CURRICULUM VITAE:
Ursula Pflug is a writer living in Norwood, On.
Write to her at: pflugursula@gmail.com
Visit her on the web at: https://ursulapflug.ca

BIO AND EDUCATION:
Born in Tunis to German parents in 1958, Ursula Pflug grew up in Toronto. She attended the University of Toronto and The Ontario College of Art and Design. In workshop settings she studied playwriting with Judith Thompson and speculative fiction with Judith Merril. She has travelled in Canada, the US, North Africa, Europe, Jamaica, Japan, and Mexico. She has lived in New York City and in Hawai’i. Formerly a graphic designer, she focused on her writing after relocating to rural Peterborough County with her family in 1987 and currently lives in the village of Norwood with her partner, the multi-media artist Doug Back. 

PUBLICATIONS: BOOKS
NOVELS:

“MOTION SICKNESS.” Inanna Publications. Ed. Luciana Ricciutelli. Illustrated by SK Dyment. Toronto, On. August, 2014.
“THE ALPHABET STONES.” Ed. Jan Thornhill. Blue Denim Press. Coburg, On.: September, 2013.
“GREEN MUSIC.” Ed. Timothy Anderson. Tesseract Books. Edmonton, AB.: 2002.

STORY COLLECTIONS:

“HARVESTING THE MOON.” PS Publishing. Ed. Nick Gevers and Peter Crowther. U.K.: July, 2014.
“AFTER THE FIRES.” Tightrope Books. Ed. Halli Villegas and Myna Wallin. Toronto, On.: July 2008

EDITED ANTHOLOGIES:

“THEY HAVE TO TAKE YOU IN.” Hidden Brook Press. Ed. Ursula Pflug. Brighton, On. August, 2014.
“THE PLAYGROUND OF LOST TOYS.” Exile Editions. Ed. Ursula Pflug and Colleen Anderson. Holstein, On. November, 2015.

PUBLICATIONS: SHORT STORIES

An award winning short fiction writer, Pflug has published over seventy-five short stories in professional genre and literary publications in Canada, the United States and the UK, in print and online. From 1979 till the present her work has appeared in magazines and anthologies including Now Magazine, Quarry, Tesseracts, Leviathan, The Nine Muses, Strange Horizons, Fantasy, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Nemonymous, Back Brain Recluse, Transversions, The Antigonish Review, Write, Bamboo Ridge, The Best of Strange Horizons, Prairie Fire and many others.

SHORT FICTION PUBLICATIONS: 2000-2014

77 – “STONES, MAYBE.” King in Yellow Anthology. Ed. Joe Pulver Sr. Publication info TBA. 2015.

76 – “PYTHON.” Lightspeed Magazine. Ed. John Joseph Adams. WWW: Summer, 2015. Reprint.

75 – “THE WATER MAN.” Anarcho SF Anthology. Obsolete Press. USA. April 13, 2014.

74 – Chapter Five, “THE ALPHABET STONES. The Link. Ed. Valerie Smith.
Campbellford, On. Winter Solstice Issue, 2013. Excerpt.

73 – “THE MEANING OF YELLOW.” Write, The Magazine of the Writers’ Union of Canada. Volume 40, Number 3. Ed Hal Niedzviecki. Toronto, On.: Winter, 2013.

72 – “MOTHER DOWN THE WELL.” Dead North Anthology. Exile Editions. Ed. Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Toronto, On. October 1st, 2013.

71 – “THE DREAMS OF TREES.” Bibliotheca Fantastica Anthology. Ed. Don Pizarro and Claude Lalumiere. Dagan Books. USA. July 10, 2013.

70 – “A SHOWER OF FIREFLIES.” The Broad Universe Sampler. Ed. MeiLin Miranda et al. Octoer 31st, 2012. USA. Reprint.

69 – “THE CLAN OF THE CRAZY BABIES.” The Lion and the Aardvark Anthology. Stone Skin Press. Ed. Robin D. Laws. London, UK. Fall, 2012.

68 – “CASTOROIDES.” Prose Poem. Stone Telling Magazine. Ed. Rose Lemberg and Shweta Narayan. WWW: Summer 2012.

67 – “AS IF LEAVES COULD HIDE INVISIBLE BEINGS.” That Not Forgotten Anthology. Ed. Bruce Kauffman. Hidden Books Press. Kingston, On. Spring 2012

66 – “MY MOTHER’S SKELETON.” That Not Forgotten Anthology. Ed. Bruce Kauffman. Hidden Books Press. Kingston, On. Spring 2012

65 – “HOLY MACKERELS.” Chizine Mega-Issue Ed. Brett Savory. Spring 2011. Reprint.

64 – “EVEN THE MIRROR.” Null Immortalis Anthology, Nemonymous Ten. Ed. D.F. Lewis. Megazanthus Press, Norfolk, England. 2010.

63 – “HARVESTING THE MOON.” Postscripts 22/23. (U.K.) Ed. Pete Crowther. PS Publishing. Hornsea, England. Fall 2010?

62 – “BUS OWLS.” The Link. Ed. Sharon Hamilton. Campbellford, On. March 2010.

61 – “NO WOMAN IS AN ISLAND.” Gulch Anthology. Ed. Karen Correia da Silva et al. Steel Bananas, Toronto. Fall 2009.

60 – “THE EXIT SIGN.” Podcastle. Ed. Rachel Swirsky. WWW: October, 2009. Audio Reprint.

59 – “A SHOWER OF FIREFLIES.” Star*Line. Ed. Bruce Boston. SFPA Press. Ocala, Fl..: Nov. 2008. revised Reprint.

58 – “THE THINGS IN THE BOX.” Fantasy Magazine. Ed. Sean Wallace and Cat Rambo. USA. World Wide Web, Aug. 2008.

57 – “KAOLANI, FROM KAUAI.” Bamboo Ridge # 91. Ed. Derrell Lum and Eric Chock. Bamboo Ridge Press. Honolulu, Hi.: Feb. 2008.

56 – “AIRPORT SHOES.” Strange Horizons. Ed. Jed Hartman and Susan Marie Groppie. USA. WWW: December, 2007.

55 – “BORDER CROSSINGS.” Bandersnatch Anthology. Ed. Sean Wallace and Paul Tremblay. Prime Books: Rockville, Md.: Nov. 2007.

54 – “RED VELVET DUST.” Zencore Anthology: Nemonymous Seven. Ed. D.F. Lewis. Megazanthus Press, U.K.: June 2007.

53 – “ISOLDE, SHEA, AND THE DONKEY BREA.” Strange Horizons. Ed Jed Hartman and Susan Marie Groppie. USA. WWW: December, 2006.

52 – “FIRES.” Anthology: In The Dark: Tales of the Supernatural. Ed. Myna Wallin and Halli Villegas. Tightrope Books. Toronto, On.: October, 2006.

51 – “THE EYES OF HORUS.” Anthology: The Nine Muses. Ed. Forrest Aguirre and Deborah Layne. Wheatland Press. Oregon: May, 2005.

50 -“BLACK LACE.” On Spec Special Addiction Issue. Ed. Steve Mohn. Copper Pig Writer’s Society. Edmonton: Fall, 2004.

49 – “THE WIZARD OF WARDENCLYFFE.” Anthology: Leviathan Four: Cities. Ed. Forrest Aquirre. Ministry of Whimsy. Tallahassee, Fl.: Fall, 2004

48 – “TRADING POLARIS.” Ed. Keith Brooke. Infinity Plus. UK. WWW, March 2003.

47 – “IN DREAMS WE REMEMBER.” LCRW # 12. Ed. Gavin J. Grant. Small Beer Press, Northampton, MA.: June 2003.

46 – “THE LAST ARABIAN NIGHT.” Ed. Esther Vincent. The Cooked and Eaten. WWW: Spring 2003. I withdrew this I think

45 – “PYTHON.” Album Zutique # 1. Ed. Jeff VanderMeer. Ministry of Whimsy. Tallahassee, Fl.: Spring 2003. Reprint.

44 -“LATE FOR DINNER.” Anthology: The Best of Strange Horizons. Ed. Maryann Mohanraj. Lethe Press. Maple Shade, NJ.: 2003.

43 – “A RIVER GARDEN.” Land/Space Anthology. Ed. Candas Jane Dorsey and Judy McCroskey. Tesseract Books, Edmonton: Spring 2003.

42 – “PYTHON.” Ed. Keith Brooke. Infinity Plus. UK. WWW: March, 2002.

41 – “HOLY MACKERELS.” Ed. John Cullen. Deep Outside SFFH. USA. WWW: Feb., 2002.

40 – “SKYRISE.” Chiaroscuro. Ed. Brett Savory. WWW: Summer 2001.

39 – “BRING ME FIRE, APE.” Terra Incognita Magazine #6. Ed. Jan Berrien Berends. Landsdowne, PA.: Fall 2001.

38 – “LATE FOR DINNER.” Strange Horizons. Ed. Maryann Mohanraj and Jed Hartman. USA. WWW: Jan 2001.

37 – “BIG EARS.” Transversions: An Anthology of New Fantastic Literature. Rd. Sally Tomasevic and Marcel Gagne. Black Orchid Press, Toronto.: Fall 2000.

36 – “THEATRE ARTS.” The Antigonish Review, #120. Antigonish, Nova Scotia: Winter 2000.

35 – “ONE DAY I’M GONNA GIVE UP THE BLUES FOR GOOD.” Alexandria Digital Literature. Ed. Kathy Ice. WWW, Seattle, WA.: Winter 2000. Reprint.

34 – “SEWING FORGETFULNESS.” Clean Sheets. Ed. Maryann Mohanraj. USA. WWW: Winter 1999/2000

1-33 1979-2000 omitted. More info available upon request.

REVIEWS, REVIEWING, EDITING, TEACHING, and TAUGHT WORK:

Pflug is a professionally produced playwright, freelance editor, creative writing instructor and journalist. She has served on the executive of SF CANADA; Riverbank Productions, director Rhonda Payne’s theatre company, and The Cooked and Eaten, a Peterborough based reading series featuring local and nationally touring authors. She is a current member of TWUC and SF Canada. From 2011 to 2014 she served as artistic director at Cat Sass Literary Nights, a Norwood, Ontario based reading series featuring local, national and internationally touring authors, funded by The Canada Council for the Arts, The Ontario Arts Council and the League of Canadian Poets.

In the early eighties she entered journalism by writing about visual art for Toronto’s NOW Magazine. More recently, she has published dozens of book reviews at home and internationally, focusing on Canadian fiction authors. Her writing about books, art and dance has appeared in The Peterborough Examiner, The Link, Strange Horizons, Mix Magazine, The Country Connection, Now Magazine, The Internet Review of Science Fiction, The New York Review of Science Fiction, The Dance Current and more.

She has worked as an editor at The Peterborough Review, Takeout, The Link and for private clients. Her first edited book, They Have To Take You In (Hidden Brook Press, Summer 2014) was a fundraiser for mental health. The Playground of Lost Toys, her second anthology, co-edited with Colleen Anderson, appeared in 2015 from Exile Editions.

Pflug has taught creative writing workshops at Trinity Square Video, Cat Sass Coffeehouse, The Young Authors’ Conference, The Word is Wild Literary Festival, The San Miguel Writers Conference and elsewhere. She mentors private clients in fiction writing and since 2008 has taught creative writing at Loyalist College, Campbellford Campus and at Trent University with Derek Newman-Stille.

Her short story, “Black Lace,” which first appeared in On Spec’s Special Addictions Issue, was taught at the University of Mysore in India, in a course on science fiction by Canadian women, which included stories by Margaret Atwood, Phyllis Gotlieb, Nalo Hopkinson and Elisabeth Vonarburg. Her story “Gone With The Sea” first published in Tesseracts 8, was taught in a course on Canadian Futurefiction at Mount Allison University.

Pflug has been extensively interviewed, at Reality Skimming, Fantastic Metropolis, Speculating Canada, The Arthur, 49th Shelf and elsewhere.

Her books and short fiction publications have been widely reviewed in the genre and literary press. Her book length works have received advance praise from luminaries including Heather Spears, Tim Wynne-Jones, Jeff VanderMeer, Charles de Lint, Mathew Cheney, Leanne Simpson, Candas Jane Dorsey and more.

Lists of theatre work, non-fiction publications, interviews or reviews available on request.

COLLABORATION:

Pflug has worked extensively as a collaborator, co-creating works in theatre, film and performance. Collaborations of note include:

“The Wizard Of Wardenclyffe,” a story about Nicola Tesla, appeared in the WFA winning anthology series, Leviathan, (Ministry of Whimsy, Florida, 2004) edited by Forrest Aguirre. In 2008, the novelette inspired a collaboration with multi-media artists Shelagh Young, Doug Back, and choreographer Bill James. Performances by James and others became part of Young’s exhibition at Pentimento Gallery in Toronto, entitled “Domestic Science.” The dance component was also presented at Dancemakers’ Studio in the Distillery District, as part of a series focussing on the work of mature choreographers, curated by Claudia Moore. Lastly, the production was shown at Emergency, Peterborough’s annual dance series showcasing local and emerging dance and performance artists. Funded by The Ontario Arts Council.

“In Dreams We Remember,” was written as a monologue for “The Maeve Project,” a collectively created theatre piece directed by Rhonda Payne, funded by the OAC and the Laidlaw Foundation. (Peterborough, 2000.) It was published as a memorial to Ms. Payne in the journal, “Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet,” edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant. (Small Beer Press, NH, 2003.) Funded by The Ontario Arts Council.

“Hallelujah I’m A Bum,” co-authored with Professor Ian McLachlan. “Hallaleujah” was a historical 1930’s musical, co-produced by Rhonda Payne’s Riverbank Productions and Rock n’ Rail Historical Festival, with full production in the historical town hall and train station. (Havelock, Ontario, Summer 1998.) Directed by Rhonda Payne. Funded by the Ontario Arts Council, The Laidlaw Foundation and Riverbank Productions.

Pflug’s first published short story, “Memory Lapse at The Waterfront,” reprinted in After the Fires, originally appeared in New Bodies (Emanation Press, Toronto, 1981) Pflug co-wrote the script and storyboard for the short film version, directed by Carol McBride. Waterfront toured festivals and was purchased by WTN. A digitized version of Waterfront was included in the promotional package for After the Fires. Funded by The Ontario Arts Council.

GRANTS AND AWARDS:

Pflug has received numerous Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and Laidlaw Foundation grants in support of her novels, short fiction, literary criticism and plays. She has received small press awards in the US and the UK for her short fiction and prose poems. Pflug’s fiction has been shortlisted or nominated for the Sunburst Award, the Aurora Award, the Pushcart Prize, the 3 Day Novel Contest, the Descant Novella Award, the KM Hunter Award, The ReLit Award and others. Detailed info available on request.

APPEARANCES:

Ursula Pflug has read, signed her work and participated in panel discussions at numerous conferences and reading series including: The Word is Wild (Maynooth), World Fantasy Convention (Richmond Hill), World Science Fiction Convention (Toronto and Montreal), Ad Astra (Toronto), Polaris (Toronto), SFContario (Toronto), Inspire International Book Fair (Toronto), Wiscon Feminist Science Fiction Convention (Madison, Wisconsin), When Words Collide (Calgary, AB), San Miguel Writers’ Conference, (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico) Chapters Peterborough and more. She has read her fiction at ChiSeries Toronto, ChiSeries Peterborough, Word on the Street (Toronto), Word Northumberland (Coburg), LitLive (Hamilton), The Cooked and Eaten (Peterborough), Cat Sass Literary Nights (Norwood), Drawn and Quarterly (Montreal) and more. Detailed info available on request.