Portal, VIU’s full-colour literary magazine, celebrates its 35th anniversary on Friday April 24th at Beban Auditorium A, 2300 Bowen Road, marking the accomplishments of its 34 student authors and photographers.
Portal 2026 will be on newsstands across the country in May, but will launch when doors open at 6:30 on the 24thfollowed by an evening of readings from contributors, music by the Wellington Jazz Academy, and the awarding of Creative Writing department scholarships and recognition of graduates. The issue’s Managing Editors Taylor Fleming and Alexandra Groenwoldt will emcee, and Dean Katharine Rollwagen and department Chair Craig Taylor and other faculty will be there to cheer them on.
“This year, the 35th-anniversary issue of Portal takes flight celebrating human connection in an increasingly technology-driven world. As we witness growing unrest, both in this country and beyond, we recognize the importance of amplifying voices and championing a vision of peace, tolerance, acceptance, and the unwavering belief that we are stronger together,” says Groenwoldt.
In assembling these 100 pages of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and scripts, Portal also shares feature interviews with poets Marilyn Dumont and Amy Mattes, fiction writers Sharon Butala and tonia laird, and former VIU faculty Kathy Page, as well as reviews of their latest books. The issue also showcases the winning screenplay from Portal’s 2025 Portent Script contest by Brendan Wanderer, Plus One. Next year’s $500 Portent Prize is for Nonfiction.
“As you open this issue, jump into the balloon’s basket and take in the landscape past, present, and future. It ushers in stories that will leave you heady and breathless, and deliver you to unimaginable heights,” says Taylor.
Tickets to the launch cost $25 and include a $12 copy of the 2026 edition of the magazine. They can be purchased at the door, but advance sales help to confirm numbers. Contact Joy Gugeler, the magazine’s Publisher, at joy.gugeler@viu.ca to arrange a purchase.
“Revisiting 35 years of incredible talent embodied in these genres, works of visual art, and photography, we are proud to recognize how far Portal has come from its earliest days as a black-and-white, photocopied, 8.5 x 11 pamphlet stapled together on Malaspina’s campus,” says Gugeler, the magazine’s publisher.
“Our community of authors, artists, publishers, advertisers, professors, and partners have been invaluable in offering support and fostering ambition for full-colour, art on every page, book reviews, interviews, ads, a reading series, a national competition, podcasts, merch, launches for 150 guests, and national newsstand distribution,” Gugeler ads.
Follow Portal on Facebook and Instagram for a cover reveal and teasers for the magazine’s contents. Portal 2026 can be purchased for $12 at the launch, on newsstands, and at VIU’s bookstore and online shopping cart. Visit portalmagazine.ca for other updates and news!
