Who we are

Almonte Readers & Writers (ARW) is located in the municipality of Mississippi Mills, in the town of Almonte, Ontario, Canada.

Established in 2023, ARW is co-founded by Jessie Carson and Jenn Snider Cruise, with support from Edith Cody-Rice.

Jessie Carson is a writer of creative non-fiction, a reader, a facilitator, and the mother of three boys. She teaches part-time at Algonquin College and was a professional writer for over a decade. Having been a resident of Almonte for many years, she is dedicated to showcasing the region and supporting the growth of the local and neighbouring literary communities.

Jenn Snider Cruise is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, writer, and arts administrator with over 20 years of experience as a director, coordinator, and facilitator of non-profit and charitable arts and cultural organizations. She has an MA from OCAD University (2015). She lives in Perth, Ontario, Canada with her son and partner. 

Edith Cody-Rice is the publisher of the Millstone, where she serves as editor, reporter at large, and book reviewer. In 2011, she retired from the position of Senior Legal Counsel to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation where she worked for twenty-nine years. Edith has worked extensively with journalists to help them publish their stories. She has been a director of the Michener Foundation which grants an annual award to media institutions for outstanding investigative journalism and fellowships to journalists.

Edith is deeply interested in literature and for 19 years held literary luncheons at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa for many of Canada’s outstanding writers. She was also on the board of directors of the Writers’ Trust of Canada for 15 years and was its chair in the mid 1990’s. She founded a very popular fundraising dinner for the Trust in Ottawa called Politics and the Pen which raises over $400,000 per year for the Writers’ Trust. She was a founding director of the George Woodcock Fund which provides support to published writers who face financial need while completing a book project.

Edith has also been a director of The Michener Awards Foundation, the Writers’ Foundation of Canada (former Chair), the Ottawa Valley Book Festival, the Ottawa International Writers’ Festival, The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum and Puppets Up! International Puppet Festival. Edith has also been a fund raiser for the Ottawa Public Library.

Edith lives in Almonte, Ontario, Canada.