Portal Magazine

Portal Magazine VIU's annual full-colour literary magazine Prime words. Compelling art. Momentous beginnings. What makes Portal so portentous?

Portal is your gateway to accomplished short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, scripts, interviews, art, and photography by Vancouver Island University students. Enter Portal’s literary universe and discover worlds and futures ready to unfold. It is “of ourselves and our origins”—a contemporary portrait of literary talent in the making, a portable guide to the VIU from here. First published i

n 1991, Portal Magazine has been and continues to be made possible through the generous support of advertisers, donors, and student fundraising. All inquiries and submissions can be made to:
[email protected]

Congratulations to Brendan Wanderer, our winner for the 2026 Portent Prize! Thank you to everyone who submitted, and kee...
12/03/2025

Congratulations to Brendan Wanderer, our winner for the 2026 Portent Prize!
Thank you to everyone who submitted, and keep an eye out for Brendan’s script in our next issue!

Join us for our final Portfolio event of the semester!Amy Mattes holds a degree in Anti-Oppressive Social Work from the ...
11/15/2025

Join us for our final Portfolio event of the semester!

Amy Mattes holds a degree in Anti-Oppressive Social Work from the University of Victoria and is currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing at Vancouver Island University. In 2023, she won second place in the Islands Short Fiction Review Contest and has been previously published in The Globe and Mail and Portal Magazine. In 2024, she published her debut novel, Late September, with Harbour Publishing.

Enjoy an evening of poetry and community opened by our very own student writers.

This event will be held at The Vault on 499 Wallace Street in Nanaimo.

Thursday, November 20th at 6:30 PM.

See you there!

Introducing the faces behind the words—the 2026 Portal masthead!Each one of these incredible writers contributes to the ...
11/08/2025

Introducing the faces behind the words—the 2026 Portal masthead!
Each one of these incredible writers contributes to the shape of our publication by bringing curiosity, creativity, and care to every piece.
We are so excited for our team this year and we can’t wait to see all they accomplish.
Don’t forget—our general submissions are open until the 28th of November!

Do you want to have your work published in Portal 2026?We are looking for submissions from VIU students! It is free to s...
11/04/2025

Do you want to have your work published in Portal 2026?We are looking for submissions from VIU students!

It is free to submit, so following the guidelines, please send us your writing, art and photography to [email protected] by November 28th. We look forward to seeing your work!

Join us for the annual Gustafson poetry event, featuring Marilyn Dumont! Coming to us from Edmonton, Alberta, Marilyn is...
10/22/2025

Join us for the annual Gustafson poetry event, featuring Marilyn Dumont!

Coming to us from Edmonton, Alberta, Marilyn is a renowned Canadian poet, and winner of the 1997 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award, as well as the 2016 Writers’ Guild of Alberta’s Stephan G. Stephansson Award. She has been the writer-in-residence at five Canadian universities, as well as an advisor in the Aboriginal Emerging Writers Program at Banff Centre.

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Student Reading and Q&A - Today, October 22nd - 11:30-1 PM, VIU Bldg 310, Malaspina Theatre Lobby

Community Reading - Today, October 22nd - 7:30-9 PM, VIU Bldg 170, Shq’apthut: A Gathering Place

Gustafson Lecture - Tomorrow, October 23rd - 7-8:30 PM, VIU Bldg 355, Rm 203 - Reception to follow in Rm 211

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We hope to see you there!

We’re very excited to say that we are extending submissions for our annual Portent Prize! You now have until October 31s...
10/22/2025

We’re very excited to say that we are extending submissions for our annual Portent Prize! You now have until October 31st to submit your script for a chance to win $500, as well as publication.

Submission details can be found on our website. We look forward to reading your work!

On Thursday we had a successful first Portfolio. A huge thank-you to Avianna and our student readers Kyle, Graeme, and L...
10/20/2025

On Thursday we had a successful first Portfolio. A huge thank-you to Avianna and our student readers Kyle, Graeme, and Lorna!

And a special thanks to everyone who made it out! Stay tuned for information on our October 30th portfolio.

Join us for our first Portfolio event of the year! Avianna Bishop is a Canadian-born fantasy author. She graduated from ...
10/07/2025

Join us for our first Portfolio event of the year!

Avianna Bishop is a Canadian-born fantasy author. She graduated from Vancouver film school in 2022, and will be reading from her debut fantasy novel, sacrifice.

This event will be held at The Vault on 499 Wallace Street in Nanaimo.

Thursday, October 16th at 6:30pm.

Enjoy an evening of poetry and community opened by our very own student writers.

See you there!

Just a couple of weeks left to submit to Portent! This year’s submission deadline is October 15th, 2025. The winner rece...
10/03/2025

Just a couple of weeks left to submit to Portent! This year’s submission deadline is October 15th, 2025.

The winner receives $500 as well as publication in the 2026 issue of Portal Magazine!

This theme for this year is scripts!

More information and submission guidelines can be found on our website, don’t miss out on this opportunity! https://portalmagazine.ca/index.php/portent/

In Portal alum Tianna Vertigan’s poem “Debridement,” old wounds are revisited through a lens of growth and decay.“Rotten...
04/13/2025

In Portal alum Tianna Vertigan’s poem “Debridement,” old wounds are revisited through a lens of growth and decay.

“Rotten” was illustrated and submitted by Bailey Bellosillo and appears in Portal 2025.

#2025

The annual Portal launch is only 2 weeks away 🎉 - Have you got your tickets yet? Join us for an evening of readings from...
04/12/2025

The annual Portal launch is only 2 weeks away 🎉 - Have you got your tickets yet?

Join us for an evening of readings from contributors in the magazine, a reception with catered food, themed merchandise, a cash bar, and scholarships and awards presented by the Creative Writing department!

Tickets are $25 and available from this year’s masthead or at the door on the night of the launch!

See you April 25th 😉
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In “Those Eyes,” a memoir written by Portal Script Editor Daxton Comba, a maturing son learns to better understand his s...
04/11/2025

In “Those Eyes,” a memoir written by Portal Script Editor Daxton Comba, a maturing son learns to better understand his stoic father and himself through shared grief.

“Duality” was captured and submitted by Ronin Harver, and appears in Portal 2025.

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