Vancouver Writers Fest
@writersfest.bc.ca
Connecting people to exceptional books, ideas, and dialogue.
📚 Special Events Year-Round
🖥️ Digital Festival Dec 16–Feb 2
📖 2026 Festival Oct 19–25
📚 Special Events Year-Round
🖥️ Digital Festival Dec 16–Feb 2
📖 2026 Festival Oct 19–25
Pinned
Vancouver Writers Fest
@writersfest.bc.ca
· Dec 16
2025 Vancouver Writers Fest Digital Festival — Trailer
YouTube video by VancouverWritersFest
www.youtube.com
The Digital Festival is live NOW! For a limited time, watch highlights from #VWF2025 online.
Featuring 26 full-length events, the Digital Festival offers hours of entertainment and inspiration.
🎟️ Sliding scale pricing. Get your pass at writersfest.bc.ca
Featuring 26 full-length events, the Digital Festival offers hours of entertainment and inspiration.
🎟️ Sliding scale pricing. Get your pass at writersfest.bc.ca
George Saunders has been on the Vancouver Writers Fest wishlist for many years, and his sold out event with Alix Ohlin was everything we’d dreamed of. His anticipated new novel, Vigil, is available now!
📸 Photos: Rick Lee
📸 Photos: Rick Lee
February 10, 2026 at 10:00 PM
George Saunders has been on the Vancouver Writers Fest wishlist for many years, and his sold out event with Alix Ohlin was everything we’d dreamed of. His anticipated new novel, Vigil, is available now!
📸 Photos: Rick Lee
📸 Photos: Rick Lee
Just announced: Michael Ondaatje, the only winner in history of the Golden Man Booker, joins us on March 12 in conversation with fellow icon of Canadian letters, Madeleine Thien.
🗓️ Thursday, March 12 at 7:30 PM
📍 Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island
writersfest.bc.ca/event/michae...
🗓️ Thursday, March 12 at 7:30 PM
📍 Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island
writersfest.bc.ca/event/michae...
Books & Ideas: Michael Ondaatje in Conversation with Madeleine Thien | Vancouver Writers Fest
Among the many international honours from Michael Ondaatje’s long and storied career: he is the only winner in history of the Golden Man Booker, awarded to the best work of fiction from the first five...
writersfest.bc.ca
February 10, 2026 at 6:34 PM
Just announced: Michael Ondaatje, the only winner in history of the Golden Man Booker, joins us on March 12 in conversation with fellow icon of Canadian letters, Madeleine Thien.
🗓️ Thursday, March 12 at 7:30 PM
📍 Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island
writersfest.bc.ca/event/michae...
🗓️ Thursday, March 12 at 7:30 PM
📍 Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island
writersfest.bc.ca/event/michae...
Tell the teachers in your life about Writers in the Classroom! This popular Vancouver Writers Fest program will provide 13 FREE author visits (in-person and online) to schools in BC between April and June 2026.
Apply by Friday, February 27:
writersfest.bc.ca/youth#writer...
Apply by Friday, February 27:
writersfest.bc.ca/youth#writer...
February 4, 2026 at 12:24 AM
Tell the teachers in your life about Writers in the Classroom! This popular Vancouver Writers Fest program will provide 13 FREE author visits (in-person and online) to schools in BC between April and June 2026.
Apply by Friday, February 27:
writersfest.bc.ca/youth#writer...
Apply by Friday, February 27:
writersfest.bc.ca/youth#writer...
On the podcast: Dionne Brand, author of Salvage: Readings from the Wreck, shares how she learned to read the literature of two empires, British and American, in an anti-colonial light—in order to survive and in order to live.
spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/fzOOLoUer0b
spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/fzOOLoUer0b
Dionne Brand in Conversation with Kimberly Bain by Books & Ideas Audio
Dionne Brand’s first major book of nonfiction in more than 20 years—Salvage: Readings from the Wreck—offers a bracing look at the intersections of reading and life, and of what remains in the wreck of...
spotifycreators-web.app.link
February 2, 2026 at 10:37 PM
On the podcast: Dionne Brand, author of Salvage: Readings from the Wreck, shares how she learned to read the literature of two empires, British and American, in an anti-colonial light—in order to survive and in order to live.
spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/fzOOLoUer0b
spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/fzOOLoUer0b
Psychiatrist and UBC professor Dr. Joanna Cheek joins us to offer a survival guide of personal and collective mental health tools for our disordered world, in conversation with world renowned physician and author Dr. Gabor Maté.
Feb 25 on Granville Island:
🎟️ writersfest.bc.ca/event/joanna...
Feb 25 on Granville Island:
🎟️ writersfest.bc.ca/event/joanna...
Books & Ideas: Joanna Cheek in Conversation with Gabor Maté | Vancouver Writers Fest
As our world clashes and collapses around us, it’s no surprise we’re feeling an acute effect on our mental health. Psychiatrist, UBC Faculty of Medicine professor, and mental health speaker Dr. Joanna...
writersfest.bc.ca
January 29, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Psychiatrist and UBC professor Dr. Joanna Cheek joins us to offer a survival guide of personal and collective mental health tools for our disordered world, in conversation with world renowned physician and author Dr. Gabor Maté.
Feb 25 on Granville Island:
🎟️ writersfest.bc.ca/event/joanna...
Feb 25 on Granville Island:
🎟️ writersfest.bc.ca/event/joanna...
We had a marvellous time hearing @pulmyears.bsky.social share the tales of John Candy, in a lively conversation last week with Charlie Demers. Thanks to everyone who joined us, and stay tuned; the next Books & Ideas event will be announced tomorrow!
Community partner: VIFF
📸: Salem Paige Maskell
Community partner: VIFF
📸: Salem Paige Maskell
January 28, 2026 at 9:01 PM
We had a marvellous time hearing @pulmyears.bsky.social share the tales of John Candy, in a lively conversation last week with Charlie Demers. Thanks to everyone who joined us, and stay tuned; the next Books & Ideas event will be announced tomorrow!
Community partner: VIFF
📸: Salem Paige Maskell
Community partner: VIFF
📸: Salem Paige Maskell
The 2026 CBC Books Canada Reads shortlist has been announced! This year, the great Canadian book debate is looking for one book to build bridges.
The debates will take place April 13–16.
Discover the 2026 finalists:
www.cbc.ca/books/canada...
The debates will take place April 13–16.
Discover the 2026 finalists:
www.cbc.ca/books/canada...
Meet the Canada Reads 2026 contenders | CBC Books
The debates take place April 13 to 16 live at 10 a.m. ET.
www.cbc.ca
January 22, 2026 at 10:47 PM
The 2026 CBC Books Canada Reads shortlist has been announced! This year, the great Canadian book debate is looking for one book to build bridges.
The debates will take place April 13–16.
Discover the 2026 finalists:
www.cbc.ca/books/canada...
The debates will take place April 13–16.
Discover the 2026 finalists:
www.cbc.ca/books/canada...
Tonight at 7:30 PM on Granville Island! @pulmyears.bsky.social and Charlie Demers chat all about legendary actor and comedian John Candy, and Paul’s new book, John Candy: A Life in Comedy. Community partner: @viffest.bsky.social
Very limited tickets remaining:
writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
Very limited tickets remaining:
writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
Books & Ideas: Paul Myers on John Candy | Vancouver Writers Fest
Community Partner: VIFF Books & Ideas returns to Granville Island in the new year with headliner cultural icons: Paul Myers, Charlie Demers, and the enduring figure of John Candy. One of comedy’s m...
writersfest.bc.ca
January 21, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Tonight at 7:30 PM on Granville Island! @pulmyears.bsky.social and Charlie Demers chat all about legendary actor and comedian John Candy, and Paul’s new book, John Candy: A Life in Comedy. Community partner: @viffest.bsky.social
Very limited tickets remaining:
writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
Very limited tickets remaining:
writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
Congratulations to #VWF2025 author Karen Solie, who has won the international T. S. Eliot Poetry Prize for her poetry collection, Wellwater.
Solie is the second Canadian to win the prize; Anne Carson won in 2001.
www.cbc.ca/books/saskat...
Solie is the second Canadian to win the prize; Anne Carson won in 2001.
www.cbc.ca/books/saskat...
Saskatchewan-born poet Karen Solie's wins T.S. Eliot Prize for Wellwater | CBC Books
The T.S. Eliot Prize is an annual award for the best new poetry collection published in the U.K. and Ireland
www.cbc.ca
January 20, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Congratulations to #VWF2025 author Karen Solie, who has won the international T. S. Eliot Poetry Prize for her poetry collection, Wellwater.
Solie is the second Canadian to win the prize; Anne Carson won in 2001.
www.cbc.ca/books/saskat...
Solie is the second Canadian to win the prize; Anne Carson won in 2001.
www.cbc.ca/books/saskat...
If you missed out earlier on tickets to our February 6 event with George Saunders, a limited number of tickets have been released in the balcony!
This event is expected to sell out (again), so don’t hesitate: writersfest.bc.ca/event/george...
This event is expected to sell out (again), so don’t hesitate: writersfest.bc.ca/event/george...
George Saunders in Conversation | Vancouver Writers Fest
Booker Prize-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo, and one of Time’s one hundred most influential people in the world, George Saunders writes books that are both irreverent and momentous—and utterly...
writersfest.bc.ca
January 20, 2026 at 9:41 PM
If you missed out earlier on tickets to our February 6 event with George Saunders, a limited number of tickets have been released in the balcony!
This event is expected to sell out (again), so don’t hesitate: writersfest.bc.ca/event/george...
This event is expected to sell out (again), so don’t hesitate: writersfest.bc.ca/event/george...
Join the year-round VWF team! We’re hiring a Programming Coordinator. 📚
The Programming Coordinator is an essential member of our team, supporting the Artistic Director with year-round event planning.
Application deadline: February 15, 2026
Learn more and apply:
writersfest.bc.ca/vancouver-wr...
The Programming Coordinator is an essential member of our team, supporting the Artistic Director with year-round event planning.
Application deadline: February 15, 2026
Learn more and apply:
writersfest.bc.ca/vancouver-wr...
January 19, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Join the year-round VWF team! We’re hiring a Programming Coordinator. 📚
The Programming Coordinator is an essential member of our team, supporting the Artistic Director with year-round event planning.
Application deadline: February 15, 2026
Learn more and apply:
writersfest.bc.ca/vancouver-wr...
The Programming Coordinator is an essential member of our team, supporting the Artistic Director with year-round event planning.
Application deadline: February 15, 2026
Learn more and apply:
writersfest.bc.ca/vancouver-wr...
Incite—our free event series presented in partnership with VPL—returns on February 10, 2026 with @maggiehelwig.bsky.social, author of the 2025 Toronto Book Award winner, Encampment: Resistance, Grace, and an Unhoused Community.
writersfest.bc.ca/event/incite...
writersfest.bc.ca/event/incite...
Incite: Maggie Helwig on Encampment | Vancouver Writers Fest
Presented in partnership with Vancouver Public Library. The housing crisis plaguing major urban centres across Canada has sent countless people into the streets. In spring 2022, some of them found th...
writersfest.bc.ca
January 19, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Incite—our free event series presented in partnership with VPL—returns on February 10, 2026 with @maggiehelwig.bsky.social, author of the 2025 Toronto Book Award winner, Encampment: Resistance, Grace, and an Unhoused Community.
writersfest.bc.ca/event/incite...
writersfest.bc.ca/event/incite...
On March 12th, at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, acclaimed authors Karen Hao (Empire of AI) and Naomi Klein (The Shock Doctrine, Doppelganger) will sit down for a conversation on the profound ways in which unfettered AI growth is impacting our lives.
chancentre.com/events/empir...
chancentre.com/events/empir...
Empire of AI: Karen Hao in Conversation with Naomi Klein - Chan Centre
Empire of AI author and journalist Karen Hao speaks with Naomi Klein on how the accelerating AI revolution is reshaping society and concentrating power in the hands of a few.
chancentre.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:32 PM
On March 12th, at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, acclaimed authors Karen Hao (Empire of AI) and Naomi Klein (The Shock Doctrine, Doppelganger) will sit down for a conversation on the profound ways in which unfettered AI growth is impacting our lives.
chancentre.com/events/empir...
chancentre.com/events/empir...
Tonight at VPL! City of Vancouver Poet Laureate @eleekg.bsky.social welcomes you to an evening of reportage and readings from Citizen Poets.
Free and open to all. Come learn how you can be part of 2026’s Here, Hearing project.
versevancouver.ca/2026/01/04/h...
Free and open to all. Come learn how you can be part of 2026’s Here, Hearing project.
versevancouver.ca/2026/01/04/h...
January 13, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Tonight at VPL! City of Vancouver Poet Laureate @eleekg.bsky.social welcomes you to an evening of reportage and readings from Citizen Poets.
Free and open to all. Come learn how you can be part of 2026’s Here, Hearing project.
versevancouver.ca/2026/01/04/h...
Free and open to all. Come learn how you can be part of 2026’s Here, Hearing project.
versevancouver.ca/2026/01/04/h...
Reposted by Vancouver Writers Fest
I'm giving away a pair of tickets to this @writersfest.bc.ca event on January 21st with pulmyears.bsky.social Paul Myers, author of John Candy: A Life in Comedy
#vancouver
#vancouver
GIVEAWAY Paul Myers on John Candy
The Vancouver Writers Fest presents Paul Myers, author of book John Candy: A Life in Comedy on January 21st and you can enter to win tickets.
miss604.com
January 12, 2026 at 10:50 PM
I'm giving away a pair of tickets to this @writersfest.bc.ca event on January 21st with pulmyears.bsky.social Paul Myers, author of John Candy: A Life in Comedy
#vancouver
#vancouver
It is with great sadness we announce the passing of former Artistic Director Hal Wake, one of the great champions of Canadian literature, books, and ideas. Read more: mailchi.mp/writersfest.....
January 8, 2026 at 11:17 PM
It is with great sadness we announce the passing of former Artistic Director Hal Wake, one of the great champions of Canadian literature, books, and ideas. Read more: mailchi.mp/writersfest.....
Literary conversations are back on Granville Island. On Wednesday, January 21, don’t miss bestselling biographer Paul Myers in conversation with Charlie Demers.
Community partner: @viffest.bsky.social
Tickets: writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
Community partner: @viffest.bsky.social
Tickets: writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
Books & Ideas: Paul Myers on John Candy | Vancouver Writers Fest
Community Partner: VIFF Books & Ideas returns to Granville Island in the new year with headliner cultural icons: Paul Myers, Charlie Demers, and the enduring figure of John Candy. One of comedy’s…
writersfest.bc.ca
January 5, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Literary conversations are back on Granville Island. On Wednesday, January 21, don’t miss bestselling biographer Paul Myers in conversation with Charlie Demers.
Community partner: @viffest.bsky.social
Tickets: writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
Community partner: @viffest.bsky.social
Tickets: writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
It’s been a monumental year, with 125+ year-round and Festival events, that reached over 33,000 attendees in-person and online. There was no end to difficult topics to grapple with in a rupturing world; we found countless moments of lightness, humour, connection, and dancing too.
December 30, 2025 at 10:44 PM
It’s been a monumental year, with 125+ year-round and Festival events, that reached over 33,000 attendees in-person and online. There was no end to difficult topics to grapple with in a rupturing world; we found countless moments of lightness, humour, connection, and dancing too.
As we reflect on another spectacular year, we’re filled with gratitude for the community that shows up again and again to participate in the invaluable exchange of ideas.
From all of us at the Vancouver Writers Fest, we wish you a bright and merry holiday season! 🎄🎁🕯️ 🕎
From all of us at the Vancouver Writers Fest, we wish you a bright and merry holiday season! 🎄🎁🕯️ 🕎
December 24, 2025 at 7:30 PM
As we reflect on another spectacular year, we’re filled with gratitude for the community that shows up again and again to participate in the invaluable exchange of ideas.
From all of us at the Vancouver Writers Fest, we wish you a bright and merry holiday season! 🎄🎁🕯️ 🕎
From all of us at the Vancouver Writers Fest, we wish you a bright and merry holiday season! 🎄🎁🕯️ 🕎
Uh oh! It’s Christmas Eve, and you’ve left a book-loving friend off your gift list. Purchase a pass for the VWF Digital Festival and you can deliver it instantly, granting your gift recipient access to 26 full-length literary events.
🎁 writersfest.bc.ca/event/digital-festival-2025
🎁 writersfest.bc.ca/event/digital-festival-2025
December 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Uh oh! It’s Christmas Eve, and you’ve left a book-loving friend off your gift list. Purchase a pass for the VWF Digital Festival and you can deliver it instantly, granting your gift recipient access to 26 full-length literary events.
🎁 writersfest.bc.ca/event/digital-festival-2025
🎁 writersfest.bc.ca/event/digital-festival-2025
Last minute gift idea for book/film lovers! Get thee with haste to a bookstore and pick up a copy of John Candy: A Life in Comedy, to pair with tickets to our upcoming January 21 event with author Paul Myers in conversation with Charlie Demers.
🎟️ Tickets: writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
🎟️ Tickets: writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
December 23, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Last minute gift idea for book/film lovers! Get thee with haste to a bookstore and pick up a copy of John Candy: A Life in Comedy, to pair with tickets to our upcoming January 21 event with author Paul Myers in conversation with Charlie Demers.
🎟️ Tickets: writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
🎟️ Tickets: writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
Books & Ideas returns to Granville Island in the new year with headliner cultural icons. Paul Myers join us with John Candy: A Life in Comedy, in conversation with Charlie Demers.
Jan 21 at the Revue Stage on Granville Island.
writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
Jan 21 at the Revue Stage on Granville Island.
writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
December 22, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Books & Ideas returns to Granville Island in the new year with headliner cultural icons. Paul Myers join us with John Candy: A Life in Comedy, in conversation with Charlie Demers.
Jan 21 at the Revue Stage on Granville Island.
writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
Jan 21 at the Revue Stage on Granville Island.
writersfest.bc.ca/event/paul-m...
In @quillandquire.bsky.social, Canada’s book community—including VWF Artistic Director Leslie Hurtig, among other members of our local community—shares some of their favourite titles from 2025.
quillandquire.com/omni/canadas...
quillandquire.com/omni/canadas...
Canada’s book community shares some of their favourite titles from 2025 - Quill and Quire
The Q&Q team reached out to reviewers, editors, authors, booksellers, and others in the publishing industry from across the country to find out which 2025 titles they’re still thinking about as the ye...
quillandquire.com
December 19, 2025 at 8:13 PM
In @quillandquire.bsky.social, Canada’s book community—including VWF Artistic Director Leslie Hurtig, among other members of our local community—shares some of their favourite titles from 2025.
quillandquire.com/omni/canadas...
quillandquire.com/omni/canadas...
Some memories from our sold out event with Margaret Atwood, last week at the Orpheum. How lucky we were to end the year in her witty, luminous company.
Were you in the audience for this momentous occasion?
📸 Photos: Dillon Byrne
Were you in the audience for this momentous occasion?
📸 Photos: Dillon Byrne
December 19, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Some memories from our sold out event with Margaret Atwood, last week at the Orpheum. How lucky we were to end the year in her witty, luminous company.
Were you in the audience for this momentous occasion?
📸 Photos: Dillon Byrne
Were you in the audience for this momentous occasion?
📸 Photos: Dillon Byrne
The Digital Festival is live NOW! For a limited time, watch highlights from #VWF2025 online.
Featuring 26 full-length events, the Digital Festival offers hours of entertainment and inspiration.
🎟️ Sliding scale pricing. Get your pass at writersfest.bc.ca
Featuring 26 full-length events, the Digital Festival offers hours of entertainment and inspiration.
🎟️ Sliding scale pricing. Get your pass at writersfest.bc.ca
2025 Vancouver Writers Fest Digital Festival — Trailer
YouTube video by VancouverWritersFest
www.youtube.com
December 16, 2025 at 7:48 PM
The Digital Festival is live NOW! For a limited time, watch highlights from #VWF2025 online.
Featuring 26 full-length events, the Digital Festival offers hours of entertainment and inspiration.
🎟️ Sliding scale pricing. Get your pass at writersfest.bc.ca
Featuring 26 full-length events, the Digital Festival offers hours of entertainment and inspiration.
🎟️ Sliding scale pricing. Get your pass at writersfest.bc.ca