Liesl Lafferty has always been a storyteller. It’s been fun having a front row seat to her craft for the last twenty-five years.
As the youngest of five, she would put on shows for her family on the farm in picturesque Caledon, Ontario, where she also charged admission – ten cents. Her father educated her to embrace all the characters in life. Her mother modelled kindness, grace and resilience. Her four elder siblings taught her to enjoy hand-me-down clothes and keep her trap shut about it.
After graduating from the University of Guelph, Liesl moved west, working in theatre for many years. As a director and dramaturg, she won the city’s top awards, headed a theatre company for people with disabilities, and helped hundreds of writers tell their stories. Deciding to focus on her own writing, she returned to university in her fifties, gaining her MFA from UBC, which means now she also writes for film and television, and always has scripts in development.
During the pandemic, she became involved in the Firecracker Department, where she co-founded film festivals and writing workshops in Toronto and Vancouver, and co-created a TV series with Naomi Snieckus, all while continuing to work on scripts with writers from all over the world – and she still only charges ten cents!
These days, my front row seat is in the “Lawn Chair Club”. You can find us on the beach any day of the year – even the rainy ones –telling stories until the sun sets.
-Written by Bill Courage, Husband and Biggest Fan
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Which ’hood are you in?
We live in the West End Neighbourhood, two blocks from English Bay Beach and Stanley Park, where we play every day on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
What do you do?
Write. Read. Feedback. Repeat.
Most of my practice centers on creating and developing new works. My Scriptwriting Workshops run in the winter, spring and fall. We gather weekly, read pages aloud, and I facilitate the feedback. My Story Editing Clients and Free Writers’ Accountability Room are ongoing, which is good because I can’t seem to get enough.
What are you currently working on?
My first pilot, “Bike Shop”, was a Quarter-Finalist at GEMFest International Screenplay Competition 2026, so I am currently getting it out there.
Where can we find your work?
My Scriptwriting Workshops, Story editing Services, Free Consultations, Writer’s Accountability Room, and a bunch of other stuff can be found on my website.
“I’m Also Here” is available to view on Bell Fibe TV.
Firecracker Film Fest – the third annual – will be in March 2027
