletter.
Many! Each co-author received:
A spot in a three-part workshop series, facilitated by Campfire Kinship, which are at the HEART of this project
Access to creative prompts rooted in guided autobiography and speculative fiction
Plenty of opportunities for group sharing and peer feedback
- Unique art illustration to accompany each story
Editorial support to help refine final story
Recognition as co-author in the published anthology
Free book copy and ticket to book launch celebration
Features on our website, social media, and other media opportunities
And above all, a story that’s wholly unique — imagined, shaped, and shared by each person, through the joy of writing in community. The way a story grows stronger when witnessed, and the magic of imagining futures together – we believe these are immeasurable benefits!
The anthology will be published in both digital and print formats on Amazon by Campfire Kinship Press. We also aim to make it widely accessible through community partners, local libraries or bookstores. Our book went live on July 28, 2026 with a Calgary launch planned on Sep 12.
Through a lot of labor of love! We are very excited to welcome fine artist Cynthia Cabrera who is also our cover designer in Landed. Besides the oil painting cover for this project, Cynthia created 26 original black and white illustrations in the book. Her style is one of magical realism – infusing a dash of fantasy with another layer of visual interpretation to each story.
Yes. As a core principle of equity, co-authors retain full copyright of their individual story and have granted us permission to publish their story in the anthology and related promotional materials.
All proceeds (including grant funds and book sales) will go directly toward covering the costs of publishing the anthology — including artist honorariums, workshops, editing, design, printing, and launch activities. Any remaining proceeds at the time of book launch will be used to purchase additional books to be donated to a STEM focused nonprofit or community organization.
We recognize the immense care and intention required in such community-engaged projects and are grateful to all our collaborators – many of whom go above and beyond what is offered as honorariums and even volunteer their own time to make the project successful. Whether it is through subsidizing this project, continuing to host storytelling spaces (including our volunteer podcast Hearth 2 Heart at UCalgary CJSW station), we are committed to community impact.
Campfire Kinship Press, an imprint of Campfire Kinship Storytelling Inc.
Absolutely! We would be happy to explore that with you – feel free to check out our workshops page and get in touch.
Our writing workshops for this book concluded in Jan 2026 and we received great feedback from folks eager to explore storytelling processes, taking pride in having their voice published and having fun in community along the way!
Absolutely! If you would like to sponsor a launch virtually or in-person at your city – email us team@campfirekinship.com to discuss our sponsoship package. If you are in Calgary, we hope you can join us Sep 12. We are also open to setting up book readings at local bookstores and events.