The 37th annual Vancouver Writers Fest returns from October 21 to 27, providing an opportunity for inquisitive, book-loving people to come together for a week of literary celebration. For the past 30 years, the Festival has enriched the imaginations and the culture of Vancouver and has touched and inspired thousands of lives by creating a forum for authors to connect with readers and by offering a vibrant exchange of ideas and conversation.
This year, the Festival invites award-winning author Kim Thúy as Guest Curator, who has curated six brilliant events for youth and adults. The festival features 88 events over one dazzling week, showcasing authors such as Gabor Maté, Carol Off, Richard Powers, Yulin Kuang, Dionne Brand, Anne Michaels, Rachel Kushner, Nita Prose, Tanya Talaga, Roddy Doyle, Ann Cleeves, Ian Williams, Jane Urquhart, Jody Wilson-Raybould, and many more!
Explore the highlighted programs below:
A Grand Opening: Finding Joy Amid Turmoil
In sequential addresses, including readings and original pieces, some of the world’s biggest literary names will share what joy means to them in challenging times. Featuring Andrey Kurkov, Heather O’Neill, Kim Thúy, Tanya Talaga, Bill Richardson, John Vaillant, and a lot more.
Date: October 21
Time: 7:30pm PT
Get tickets here.
Photo Credit: Jillian Christmas
Word! 1
The Spoken Word event series, curated and hosted by Vancouver-based, award-winning poet and spoken word artist Jillian Christmas, features three exceptional performers, including Lucia Misch (The Problem with Solitaire), Alessandra Naccarato (Imminent Domains: Reckoning with the Anthropocene and Re-Origin of Species) and Wali Shah (Call Me Al) sharing poems about identity, nature, belonging, and finding their ways in difficult times.
Date: October 22
Time: 1:30pm PT
Get tickets here.
Ann Cleeves, Photo Credit: Ph Matsas / Opale
Ann Cleeves in Conversation: The Alma Lee Opening Night Event
Ann Cleeves’ series is internationally bestselling, was developed into a hugely popular U.K. TV drama, and—11 books in—continues to offer mesmerizing crime novels that are as riveting as they are insightful. In this highly anticipated evening with the author behind the detective sensation, Ann Cleeves will share more about her latest novel in the series, The Dark Wives, in which DI Stanhope is called to investigate the death of a local care worker and the disappearance of troubled teen, Chloe. Learn about this and more, in this fascinating evening with one of the world’s most successful writers. Moderated by Robert J. Wiersema.
Date: October 22
Time: 7:30pm PT
Get tickets here.
Photo Credit: William Au
Thrilling Tales with Richard Van Camp
Winner of the Blue Metropolis First Peoples Literary Prize, Storyteller of the Year from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers, and the Order of the Northwest Territories, Richard Van Camp has written 28 books in 28 year and his incredible career of storytelling magic continues in 2024. In his latest, Beast, he blends realism with hairraising horror in a spirited tale that pits the powers of tradition against the pull of a vengeful past in the fictional town of Fort Simmer, Northwest Territories. In conversation, Van Camp will speak more about what draws him back to this riveting fictional place in multiple books, how he became so prolific, and the Indigenous stories that are inspiring him today. Moderated by Jael Richardson.
Date: October 23
Time: 1:00pm PT
Get tickets here.
View the full program guide here.
