Brace yourselves, Ottawa. Sylvie Hill is back and ready to re-energize the cultural scene in a new bi-weekly column called Charger. The column appears exclusively in Guerilla online beginning this Wednesday, February 24.

Between the summers of 2004 and 2006, Hill established herself among the most daring and distinctive local scribes with her weekly Shotgun column appearing in Ottawa Xpress.

“Shotgun attacked topics that women aren't supposed to experience and people aren't supposed to talk about,” said Hill. “It challenged ideas about sexual wants and needs, love and relationships. It talked about social consciousness and awareness. It was a weekly column that zeroed in on life in Ottawa by targeting the head and heart as it aimed for the jugular.”

While Shotgun eventually ran out of ammo, Hill’s passion for breaking boundaries and shedding light on the finest that Ottawa has to offer was never extinguished.

“I had said all I wanted to say and explored topics that I was passionate about,” said Hill. “It was time to hang it up and live some life free of deadlines to expand my personal interests so I could continue writing with fresh perspectives. Charger brings those fresh, new perspectives.”

Never shy of controversy, Hill will hit the ground running in her debut Charger column that appears Wednesday, skipping across hot topics such as masturbation, post-partum depression, being dumped, and a less-than-inspiring local music reviewer whose work Hill likens to “a dead lay.”

As with Shotgun, reader feedback will play a significant role in the Charger column. Hill intends to get people talking by first making clear that she is willing to listen.

“[With Shotgun] People could see that I cared about what they had to say,” explained Hill, “and were happy to see their comments taken up in succeeding columns like an interactive dialogue they were always part of.”

To read Charger and speak your mind, return to Guerilla bright and early Wednesday morning. Sylvie Hill wants to have a word with you.