---

My name is Lawson Hannaford (they/them). I am a multidisciplinary creator situated in Ontario (wait, didn’t I already say this?). I am passionate about telling queer stories that depict queer joy, the power of creating community, and how to live with mental illnesses (okay, I swear I said this too…). I have received six awards for playwriting, gotten grants for playwriting and theatre creation, and been published in two different literary journals.

I have loved writing and drawing since I was a little kid. I wrote two novels in middle school (one of which might have been a lightly plagiarized version of The Hunger Games). I graduated with a Combined Honours Degree in Gender and Women’s Studies and Creative Writing from University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. While I was a student, some of my poetry and fiction was published in Fathom, the University of King’s College and Dalhousie University Creative Writing Journal. I took a playwriting class in the last semester of my undergrad and fell in love with it! My inner theatre kid reappeared and I’ve been sinking deeper and deeper into the theatre world since then and enjoying every second of it!!

I am currently an MFA candidate at the University of Guelph for Creative Writing. My thesis project is a genderqueer retelling of the Ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice set in modern day Toronto. This project takes a multidisciplinary approach to storytelling through using fiction, poetry, and music to weave a cohesive story that foregrounds themes of queerness, community, living with grief, and creating purpose and meaning from the chaos of being alive. To learn more about my writing journey and publications, check out my writing section.

My two plays, Something Missing, and knockout, have cumulatively won six awards. Something Missing was first performed at the 2024 Halifax Fringe Festival as part of the Unnatural Disaster Fringeship Program, where it won five Audience Choice Awards including Outstanding Dramedy. knockout was first performed at the 2025 Outfest where it won the Artists’ Choice Award. To learn more about both of these pieces and their futures, check out my theatre section.

My etsy store sells my original prints and stickers, with the promise of more to come! I love drawing cartoon faces, pet portraits, and weird little creatures. I intend for my art to be humourous, thoughtful, and queer-focused because that is the kind of art I am into myself. I love colour and silliness and fun!

I am a creative person trying to make as much art as I can! I love engaging with other people about art and literature, and I am excited to keep going on my little artistic journey and see where it takes me. I hope you tag along!!