Our Team

Jessica Rose,
Artistic Director

With more than a decade of experience in the not-for-profit and educational publishing sectors, Jessica is a writer, editor, and arts organizer who joined gritLIT as a volunteer in 2013. She previously sat on the gritLIT board and acted as Marketing Manager before becoming Artistic Director in 2024. Jessica’s first book of middle grade nonfiction, Let’s Get Creative: Art for a Healthy Planet, was named a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and was commended by the CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens, BC Books for Schools, and the Telling Tales Reading List. Most recently, it was named a Children’s Nonfiction Honor Book by the Nature Generation's Green Earth Book Award. A graduate of Carleton University’s School of Journalism, Jessica’s work has appeared in Quill and Quire, Room, The Children’s Book News, the Hamilton Review of Books, THIS, and the Humber Literary Review, among others.

Favourite book/genre/literary quote: “Why can't I write something that would awake the dead? That pursuit is what burns most deeply.” ― Patti Smith, Just Kids

Jennifer Rawlinson,
Director of Operations

Wanting to be more involved with the literary community in Hamilton, Jennifer joined the gritLIT team in 2018. Her most memorable moment thus far has been either when she was volunteering in the hospitality suite and listening to the conversations between authors who were hanging out, or when Vivek Shraya thanked her for spending $100 on books.

Outside of gritLIT, Jennifer works as the Production Coordinator for Wolsak and Wynn and the Digital Editor for the Hamilton Review of Books.

Favourite book/genre/literary quote: “My favourite type of book to read is anything that gets weird. I loved Bellevue Square by Michael Redhill, The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai, Bunny by Mona Awad, and so many others.”

Samantha Terry,
Volunteer Coordinator

Samantha Terry is a therapist, freelance writer, and Volunteer Coordinator whose passions include volunteering, reading, organizing with her homemade calendars, hanging out with her two little boys, and nurturing a team of committed, highly engaged volunteers to help bring gritLIT events to life!

Her favourite book genre is fantasy, and she loves getting new recommendations to add to her ever-growing TBR pile.

Reach out to talk about books and to find out more about joining our team at volunteers@gritLIT.ca!

Paige Petrovsky,
Communications & Outreach Coordinator

Paige covered the 2016 gritLIT festival for a school project during her first year of Journalism at Mohawk College. She has been hooked ever since and her favourite festival memory is getting to interview Lawrence Hill.

Aside from volunteering with gritLIT, Paige is the owner of Preserve Your Words – a biography writing service.

Favourite book/genre/literary quote: “Standing there, staring at the long shelves crammed with books, I felt myself relax and was suddenly at peace.” ― Helene Hanff, Q's Legacy: A Delightful Account of a Lifelong Love Affair with Books

Paige Maylott,
Writing Contest Manager

Paige joined the gritLIT team in the fall of 2021. She is a local author and winner of the Hamilton Arts & Letters Award for Creative Non-Fiction. Represented by Chelene Knight of Transatlantic agency, Paige’s upcoming memoir, My Body is Distant features topics of digital identity, gender transition, and critical illness. Paige’s book is set for release on September 2023 through ECW Press.

A lifelong resident of Hamilton, Paige collects rabbit paraphernalia, retro games of the 80s and 90s and is surrounded by an adorable, but demanding, menagerie of furry friends. You can find her website at: paigemaylott.com

Favourite book/quote: "You know how you let yourself think that everything will be all right if you can only get to a certain place or do a certain thing. But when you get there you find it's not that simple." – Richard Adams, Watership Down.