I have written about the stories behind stitch work, concealment safes, junk rig boats, and the games that astronauts play in space.

I am the author of four books: The Creative Instigator’s Handbook: A DIY Guide to Making Social Change Through Art (2022), Strange Material: Storytelling Through Textiles (2014), Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti  (2009 & 2019) co-authored with Mandy Moore; and Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery (2011), all published by Arsenal Pulp Press. I also write for a variety of publications on craft and culture, such as Digits and ThreadsDesigner, Desktop, Works that Work, Applied Arts, Seamwork, and I was included in the anthology Craftivism.

I’ve been called a Shameless Woman by Shameless magazine and a Lingo Maker of the Year by Mclean’s magazine, My creative projects and books have been featured in major publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vogue Knitting, the BBC, Irish Public Radio,  the Guardian UK, CBC, and the Globe and Mail. As an author, I enjoy delivering lectures and workshops of all kinds. I’ve toured across North America twice, talking in places such as The Smithsonian, Powell’s Books, Textile Arts in Brooklyn, the ICA Boston, and McNally Robinson Winnipeg.

When I am not writing, I serve as the co-artistic director of The Imprint, a literary collective founded with poet Laura Farina to explore participatory acts of writing in public spaces.

Born in the Comox Valley, I live in Vancouver, Canada, the unceded ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh.

 
 
A curvy middle aged white woman with shoulder length straight brown hair. She has a finge and is slightly smiling with her head turned to one side. She is wearing a gothic looking black dress with flocked violets.

Leanne Prain, 2021. Photo credit: Jackie Dives