RENATO GANDIA
Queer Filipino-Canadian writer of memory, migration, and desire. Author of Unpriesting and Anatomy of Compersion. Based in Calgary, Alberta.
Writing
Novels, memoir and short fiction exploring complicated relationships, faith, belonging and love.
Anatomy of Compersion
A 92,000‑word literary novel about a woman, her bisexual husband, and his lover—asking whether love can stretch wide enough to include someone else’s happiness.
Anthologies & Beyond
Published short fiction & essays in Magdaragat, Yay Queer All II, Beyond the Concert Hall, and more.
From the blog
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What we do instead of saying things
At three in the morning, the body does not ask permission. It wakes. In the days of the wake, this made sense. There was a schedule to grief then, a structure imposed by ritual. I would rise at 2:30 a.m., wash my face in the quiet, and sit beside my mother’s coffin in the living…
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While waiting, we plug in
There are no delayed flights today. Everything moves as it should. Boarding times hold. Gates change quietly. Screens update without disruption. The system performs its function with a kind of calm efficiency, as though nothing in the world were out of place. And yet, no one seems at ease. What I notice first is not…
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Before the day begins
Before the day begins, I am already at my desk. I wake up before the sun, before the house settles into its usual rhythm, before the day begins asking anything of me. It’s the only time I’ve found that feels like it belongs entirely to writing. During the week, I tell myself I’ll find an…
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Writing against myself: on losing faith, and needing it anyway
There is a particular kind of discomfort that comes with being recognized for something you are no longer sure you believe. Recently, my poem Litany for What I No Longer Believe In was shortlisted for The Fiddlehead’s 2025 Poetry Contest. It is, by any measure, good news. The kind of news that should arrive cleanly:…
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When a poem finds its way through
A few days ago, I received an email from PRISM international: I had won the 2025 Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize. I read the message twice. Then a third time, just to make sure I hadn’t misunderstood. For writers, recognition arrives rarely and quietly. Most of the time we work in obscurity, sending poems out into…
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The hours that remain
Last week I started a new job, and with it the quiet recalibration of my days. The hours that once belonged to writing have returned to the structure of ordinary work: mornings claimed by meetings, afternoons by emails, the slow accumulation of tasks that shape a working life. The page, which not long ago felt…
Gandia Media
Stories that Connect. Strategies that Deliver.
I help organizations craft clear, purposeful stories that connect with people and drive action. With nearly two decades of experience in journalism, government communications, and strategic storytelling, I know how to turn complexity into clarity. Let’s tell your story in a way that resonates.
About
Calgary‑based writer and communications professional. Former journalist, government spokesperson, and energy‑sector strategist. I write about memory, migration, queerness, and the complexity of love—and I help leaders make clearer, kinder decisions in public.
Published in Magdaragat and Beyond the Concert Hall. Currently finishing Anatomy of Compersion and revising my memoir Unpriesting.
Renato Gandia 