GOODBYE, IMPERIAL pub

On November 15, 2025, our home of 5 years, the Imperial Pub, closed its doors for the last time. This historic pub has been a mainstay of downtown Toronto for 81 years, serving as a gathering place for various community groups as well as students of TMU next door. As it happens, the group's inaugural meeting back in 2015 took place in the Imperial Pub library. Thanks, Imperial, for giving us a home for all of these years. We'll always be grateful for all the memories and connections we made there sharing our stories, celebrating our successes, and coming together as a community. If any setting counts as a character in our story, it's you.

We'll miss the hit-or-miss quesadillas, jalapeno poppers, and chicken wings. We'll miss the ever-present jazz music, the antique jukebox, and the fishtank that I somehow didn't notice until earlier this year. We'll miss the stage equipped with a piano and drumset. And we'll miss the friendly bartenders who waited on us every week with a smile and did their best to remember all our names.

We got to give The Imperial a proper sendoff on November 8. Members old and new gathered to celebrate the pub and the family we've managed to build together over

the years. So let's reminisce together. Goodbye, Imperial Pub. Gone, but never forgotten.

And now for some throwbacks. Over the years, we've hosted many events at The Imperial including: our Saturday in-person critique sessions, our one-shot anthology events, our Holiday Parties, as well as countless book launches. Let's look back at all the good times!