Paula Turcotte is the Youth Programming Associate at Wordfest. She is a writer and poet who holds an MSt in Creative Writing from Oxford. In 2026, she was recognized as a Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist. Paula’s debut chapbook of poetry, Permutations (Baseline Press, 2024) was shortlisted for the bpNichol Chapbook Award. Her poems have been shortlisted for The Malahat Review’s Far Horizons Award, longlisted in ROOM’s Poetry Contest, and published in Canthius, CV2, and elsewhere.