Only Three Weeks to Go!

Now that it’s September, the 22nd annual Word Vancouver festival is just around the bend! Join us for the main festival day on Sunday, September 25 in and around the Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library, and for our satellite events taking place throughout the city from Wednesday, September 21 to Saturday, September 24.

The big Sunday event will once again feature our exhibitor marketplace, readings, panel discussions, writing workshops, site performers, family activities, and more, but you’ll notice our venue names have changed this year!

Community Garden will feature author presentations including Mark Leiren-Young (The Killer Whale Who Changed the World), Darcy Matheson (Greening Your Pet Care), Joy Kogawa (Gently to Nagasaki), Ujjal Dosanjh (Journey After Midnight), and Carmen Aguirre (Mexican Hooker #1), as well as an eco-fiction session and the panel “Writing From Within: Memoir and Identity.”

Joy Kogawa

At The Lions you’ll find authors such as Paul Yee (A Superior Man), Anosh Irani (The Parcel), Jennifer Croll (Bad Girls of Fashion), and Bif Naked (I, Bificus), as well as a presentation by VPL Writer in Residence Sam Wiebe and the panel “Inclusive Magazine Publishing: Barriers and Strategies for Writers and Publishers.”

Suspension Bridge will have two panels, “Demystifying the Submission Process” and “Fresh Blood,” a PRISM international showcase, and author readings from Yasuko Thanh (Mysterious Fragrance of the Yellow Mountains), Jen Sookfong Lee (The Conjoined), Ronald Wright (The Gold Eaters), Charles Demers (The Dad Dialogues), and more.

Our poetry venue will move back into a tent this year and is called Sunrise Suite. Here you’ll find readings by Kim Fu (How Festive the Ambulance), Garry Gottfriedson (Deaf Heaven), Carla Funk (Gloryland), Juliane Okot Bitek (100 Days), and bill bissett (th book), as well as presentations from the Dead Poets Reading Series and six of the 2016 Poetry in Transit poets.

Kim Fu

The Underground will once again feature comics and chapbook programming, including “Chapbook Races with Kevin Spenst,” the panel “Comics and the Creative Process,” “Drawing Autobiographical Comics with Sean Karemaker,” and chapbook readings from Leaf Press and above/ground press authors.

You’ll find more workshops and author presentations in Port of View and Perspective Point, including “Family as Inspiration: A Fiction Workshop with Simon Choa-Johnston” and “Invitation to English Tanka with Kozue Uzawa” in Port of View; and “Chalk Talk with Lynn Johnston,” an author presentation by Erik Bjarnason (Surviving Logan), “The Hustle with JJ Lee,” and “Creating an Excellent Book with Craig Shemilt” in Perspective Point.

Children’s and family programming will be found at The Quay, Imagination Island, and The Dock. The Quay will feature readings including Ellen Schwartz (Heart of a Champion), Uma Krishnaswami (Book Uncle and Me), Jordan Stratford (The Case of the Girl in Grey), and Laura Bifano (In the Red Canoe); and drawing workshops with For Better or For Worse creator Lynn Johnston. On Imagination Island, families and kids will find plenty of fun interactive activities, such as literary art making, book-making stations, trivia, and more. Performances at The Dock will include M’Girl, Dixie Star Storytelling, Fiddlin’ Frenzy, and Vancouver Youth Theatre.

Jordan Stratford

In addition to our Sunday programming, we also invite you to join us on Wednesday, September 21 at The Emerald for the Poetry in Transit 20th–Anniversary Celebration; Thursday, September 22 at Banyen Books & Sound for a presentation and book signing with Mark L. Winston (Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive) and The Cottage Bistro for the Twisted Poets Literary Salon; Friday, September 23 at Christianne’s Lyceum for An Evening of Faerie Magic and Historic Joy Kogawa House for “Sober Second Thoughts with Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall”; and Saturday, September 24 at The HiVE for a day of professional development workshops, Carnegie Community Centre for Type Up!, and CBC Studio 700 for the Pandora’s Collective Literary Awards Gala.

Be sure to check out the official program guide for a full listing of events, or the Schedule page on our website for the most up-to-date information.