In this interview, we chat with Dania Idriss about representing human cruelty, finding creative nourishment in academic conferences, spending time in “writing jail”, and so much more.
Dania Idriss (she/her) is a Lebanese-Canadian author and a doctoral candidate in the Department of English at the University of Calgary. She (currently) gratefully lives and works on the traditional territory of Treaty 7, with her writing focusing on global literatures, particularly Arabic speculative fiction. Her first book, a collection of horror stories titled Tales of the Mountains and the Sea, was released by Freehand Books in May 2026. Dania teaches speculative fiction and global literatures at the Alberta University of the Arts and the University of Calgary. She enjoys all things spooky, warm sweaters, and spending time with her bunny, Arlo.
Books and stories mentioned in this episode:
- Human Sacrifices — María Fernanda Ampuero
- American War; One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This — Omar El Akkad
- The Woman in White — Wilkie Collins
- David Copperfield; Great Expectations; The Old Curiosity Shop — Charles Dickens
- The Haunting of Hill House; The Sundial; We Have Always Lived in the Castle — Shirley Jackson
- The Monk — Matthew Gregory Lewis
- Forgotten Journey; Thus Were Their Faces — Silvina Ocampo
- “Brokeback Mountain” — Annie Proulx
- Harry Potter series — J. K. Rowling
- Frankenstein — Mary Shelley
- Dracula — Bram Stoker
- “Hair” — Mike Thorn
- The Castle of Otranto — Horace Walpole
- Lolly Willowes — Sylvia Townsend Warner
Mike Thorn 