The two-day Fraser Valley Writers Festival kicks off on Nov 1 at UFV Abbotsford, featuring 10 acclaimed authors from B.C. and Ontario in a celebration of Canadian literary excellence.
In its 17th year, the festival will be growing once again, with nine free events spread over two days, including keynote addresses, panel discussions, writer workshops, and a live podcast recording.
“Enthusiasm has increased year after year, and we’ve done our best to try to keep up, almost doubling the number of events we offer,” said festival director Rob Taylor. “Whether you’re interested in hearing the latest work from a favourite author, or learning hands-on how to improve your own writing, we hope this year’s festival has a little something for everyone.”
Headlining the Nov 1 opening night will be two of B.C.’s most celebrated writers: Billy-Ray Belcourt, poet and author from the Driftpile Cree Nation, and Angela Sterritt, award-winning investigative journalist and national bestselling author from Wilp Wiik’aax of the Gitanmaax community. Belcourt and Sterritt, both previous finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction, will speak on their lives and writing, including their new books Coexistence (Hamish Hamilton) and Unbroken (Greystone Books).
The following day will be packed with workshops for aspiring writers and panel discussions from a wide range of talented poets, fiction, non-fiction, and comic authors. Among them will be Abbotsford’s own Loghan Paylor, a queer, trans author who has been longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize for their debut novel, The Cure for Drowning.
Also in attendance will be:
-Carleigh Baker, short fiction author and winner of the City of Vancouver Book Award (Last Woman)
-Kate Black, essayist and National Magazine Awards “Best Emerging Author” winner (Big Mall)
-Adrienne Gruber, author of four books of poetry and essays (Monsters, Martyrs, and Marionettes)
-Richard Kelly Kemick, poet, memoirist, and fiction writer (Hello, Horse)
-Anita Lahey, poet, essayist and Ottawa Book Award Finalist (While Supplies Last and Fire Monster)
-Marc Perez, poet, fiction and nonfiction writer (Dayo)
-Onjana Yawnghwe, poet and two time Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize nominee (We Follow the River)
All events are free and open to the public. Register for events online at http://fvwritersfestival.com/.
For more information, email Carly Fleming at fvwritersfest@ufv.ca.
Nov 1-2, 2024
7 am – 4 pm
UFV Abbotsford Evered Hall as well as breakout rooms in D building (138, 139, 136, 134).
11/03/2024