Ashley Spires, Photo: Roaming the Planet/VWF
The annual week-long Vancouver Writers Fest (VWF) welcomes over 125 esteemed authors and acclaimed writers from around the world across 85+ events to Granville Island and schools around the Lower Mainland from October 16 to 22. Spanning bestselling fiction and award-winning non-fiction, the festival celebrates the finest in Canadian and international literature.
Queer Little Nightmares, Photo: Dillon Byrne/VWF
Special Guests
This year’s festival welcomes CBC Commotion host and Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces author Elamin Abdelmahmoud as VWF’s special guest curator. His curated events include Blackness as a Portal, Blacking as the Frame, analyzing Blackness from different vantage points; On the Edge, focusing on environmental decline and inequality; and Using Pop Culture, examining how pop culture connects us.
Notable featured authors include Naomi Klein, Cherie Dimaline, Mona Awad, Celeste Ng, Michael Crummy, Rebecca Solnit, Lauren Groff, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Casey Plett, Patrick deWitt, John Vaillant, Jérémie Harris, Emma Donoghue, Rueben George, Michelle Good, Zalika Reid-Benta, Christina Sharpe, Aisha Harris, Kevin Chong, and many more.
Heather O’Neill, Photo: Roaming the Planet/VWF
Special Events
Brent Butt in Conversation with Charlie Demers @ Hollywood Theatre – Oct. 3
Join the celebrated stand-up comedian and Corner Gas creator as he discusses his surprising new novel, a terrifying psychological thriller, Huge.
Between the Pages: An Evening with the Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalists @ Vancouver Playhouse – Oct. 16
A discussion with Naomi Klein about her tragi-comic memoir Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World; Matt Galloway of CBC’s The Current weighs the climate crisis with noted thinkers Rebecca Solnit, Chris Turner, and John Vaillant; and an exploration of identity, colonialism and ecology with The Marrow Thieves author Cherie Dimaline.
Celeste Ng in Conversation @ Granville Island Stage – Oct. 19
Hear from the bestselling Little Fires Everywhere author as she talks about her impressive body of work after selling millions of copies worldwide and being adapted into an acclaimed miniseries by Reese Witherspoon’s production company. She will also discuss her latest inspiring mother/son novel, Our Missing Hearts, listed by many as a book of the year in 2022.
Image: Vancouver Writers Fest
Canadian Dream Team: Rick Mercer & Jann Arden @ Chan Centre – Nov. 18
This special evening takes place after the rest of the festival as the two Canadian entertainers reunite to toast each other on the publication of both their new books, Mercer’s The Road Years: A Memoir, Continued… and Arden’s debut novel The Bittlemores.
Other regular Writers Fest events include:
- The Poetry Bash @ Vancouver Playhouse – Oct. 20
- The Literary Cabaret @ Performance Works – Oct. 21
- Afternoon Tea @ Performance Works – Oct. 21
The Literary Cabaret, Photo: Dillon Byrne/VWF
Founded in 1988, the Vancouver Writers Fest aims to connect book lovers to authors, ideas, and dialogue through its year-round programming and prestigious annual literary festival. Tens of thousands of readers visit the cultural hub of Granville Island and venues around Vancouver to hear from local and international writers during the week-long event.
To browse the full lineup or purchase tickets, visit VWF’s website.
