About Us

the Accent Reading Series

Accent is a bilingual, bimonthly literary series and open mic that takes place at Bar La Marche à côté on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month.

Our Story

Established in 2019 by Devon Gallant and Luc-Antoine Chiasson, the Accent Reading Series was founded out of a desire to provide Montreal authors with a reliable venue to congregate and share their work with one another. Drawing inspiration from other long running literary open mic series' such as Toronto's Art Bar Poetry Series and Paris' Spoken Word Paris, Accent takes cues from each of these series' to create something altogether new. Infamous for our unlimited open mic spots and the dreaded 5 minute bell, Accent has graced over 30 open mic readers on its stage on any given night.

Meet The Team

Devon gallant

Founder and Host

2019-Present

Devon Gallant is the founder of Cactus Press, a Montreal based micro-press dedicated to publishing poetry chapbooks by local authors, as well as the author of five full length collections including, most recently, Bootleg Sake (Mosaic Press 2022). His work has been previously featured in Vallum, Graphite Publications, Carousel, and else where. He is currently working on a time-hopping, triptych anthology focused on the theme of play.

Luc-Antoine Chiasson

Founder and Host

2019-2022

Jerome Ramcharitar

Host

2022-2023

Jerome Ramcharitar is a writer based in Montréal, Québec. Most of his days are spent teaching English as a second language and occasionally causing more trouble as a poet. He has co-hosted a number of literary events, most notably Accent Open Mic and The Lawn Chair Soirée. His first chapbook, The Wrong Poem and Others Like It, was published with Cactus Press and won Expozine’s Best Book Award in 2022. A first full-length collection, The Riddle of Three Crimson Doors, is forthcoming with Cactus Press in 2025.

Derek Godin

Host

2023-Present

Jade Palmer

Host

2023-Present

Jade Palmer (she/her) studied English and creative writing at Concordia University in Tiohti:áke/Montreal. Her poetry has been published in long con, Headlight Anthology, yolk, Encore Poetry Project, Soliloquies Anthology, and LBRNTH. She received the 2024 Concordia Creative Writing Award in Poetry for a poem about a very large horse, and she is warming up to drinking stout beer.

jean-guy forget

Host

2023-Present