Work
Books
Unbecoming. McGill-Queen’s University Press (The Hugh MacLennan Poetry Series), 2021.
On High. McGill-Queen’s University Press (The Hugh MacLennan Poetry Series), 2018.
Chapbooks
Ruin. Knife|Fork|Book, October 2023.
Their Queer Tenderness. Knife|Fork|Book, 2020.
Super, Natural. Anstruther Press, 2017.
Poems
“Brackish.” Vallum, vol. 20, no. 2, Fall 2023.
“Three Poems.” The Malahat Review, no. 223, Summer 2023.
“Two Poems.” The Ampersand Review, no. 4, Summer 2023.
“Unhomesickness.” Riddle Fence, no. 42, 2021, pp. 5-7. Winner of the 2021 Riddle Fence Poetry Prize.
“Pathetic.” Canadian Literature. vol. 243, 2020, p. 101.
“Poetry Workshop with Medical Students.” Grain, vol. 48, no. 2, Winter 2021.
“Four Poems.” The Fiddlehead, vol. 284 (Summer Poetry 2020).
“Bluff.” The Literary Review of Canada, July-August 2020.
“Inside Heaven.” Prairie Fire, vol. 41, no. 2, Summer 2020
“Desire Path.” THIS Magazine, May/June 2020.
“Three Poems.” Cypress: A Poetry Journal. 18 May 2020.
“Shore.” Untethered, Vol 5, no. 1, 2020.
“Late Style.” PRISM international, vol. 57, no. 4, 2019.
“Three Poems.” Riddle Fence, No. 32.
“The Unspeakable.” The Muse, no. 9, Spring 2019.
“A Walk.” The Anti-Languorous Project, Fall 2018.
“Woods and Nobody Around.” EVENT, vol. 47, no. 2, Summer 2018.
“Two Poems.” The Fiddlehead, no. 276, Summer 2018
“Two Poems.” CAROUSEL, vol. 40, Summer 2018.
“Private Rooms: A Suite for Kapwani Kiwanga.” LUMA Quarterly, Winter 2018,
“Vesper.” Prairie Fire, vol. 38, no. 3, 2017.
“On High.” The Literary Review of Canada, vol. 25, no. 6, July-August 2017.
“Three Poems.” Riddle Fence, no. 27.
“On Comfort.” The Antigonish Review, vol. 48, No. 189, Spring 2017.
“Three Poems.” The Impressment Gang, vol. 3, no. 2, Spring 2017.
“Two Poems.” Contemporary Verse 2, vol. 39, no. 4, Spring 2017.
"Two Poems." OMEGA (by METATRON), March 2017.
“Bucolic.” Malform, vol. 1, no. 2, 2016.
“Two Poems.” Untethered, vol. 3, no. 1, 2016.
“Both at Once.” Grain, vol. 43, no. 4, 2016.
“Making Space.” The Literary Review of Canada, vol. 24, no. 4, 2016.
“Two Poems.” PRISM international, vol. 54, no. 3, 2016.
Poetry Awards and Prizes
Finalist: The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Award, 2021
for Unbecoming
The Riddle Fence Poetry Prize, 2021
for the poem“Unhomesickness”
Florence Katherine Harington Graduate Scholarship in Poetry, 2018
from The University of Calgary
Carol Honey Award for Creative Writing, 2017
from Literary Kaleidoscope
CCWWP Bi-Annual Poetry Prize, 2016
for the poem “Teardown”
Avie Bennett Emerging Writer’s Scholarship, 2014
from The University of Toronto
Interviews
Howe, Jenny. “Neil Surkan on Unbecoming.” The Homestretch, CBC Radio, 6 April 2022.
Taylor, Rob. “Suspension, Some Dread, A Lifeline: Rob Taylor Interviews Neil Surkan.” EVENT, 15 March 2022.
Zen, Rafael. “Neil Surkan Launches Unbecoming.” Massy Arts, November 2021.
McKenzie, Berend. “Neil Surkan: Unbecoming.” Writer’s Guild of Alberta Podcast, 18 August 2021. Listen Here.
Whyte, Thomas. “Neil Surkan: Parts One - Seven.” poetry mini interviews. 13 June 2021.
Residency
Writer-in-Residence, 2018-19, The Cumming School of Medicine.
Editorial Work
As Guest Editor. Counterflow #2. Wordstorm Society of the Arts, Spring 2023.
The Road Ahead: Poems at the Crossroads. Poetry in Voice. November, 2021.
“Counterclockwise.” Canada and Beyond: A Journal of Canadian Literary and Cultural Studies. Special Issue (vol. 8), co-edited with Larissa Lai and Joshua Whitehead, 2019.
Past Readings
Ain’t it the Fall? with Jay Besemer, Brandon Shimoda, and Isaac Pickell. (Hosted by Knife|Fork|Book). Zoom, October 2023.
Broken Light Poetry Night (Co-Hosted by The Malahat Review and the University of Victoria). Zoom, February 2023.
Mikka Jacobsen Book Launch, with Kayla Czaga and Sophie Crocker. Victoria, BC. November 2022.
In the Window: with Délani Valin. Nanaimo, BC. July 2022.
Featured Reader: Metaphorically Speaking (Wordstorm Society of the Arts, Nanaimo BC). Zoom, May 2022.
W.O. Mitchell Award Finalist Reading (City of Calgary/Shelf Life Books). Zoom, April 2022. Watch
Interview and Reading: The Home Stretch (CBC). CBC Radio, April 2022. Listen Here
In/Verse Reading Series, with Nancy Lee and Selina Boan (Federation of BC Writers). Zoom, January 2022.
Unbecoming Tour: Massy Arts, with Kirby, Adele Barclay, Tolu Oloruntoba, and Kyla Jamieson. Vancouver, BC, December 2021.
Unbecoming Tour: Knife-Fork-Book, with Klara du Plessis and Dale Martin Smith. Zoom, December 2021. Watch
Unbecoming Tour: Shelf Life Books, with Shazia Hafiz Ramji, Jessie Jones, Gina Hay, and Kyle Flemmer. Zoom, December 2021. Watch
Portal Series: Portfolio. Zoom/YouTube, December 2021. Watch
WGA Online Reading Series. Zoom/YouTube, August 2021. Watch
Knife-Fork-Book’s Holiday Queer. Zoom, December 2020. Watch
Jessie Jones: The Fool Launch. Zoom, October 2020.
Knife-Fork-Book Fall Launch. Zoom, September 2020.
Single Onion #162. Calgary, AB, October 2019.
Tess Liem: OBITS Launch. Calgary, AB, July 2019.
Flywheel Reading Series. Calgary, AB, March 2019.
Free-Exchange Reading Fundraiser. Calgary, AB, January 2019.
On High Book Tour: with Tess Liem, Sarah Burgoyne, and Jessie Jones. Montreal, QC, October 2018.
On High Book Tour: with Jason Heureux. Kingston, ON, October 2018.
On High Book Tour: with Cassidy McFadzean, Prathna Lor, and Noor Naga. Toronto, ON, October 2018.
On High Book Tour: with Kayla Czaga, Laura Ritland, Shazia Ramji, and Nicholas Bradley. Victoria, BC, September 2018.
On High Book Tour: with Adele Barclay, David Ly, and Jessica Johns. Vancouver, BC, September 2018.
On High Book Tour: with Laura Ritland. Calgary, AB. September 2018.
Inter-Arts Celebration. Calgary, AB, April 2018.
Flywheel Reading Series. Calgary, AB, March 2018.
AtTension: Art-Writing-Readings. Calgary, AB, February 8, 2018.
A Good Burial Press Launch (PRE-BURIAL). Toronto, ON, May 2017.
Inter-Arts Celebration. Calgary, AB, April 2017.
Anstruther Press Chapbook Launch. Toronto, ON, March 2017.
Flywheel Reading Series. Calgary, AB, September 2016.
CCWWP Emerging Writers. Toronto, ON, July 2016.
Who’s Who with Fan Wu. Toronto, ON, October 2015.