The Galiano Island Literary Festival ran February 19–21 Galiano, BC, featuring Theresa Kishkan, Aislinn Hunter, Billie Livingston, Robert J. Wiersema and Michael Christie. It represented the unofficial start to the Canadian Spring Literary Festival Season. And we have so much to be excited about!
Nothing warms our heart more than a brand-new literary festival that sounds amazing, and Cuffed: Vancouver International Crime Festival ticks all the boxes. Cuffed takes place on Granville Island in Vancouver March 11–13, and features writers including Linwood Barclay, Gail Bowen, Caterina Edwards, Ausma Zehanat Khan, Chevy Stevens, and Sam Wiebe.
Versefest, in Ottawa, runs March 15–20, and it features writers from all around the world. Canadians authors at Versefest include Ben Ladouceur, Christian Bök, David McGimpsey, George Elliott Clarke, Jane Munro, Katherine Leyton, Marilyn Dumont, and Pamela Mordecai.
In Victoria, BC, WordsThaw warms the University of Victoria from March 16–20, with Molly Peacock, Elizabeth May and others.
From April 6–9, Heather O'Neill, Will Ferguson, and others gather for the ImagiNation Festival at the Morrin Cultural Centre in Quebec City, QC.
And the fantastic gritLIT Readers and Writers Festival happens April 7–10 in Hamilton, ON, with Emily Urquhart, Camilla Gibb, Anakana Schofield, Jon Chan Simpson, Plum Johnson, Russell Smith, and others.
In Picton, ON, and the surrounding area, the Prince Edward County Writers Festival takes place April 13–16, featuring Giller-Nominee Samuel Archibald, Giles Blunt, Greg Hollingshead, Lindsay Mattick, Heather O'Neill, Ruth Ohi, Kenneth Oppal, Iain Reid, Diane Schoemperlen, Marnie Woodrow, and other great names.
Details on the Blue Metropolis Festival in Montreal, QC, will be announced on March 16, but we know now that the festival will take place April 11–17 with programming for readers of all ages. The Ottawa International Writers Festival runs April 14–19, with details still to come.
The 17th Annual North Shore Writers Festival happens April 15–19 at Lynn Valley Public Library in North Vancouver, BC, headlining authors including Jordan Abel, Camilla Gibb, and Lynn Johnston. Details are still be to announced for the Edmonton Poetry Festival, but the dates are set for April 17–24.
April 18-24, Live Words: Yukon Writers' Festival is on at venues across the territory. Join Bob Hayes, Noah Richler, Heather O'Neill, Sandy Marie Bonny and Diane Whelan for readings and more.
The Atlantic Books Festival runs April 20–17 with events in all four maritime provinces. From April 23 to May 1, the Frye Festival takes place in Greater Moncton, NB, with Fanny Britt, Michelle Butler Hallett, Charles Demers, Elizabeth Hay, Evan Munday, Lisa Moore, Kathleen Peacock, and many more.
The Gananoque Literary Festival features Craig Davidson, Francis Itani, Alison Pick, Shane Peacock, Elly McKay, Carrie Snyder and others, and runs April 29–May 1 in Gananoque, ON. Across the country on April 30, Canadian authors will be celebrating great books and reading with Authors for Indies; explore the site to find out what's happening near you. And the next edition of the French books festival, Salon du Livre in Sudbury, ON, is happening May 4–7.
Another first-time festival, The Festival of Literary Diversity (The Fold) debuts in Brampton, ON, on May 6, with a stellar line-up, authors including Zarqa Nawaz, Carrieanne Leung, Lawrence Hill, Farzana Doctor, Ayelet Tsabari, Jay Pitter, and so many more.
Vancouver Island's Children's Book Festival is scheduled for May 7 in Nanaimo, BC, with Sheree Fitch, Julie Flett, Marie-Louise Gay, Ashley Spires, Jeremy Tankard, and other great children's authors. And LitFest New West takes place in New Westminster BC May 13–19. The Ontario Library Association's Festival of Trees takes place during the first two weeks of May, with events in Thunder Bay, London and Toronto. On May 29, The Elora Writers' Festival takes place in Elora, ON, with authors announced so far including Terry Fallis, J.M. Frey, Douglas Gibson, and Dietrich Kalties.
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