Scriven 2025: The Long Way is Alive and Well

Saturday, May 24th | 10am–5pm | Centre St-Jax, Montreal

There are few better places to talk about the value of handwriting, paper, and the written word than a pen show named after an obsolete verb.

To scrive—to write—may have fallen out of common use, but at Scriven 2025, the act itself was alive and well.

Scriven marked our most successful market to date. Held in the heart of Montreal at the beautiful and accessible Centre St-Jax, Scriven 2025 brought together people who still care about ink, paper, and words that take time. It was a full day of meaningful conversation, beautiful tools, and creative connection, and The Stygian Society was proud to be part of it.

Holly Rhiannon and Pae Veo man the Stygian table

What made this one especially powerful for us was meeting attendees who already knew who we were. Some were familiar with our books. Others were part of our Discord server for The Order of the Written Word. Having those in-person moments with people who had already engaged with our work online was a reminder that community, when it’s built with care, can cross any divide.

A heartfelt thanks to NIHIL, who joined us at our table throughout the day, sketching, assisting, and letting people witness her process up close. Her presence brought a depth of artistry to the space that matched the spirit of the event.

NIHIL in the act of sketching

And of course, Writing as Rebellion.

This was our first time running the workshop, and the response was beyond anything we could have planned for. The room filled quickly, with people eager to talk, not just about writing, but about what’s being lost. We opened with a conversation about the state of creativity in the age of AI, exploring what it means to write with intention when so much around us pushes for speed and ease.

Then came the margins.

Each participant received a page from Charlotte Brontë, Oscar Wilde, or Virginia Woolf; authors whose voices were distinct and deliberate. The task was simple but unfamiliar: pick up a pen and write in the margins. Mark what spoke to you. Question the author. Circle, sketch, underline. Do what we’re taught not to do in books. This small act of rebellion opened something up.

We spoke afterward about what we saw, how even those with the same page had taken completely different approaches. Some drew, some commented, some argued. One participant left saying he felt free, and that he would keep writing in the margins from now on. The table that started out a little shy stayed well past the scheduled time, deep in conversation.

To everyone who came, shared, scribbled, and spoke—thank you. You made the conversation what it was. You reminded us that the slow arts still matter.

This won’t be the last time we run Writing as Rebellion. If you missed it, we hope to see you at a future event.

Until then, keep writing, off the grid, on the page, in the margins.

—Holly Rhiannon

Co-founder, The Stygian Society