Western Canada’s largest free literary festival is returning and presenting 140 authors and over 50 events in an online format

Photo: Word Vancouver

Word Vancouver is Western Canada’s largest free literary festival and 2020 marks the 26th year of the festival. Held September 19th to the 27th, the Festival will bring authors and readers together to share stories, fictional accounts, poems, tall-tales, picture books and points-of-view. This has been a tough year for everyone, and Festival organizers hope by providing this extensive, free online programming that they can offer connection and inspire creativity for everyone in the community. Festival highlights include:

 

In Conversation with Bill Cosgrave. Love Her Madly: Jim Morrison, Mary and Me

Sunday, September 20 – 7pm

Bill Cosgrave revisits the summer in 1965 that he spent with his friend Mary in LA, where she introduced him to her then-fiancé, a young poet named Jim Morrison. Bill’s memoir, Love Her Madly: Jim Morrison, Mary and Me, is a stunning behind-the-scenes look at a rock legend before he was famous.

Free Event Registration Here

 


In Conversation with Charles Demers

Sunday, September 20 – 8pm

Charles Demers is an author, comedian, actor, playwright, screenwriter and political activist. His collection of essays, Vancouver Special (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2009), was shortlisted for the Hubert Evans BC Book Prize for NonFiction. He is one of the most frequently returning stars of CBC Radio’s smash-hit comedy The Debaters, with a weekly listening audience of 750,000. Demers lives in Vancouver, BC, where he is working on a second book in the Dr. Boudreau Mystery series, Suicidal Tendencies.Featured author: Charles Demers, Primary Obsessions (Douglas & McIntyre)Primary Obsessions is the first book in a series of mysteries starring Dr. Annick Boudreau and involving themes of mental health. Author (and longtime CBT patient) Charles Demers deftly reveals a particular aspect of psychiatric practice in each book, illuminating shadowy subject matter with masterful sensitivity and sharp wit. Primary Obsessions is an engrossing page-turner and a refreshing reboot of the sleuth genre.

Free Event Registration Here

 


Loss, Grief and Writing

Thursday, September 24 – 12:30pm

What does it mean to lose someone dear whether a lifelong companion or a newborn child? How does writing help with this grieving process and ultimately allow us the ability to go on? These are some of the intense and important questions these authors will be exploring in this intimate discussion on loss and grief.

Featured Authors:
Lorna Crozier, Through the Garden, A Love Story with Cats (Penguin Random House)
Alison Acheson, Dance Me to the End: Ten Months and Ten Days with ALS (TouchWood
Editions)
Emma Hansen, Still: A Memoir of Love, Loss ,and Motherhood (Greystone Press)
Dakshana Bascaramurty, This Is Not The End Of Me (Penguin Random House)

Free Event Registration Here

 


Writing as Activism

Friday, September 25 – 11:30am

Writing, in the form of speeches, editorials and books, has been a consistent platform for activism over the years. In recent times, there has been a surge of Black voices educating the public about the injustices inflicted upon the Black communities. Join Canadian writer Wayde Compton and renowned panelists in an important discussion on the role of writing in the fight for justice.

Featured Authors:
Desmond Cole, The Skin We’re In (Penguin Random House)
Eternity Martis, They Said This Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life, and Growing Up (Penguin Random House)
Wayde Compton, The Outer Harbour (Arsenal Pulp Press)

Free Event Registration Here

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