Mary Soderstrom is a writer of fiction and non-fiction. The author of eleven published books, her most recent non-fiction work is The Walkable City: From Haussmann’s Boulevards to Jane Jacobs’ Streets and Beyond (Véhicule Press, 2008), while her most recent fiction is The Violets of Usambara (Cormorant Books, 2008.) She can give presentations on writing either fiction or non-fiction as well as engage students in discussion about what the differences between them are. She also has a blog – Recreating Eden, marysoderstrom.blogspot.com – which is an eclectic collection of short essays on politics, books, writing, cities, gardens and nature. It can serve as the starting point for workshops on writing short texts.