Mark your calendars, everybody! Across the country, incredible festival volunteers have been conspiring to pull off amazing literary celebrations over the next few months and the season promises to be delightful.
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The Galiano Literary Festival runs February 23-25 on Galiano Island, BC, with Gurjinder Basran, George Bowering, David Chariandy, Wayne Johnston, Theresa Kishkan, Kyo Maclear, Arleen Paré, Michael Redhill, Jennifer Robson, Martina Scholtens, Timothy Taylor, and many other terrific writers.
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The Growing Room Feminist Literary Festival returns for its second year from March 1-4 in Vancouver, BC, with Amber Dawn, Caroline Adderson, Carleigh Baker, Gwen Benaway, Jen Currin, Maggie de Vries, Farzana Doctor, Leanne Dunic, Chelene Knight, Lydia Kwa, Jen Sookfong Lee, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Casey Plett, Emily Pohl-Weary, Chelsea Rooney, Clea Roberts, Bev Sellars, Vivek Shraya and Shamik Bilgi (Too Attached), Mallory Tater, Betsy Warland, Rita Wong, Elaine Woo, and that's just a fraction of a long list of great writers who will be featured.
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The tenth annual Mission Writers and Readers Festival happens in Mission, BA, on March 4, featuring Jordan Abel, Rob Taylor, and more.
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WordsThaw 2018 will be held in Victoria, BC, March 16 to 18, celebrating the fabulous writing culture in Victoria.
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Details are still forthcoming, but Ottawa's Versefest is set for March 20-25. Stay tuned!
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The New West Festival of Words (a collaboration of the FBCW Spring Writes Festival and LitFest New West) takes place from April 13-15 with a writing contest, poets, and award winning authors still to be announced.
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Calgary's Wordfest is doing a mini fest April 16 to 20, with the theme of "Sane Takes on an Insane World."
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The North Shore Writers Festival runs April 20 and 21 at West Vancouver Memorial Library.
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Mark your calendars for gritLit in Hamilton, ON, from April 12-15.
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The Blue Metropolis Festival in Montreal, QC, takes place April 20-29.
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The Frye Festival in Moncton, NB, runs April 21-28, with Deborah Ellis, Mathieu Lavoie, Zoey Leigh Peterson, and Erika Soucy, with many more authors still to be announced.
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The dates for Edmonton Poetry Festival are set for April 22-29.
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The spring season of the Ottawa International Writers Festival takes place April April 26 to May 1.
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The 1000 Islands Writers Festival will be reading by the river in Gananoque, ON, from April 27-29, with an excellent schedule soon to be announced.
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We can't wait for another year of The Festival of Literary Diversity in Brampton, ON, on May 3, with featured authors including Kim Thúy, Rabindranath Maharaja, and many more to be unveiled over the coming weeks.
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The Elora Writers' Festival takes place in Elora, ON, on May 6, with authors Kathy Stinson,Drew Hayden Taylor, Kate Blair, Linden MacIntyre and Michelle Winters.
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Vancouver Island's Children's Book Festival is scheduled for May 12 in Nanaimo, BC, featuring some of Canada's best children's authors.
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The Ontario Library Association's Festival of Trees takes place throughout May, with events in Toronto, London, and Waterloo.
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Is your event missing? Email us at Editor AT 49thShelf DOT com, and we'll get it added.