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- 34 | Survive out of spite
Deadmedia shares monthly peeks behind the scenes, writing updates, and creativity thoughts from SF/F author Samantha Garner. Learn more here.
Hi everyone,
I’ll be honest, I’m writing this much later than I usually write my newsletter editions. Life these days has been—to put it mildly—bad. Like many of you, I’ve felt it difficult to keep going with regular life things amidst all the very distressing world things. I try to remember the sentiments that have been buoying me over the past few months, things like: we can all make a difference, art is protest, community keeps us safe, having hope means you have work to do, you won’t survive if you don’t rest and quench your anger sometimes. Hell, my latest Open Book column is about reasons to keep writing when it feels futile.
I’ve never been the sort of person who can attend protests or organize or even confidently get a cohesive fucking point across in a few words. But that doesn’t mean I do nothing. I share resources when I can, I consistently let my government representatives know what I want them to fight for, I donate, I support others, and I write my books about everyday people chipping away at oppressive systems. I’ll probably never confidently write a book with all the answers to liberation in it. But I can do my own small thing and line it up right behind everyone else doing their own small things. To me that means a lot.
I’m going to share some resources that I found helpful. But first, a quick writing update.
What I’ve been writing
As I mentioned in my last edition of Deadmedia, I’m in the second act of book three in Project Awakened. Writing the last act of Seeker of the Lost Song felt like an avalanche but the last act of this novella feels more gentle, more reflective. One of the themes of this trilogy is the various forms community takes. The trilogy’s three protagonists occupy different roles in their communities, ranging from outsider to insider. They see their attitudes toward community-building shift as the trilogy goes on. They learn through loss and hardship what they actually want to fight for, where they actually belong. So, you can imagine that it’s been quite emotional to write the end of this story and weave all those threads together into a way that feels impactful. It’s ridiculously rewarding, but also … oof.
We’ve got a weekend blizzard coming our way here in the Greater Toronto Area so I plan to stave off cabin fever by eating storm chips and continuing Lumi’s story, descending into her weird little world and having a blast.
Resources to support Canadians
If you’re Canadian you’ve likely already seen those lists of Canadian-made businesses to support and products to buy in light of the tariffs imposed by the US government. Those tariffs are postponed as of the time of writing, but I wanted to share some resources to support Canadians anyway. This whole trade war bullshit stresses me out on multiple dimensions but I can’t deny that supporting our local communities is a good thing.
Sunni, a brilliant bookstagrammer from Vancouver, has put together a few lists of Canadian and Indigenous publishers:
Here are some other resources for supporting Canadians:
Diana Chan’s quick Instagram Reel on understanding Canadian product labels
Crowdsourced list of Canadian brands to support (started by Knix, hence the giant logo)
Food Banks Canada - I’ve had to turn to a food bank in the past and being in that situation was scary and demoralizing. But I got food and compassion hen I needed it. I can’t pretend that our lives will be just fine in a trade war, but supporting your local food bank is one way to help keep people going.
On a similar note, food bank reliance in my city rose by 78% last year but funding only rose by 2%. In an Ontario survey, over a million people visited food banks from 2023-2024 but nearly 40% of food banks had to reduce the amount of food they gave. If you live in Ontario, please vote on February 27 for an MPP who actually gives a shit about their constituents.
Speaking of voting, here’s a quick primer on why Doug Ford is a garbage Premier.
Remember the “buy French’s over Heinz” boycott from years ago? It made an impact that still lasts to this day. Many people still don’t buy Heinz even though they apologized profusely. We don’t forget so easily.
Just a quick note: You don’t have to be perfect. You probably can’t buy 100% Canadian, and that’s alright. We’re all doing what we can, and that’s honestly admirable ♥️. Let me know if there’s a resource you think I should add, and I’ll update the web version of this post.
Other resources
Deepa Iyer’s Social Change Map, outlining the “ten roles that people and organizations often show up in (such as weaver, builder, and storyteller) when they are responding to crises, participating in social change movements”
“25 Ways to Resist in 2025” by the phenomenal author and certified fiction book coach Karen A Parker
For Americans, the Southern Poverty Law Center offers the “Civics for Democracy” series to help people learn and develop the skills necessary to push for governmental accountability
Again for Americans, you may have already seen social media posts about your rights during an ICE encounter, but in case you haven’t: here’s an article from the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law
Another for Americans: “Musk or Us Congressional Recess Toolkit” - this consists of mostly in-person things but there’s some advice for those unable to follow these protest actions during Congressional recess
I want to hear from you!
Thanks for reading Deadmedia today. What are you finding comfort in these days? Leave me a comment or hit reply to send me an email!
Talk soon,
-Sg.
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