About

Jess Taylor is a writer and poet who works on the traditional lands of the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat peoples and the Missaussagas of the Credit, in the city now called Toronto. Her second collection, Just Pervs, was released by Book*hug in Canada in September 2019. Recently, Just Pervs was a finalist for the 2020 Lambda Literary Award in Bisexual Fiction. A short story from that collection, "Two Sex Addicts Fall in Love", was long-listed for The Journey Prize. The title story from her first collection, Pauls (Book*hug Press, 2015), "Paul," received the 2013 Gold Fiction National Magazine Award. Play is her first novel.

Jess is currently working on a second novel, Experiencer; a third story collection, The Problem; and a memoir, Pelvis. Jess also runs an Instagram series called Stop the Doom-Scroll, where she interviews one writer a month and invites them to read short passages from their recently published books. When Jess isn’t writing, reading, or collaborating with other writers, she parents and works in heathcare education.

Jess Taylor IS Grateful for the support Of :

The Ontario Arts Council

The Canada Council of the Arts

The Writer’s Trust

Reflecting on Where I Write and My Personal History

Since 2021, I have committed to donating 10% of my income from writing, split equally among the following organizations:

Black Lives Matter Canada

Black Health Alliance

Indigenous Climate Action

Indian Residential School Survivor’s Society

This will typically be done in one lump sum during tax season.

I am a white settler who lives and works in Toronto— the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, the Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, the Chippewa, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. I give thanks for the ability to work and live on this land with many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples and settlers from all over the world.

I grew up in Caledon, Ontario, which is also traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, the Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, the Chippewa, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. This land is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties.

My mother is a white settler of Irish, German, and English decent who grew up in Massachusetts, traditional territory of Mashpee Wampanoag, Aquinnah Wampanoag, Nipmuc, and Massachusett tribal nations, mostly on Nipmuc territory. This land was forcibly taken through genocide. My father is a white settler of Irish, Scottish, and Pennsylvania Dutch decent who grew up in Brantford, Ontario, traditional territory of the Haudensaunee and Anishnaabeg.

In acknowledging this history, I recognize my role in the on-going oppression of Indigenous peoples in Canada and the United States. I stand behind the Indigenous leaders and activists who are working to dismantle oppression and decolonize these spaces.

I was inspired to write this land acknowledgement and personal history after watching a presentation by Cindy Blackstock about inequities and history of oppression in the child protection system. She explained that it is important for reconciliation to explain who you are, your family history, and where you came from.