Jade Wallace (MA 2021), recipient of the Governor General’s Gold Medal for academic excellence at the graduate level, has partnered with Palimpsest Press to publish the novel, Anomia. The work is one Wallace, who uses they-them pronouns, wrote and defended as their creative writing thesis in September 2021.

Wallace says the inspiration for the novel started several years prior, as they became fixated on the possibility of writing an entire book free of the constraints of sex or gender.

After completing their thesis in 2021 and continuing with revisions and edits, Wallace saw the work picked up by Windsor-based publisher Palimpsest Press in 2023.

“For me,” says Wallace, “Anomia represents not only an artistic endeavour, but also an act of wish fulfillment. In daily life, we constantly negotiate the fraught dynamics of sex and gender identity, but in the world of Anomia, we are given a glimpse of another life. I am not yet sure whether the novel represents a possible or an impossible world. It is no accident that the title Anomia resonates, ever so faintly, like Utopia.”

Wallace’s book will be released officially June 15, and is currently available for pre-order on the Palimpsest Press website. Wallace will also be present as a special guest with How You Were Born author Kat Cayley during a public event at Biblioasis bookstore, 1520 Wyandotte St. East, Thursday, April 25, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Biblioasis will host a local launch, reading, and signing of Anomia on July 7.

Upasana Jain has a busy weekend ahead.

Procurement manager in the UWindsor finance department, she will show her artistic side in two exhibitions — “The Stories We Tell” at Mackenzie Hall and “Variations through Colour” at the Capitol Theatre.

Jain paints Indian folk art in mixed media, including acrylics and inks. She draws on the Mithila art tradition, which dates back thousands of years in her native India.

“It’s everyday art depicting objects around us as we see them,” she says. “It’s our interpretation and tends to be very symbolic.”

She came late to her artistic practice, taking up a brush about six years ago and taking a course on abstract art from Continuing Education.

“The Stories We Tell” is the annual exhibition by the Artists of Colour group. It will be on display until May 5 at the Common Ground Gallery and throughout Mackenzie Hall, 3277 Sandwich St. An opening reception from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, April 26, promises a chance to meet the artists, live music by Jazzus and Trading Places, and light refreshments. Admission is $10; viewing the exhibit is free to the public through the rest of its run.

“Variations through Colour” is curated by Sho Art Studios to complement the Windsor Symphony Orchestra’s performances of the Enigma Variations by composer Edward Elgar. Twelve local artists have contributed pieces inspired by love, including Jain’s work depicting the Hindu god Krishna. The pop-up exhibit will be open to the public at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 27, and 1 p.m. Sunday, April 28, in the Capitol Theatre, 121 University Ave. West. Tickets for the concert are available through the WSO website.

Both exhibits will display works by a wide variety of artists, Jain says.

“Come to see different styles by different people creating such diverse art,” she says. “Everyone from older artists and those who just started six years ago, like me.”

Lancer Recreation co-ordinator Sandra Ondracka has been recognized by her peers across the continent for her dedication to the field and their professional organization.

NIRSA, formerly the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association, has conferred its Regional Award of Merit on Ondracka, representing its members in Canada.

Ondracka has been a member of NIRSA since joining the UWindsor staff and credits it with inspiring her work.

“NIRSA has been a foundation for my professional development and inspiration in the development of campus recreation at the University of Windsor,” she says. “It is an honour to be recognized by the far and few who do what I do on campuses across the U.S. and Canada.”

Ondracka has served as regional chair for Canada and currently represents the region on the association’s nominations and appointments committee and its assembly.

In announcing the awards, the organization’s membership and leadership co-ordinator Rachel Marcella said “NIRSA and the entire field of collegiate recreation are made great by the passion, drive, and dedication of some truly amazing individuals and institutions.”

The Campus Bookstore has reduced the prices of dozens of items of merchandise as a clearance sale starting Thursday, April 25.

Sample savings range from a Lancer jacket, originally $235, priced at $175.99, to a wool pennant at $12 or a 16 oz. pub glass at $13, each now available for just $8.99.

Find these and other deals on the Campus Bookstore website.