This Year’s Satellite Events

Today is the first of six days of this year’s Word Vancouver festival! We will return to the Central Branch of the VPL on Sunday for our main festival day, but there are plenty of fantastic events between now and then.

Tonight Shahla and Peter Nygaard (Decade of Discovery: A Couple’s Adventure that Spanned the Globe) will be at Banyen Books & Sound. They will discuss how they spent months walking and years on bicycles as they made their way through 77 countries on 6 continents. There is also the Poetic Pairings event presented by Pandora’s Collective at the Britannia Branch of the VPL. Listen as couplets bounce words off one another, relate their stories, and rejoice in the collaboration of expression.

Wednesday, September 20 will feature a second event at Banyen Books & Sound where Eric Bowers (Meet Me In Hard-to Love Places: The Heart and Science of Relationship Success) will discuss intimate relationships and why they give us the most exquisite and magical moments of our lives but also some of the most painful experiences we endure. Twisted Poets Literary Salon, presented by Pandora’s Collective, will be at The Cottage Bistro. Share in an evening of literary surprises. Connect, read, and enjoy presentations by Theresa Kishkan, Dan MacIsaac, and Arleen Paré.

On Thursday, September 21 is the third event at Banyen Books & Sound, which is a talk and signing with Azmina Kassam and Meharoona Ghani, contributors to The Muslimah Who Fell to Earth: Personal Stories by Canadian Muslim Women, which is a collection of 21 personal stories told by women from practically all backgrounds and persuasions. You can also learn how to work with a freelance editor at the nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona Branch of the VPL during Finding, Hiring, and Working with a Freelance Editor, presented by Editors British Columbia.

On Friday, September 22 we return to Christianne’s Lyceum for Heroics and Heart. Curl up with a cookie and a cup of hot chocolate while you savour stories about characters who find the courage within themselves to pursue their dreams, fight for what they believe in, and find a place they belong. Historic Joy Kogawa House will host An Evening of Japanese Poetic Forms: From the Tokaido Road to the World Stage where poets Terry Ann Carter, Rachel Enomoto, and Kozue Uzawa will discuss haiku, tanka, and haibun.

There will be three venues on Saturday, September 23. The 55+ Lifestyle Show, presented by INSPIRED Senior Living magazine, is at the PNE Forum and offers entertainment and seminars, alongside products and services geared for the 55+ consumer. ArtStarts Explores: Words will be at the ArtStarts Gallery. Bring the whole family for this fun workshop to explore the idea of written, spoken, and gestured words through creative art forms! Carnegie Community Centre will host three presentations. Write a Book and Get Published with Megan Williams, presented by The Self Publishing Agency, will give you practical tools and processes to start writing your book as well as an understanding of the publishing opportunities available. At Type Up! volunteers will be on hand to take your writing materials, help you edit them, and turn them into a typed file. Note to Self: Therapeutic Writing for Writers with Carmen Ostrander will draw on post-modernism, narrative therapy, and neuroscience to help you explore different ways of putting pen to paper in service of self through short exercises and discussion.

Visit our website for full details on all of these events and more!

Read Local BC Events at Word

Word Vancouver has teamed up with Read Local BC this year to bring you some excellent BC-published programming on Sunday, September 24!

Read Local BC will present an hour of children’s author readings in The Quay from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, hosted by Leslie Bootle:

12:00 pm Nicola I. Campbell 
A Day With Yayah (Tradewind Books $19.95)
A First Nations family goes foraging for edibles in the woods, and Grandmother passes down her knowledge of plant life. This picture book is set in the Nicola Valley of BC. First Nations author Nicola I. Campbell lives in BC with her son. Her books have won many awards, including the TD, the Marilyn Baillie, and the Anskohk Aboriginal Children’s Book of the Year awards. Ages 4-7

 

12:15 pm Jen Sookfong Lee 
Chinese New Year: A Celebration for Everyone (Orca Book Publishers $24.95)
From its beginnings as a farming celebration marking the end of winter to its current role as a global party featuring good food, lots of gifts, and public parades, Chinese New Year is a snapshot of Chinese culture. Award-winning author and broadcaster Jen Sookfong Lee recalls her childhood in Vancouver, BC, and weaves family stories into the history, traditions, and evolution of Chinese New Year. Jen Sookfong Lee writes, talks on the radio, and loves her slow cooker. Born and raised in East Vancouver, Jen now lives in North Burnaby with her son and dog. Ages 9-12 More

12:30 pm David Starr
The Nor’Wester (Ronsdale Press $11.95)
In The Nor’Wester, young Duncan Scott must flee his native Scotland, stowing away on a ship bound for Quebec. Hired by the North West Company, Duncan is sent across the continent with an important message for Simon Fraser. Here Duncan joins Fraser on his historic 1808 journey to the sea, meeting the many Indigenous peoples of the river. Along the way, Duncan faces death, danger, and treason, and must find the courage to save his companions, the expedition, and himself. David Starr is a prize-winning author of four books, including The Nor’Wester, Bombs to Books, and Golden Goal. He is a high school principal who lives in Coquitlam. Visit www.davidstarr.org. Ages 9-12 More

12:45 pm Irene N. Watts and Kathryn E. Shoemaker 
Seeking Refuge (Tradewind Books $19.95)
In this follow-up to Goodbye Marianne, award-winning author Irene N. Watts and celebrated illustrator Kathryn E. Shoemaker explore the reality of a young refugee girl who flees Nazi Germany on a kindertransporte, taking Jewish children to safety in Britain. Though lucky to be alive, Marianne is terribly lonely in her new home. This story will deeply resonate with young people aware of the plight and dire situation of refugees migrating through Europe and around the world today. Irene N. Watts is the author of numerous award-winning books and plays for children and young people, among them Goodbye Marianne and No Pets Allowed. She lives in Vancouver. Kathryn E. Shoemaker is the illustrator of many books for children, among them A Telling Time and My Animal Friends. She teaches children’s literature at the University of British Columbia. Ages 8-12 More

Read Local BC will also present the annual Poetry in Transit readings in the Sunrise Suite from 1:35 pm to 2:35 pm, hosted by Evelyn Lau:

1:35 pm Poetry in Transit
Read Local BC, in partnership with TransLink and BC Transit, presents the launch of this year’s Poetry in Transit campaign at Word Vancouver. This long-running project displays the work of ten BC poets on public transit vehicles throughout the province. Featured 2017 poets Adèle Barclay, Wendy Donawa, Rhonda Ganz, Ulrike Narwani, Jeff Steudel, and Onjana Yawnghwe will read from their latest work. The Poetry Bus, on site at Word Vancouver, will display this year’s poetry cards – hop on board and share your #PoetryInTransit favourites on Twitter to be entered to win one of three prize packages (more details at poetryintransit.ca).

If you’re looking for even more readings by BC-published authors, be sure to view the official festival program or the schedule page on our website!

Under 3 Weeks Until Word Vancouver Returns!

Tomorrow is the first day of September, and that means Word Vancouver is right around the corner! This year’s festival is six days, running from September 19-24. Our satellite events will take place from Tuesday, September 19 to Saturday, September 23, and the main festival day will be on Sunday, September 24 at Library Square.

As always, the main festival day on Sunday will feature free readings, panel discussions, writing workshops, site performers, family activities, an exhibitor marketplace, and more. Below is a sneak peak at Sunday’s venues.

Community Garden will feature Vancouver history, murder and mystery titles, and comics presentations and will include readings by Eve Lazarus (Blood, Sweat, and Fear), Aaron Chapman (The Last Gang in Town), Sheena Kamal (The Lost Ones), William Deverell (Whipped), and Katherine Collins (The Collected Neil the Horse).

Sheena Kamal

Suspension Bridge will have a variety of fiction, lifestyle presentations, and YA readings. Presentations will include Ahmad Danny Ramadan (The Clothesline Swing), Janie Chang (Dragon Springs Road), Gurjinder Basran (Someone You Love Is Gone), Darren Groth (Munro vs. the Coyote), and Louise Green (Big Fit Girl).

Sunrise Suite will feature readings by established and emerging poets, including Heidi Greco (Flightpaths), Marguerite Pigeon (What I’m Wearing Now), Leanne Dunic (To Love the Coming End), Shazia Hafiz Ramji (Prosopopoeia), Jónína Kirton (An Honest Woman), and Michael V. Smith (Bad Ideas).

Shazia Hafiz Ramji

Perspective Point will have panel discussions on a variety of topic, including “Mixed Voices Raised,” “Embracing Change: The Evolution of Room Magazine,” and “Local Authors, Local Settings–Mysteries Set in BC.”

Port of View will feature professional development and writing workshops such as “Establishing a Digital Footprint” with Trevor Battye and Suzanne Norman, “Feeling a Little Mixed—or—Do I Have a Story to Tell You?” with Jónína Kirton, and “Adventures in Elder Land” with Carollyne Haynes and Janet Dunnett.

The two children’s venues will feature great family fun all day long! The Quay will have readings by children’s authors and illustrators, including Jen Sookfong Lee (Chinese New Year), Mahtab Narsimhan (Mission Mumbai), Julie Flett (Black Bear Red Fox), Ashley Spires (The Thing Lou Couldn’t Do), and Sarah Ellis (Waiting for Sophie). Imagination Island will have fun, interactive family activities throughout the day such as a ring toss, wishing wall, bubble station, book coin toss, trivia, and more.

Ashley Spires

In addition to our Sunday programming, we also invite you to join us on Tuesday, September 19 at Banyen Books & Sound for a talk and signing with Shahla and Peter Nygaard (Decade of Discovery) and VPL Britannia Branch for Poetic Pairings; Wednesday, September 20 at Banyen Books & Sound for a talk and signing with Eric Bowers (Meet Me In Hard-to Love Places) and The Cottage Bistro for Twisted Poets Literary Salon; Thursday, September 21 at Banyen Books & Sound for a talk and signing with Azmina Kassam and Meharoona Ghani (The Muslimah Who Fell to Earth) and VPL nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona Branch for “Finding, Hiring, and Working with a Freelance Editor”; Friday, September 22 at Christianne’s Lyceum for “Heroics and Heart” and Historic Joy Kogawa House for “An Evening of Japanese Poetic Forms: From the Tokaido Road to the World Stage”; and Saturday, September 23 at the PNE Forum for the 55+ Lifestyle Show, ArtStarts Gallery for “ArtStarts Explores: Words,” and Carnegie Community Centre for “Write a Book and Get Published with Megan Williams,” “Type Up,” and “Note to Self: Therapeutic Writing for Writers with Carmen Ostrander.”

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

Only Three Months Away

The 2017 Word Vancouver festival is now only three months away! The main festival day is Sunday, September 24 and will once again take place at Library Square. Satellite events will take place at venues throughout Vancouver in the week leading up to the Sunday, from September 19-23.

We have tons of exciting author readings in store for this year, including Carleigh Baker (Bad Endings), John MacLachlan Gray (The White Angel), Daniel Zomparelli (Everything is Awful and You’re a Terrible Person), and Grant Lawrence (Dirty Windshields: The Best and Worst of the Smugglers Tour Diaries).

Readings for children will include Jen Sookfong Lee (Chinese New Year: A Celebration for Everyone), Nicola Campbell (A Day With Yayeh), and Sarah Ellis (Waiting for Sophie).

There will be poetry readings by Michael V. Smith (Bad Ideas), Heidi Greco (Flightpaths: The Lost Journals of Amelia Earhart), Leanne Dunic (To Love the Coming End) and more.In addition to the author readings, there will also be a variety of panel discussions, writing workshops, and more. Stay tuned for more details!

Activities for Kids and Families

Word Vancouver will once again have plenty of fun and activities for kids and families, with three venues on Sunday, September 25 devoted just to them!

Alpha Bravo Charlie by Sara Gillingham

The kids’ reading venue is called The Quay this year, and as always, there will be tons of author readings for kids of all ages. Kathy Beliveau and her book The Yoga Game in the Garden invites children to hum like a bee and grow like a tree with a variety of yoga poses, while Sara Gillingham‘s book Alpha Bravo Charlie: The Complete Book of Nautical Codes will inspire kids to code and decode messages using nautical flags, Morse code, the phonetic alphabet, and semaphore signalling. Other lovely picture books include In the Red Canoe by Laura Bifano, about a young girl’s adventures with her Grandpa in their canoe, and What Grandma Built by Michelle Gilman, which tells the story of Grandma and the wonderful home she built her family that bursts with toys, bunk beds, and pies. Tales for middle grade readers (ages 8-12) will include Heart of a Champion by Ellen Schwartz, which tells the story of Kenny, who has been interned with his family following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and his mission to convert a vacant field into a baseball field, thereby giving purpose to the long days; The Case of the Girl in Grey by Jordan Stratford, which continues the story of Ada Bryon Lovelace and Mary Shelley (the Wollstonecraft girls) as they investigate a horrible hospital, a missing will, a hasty engagement, and a suspiciously slippery servant; and Notes from the Life of a Total Genius by Stacey Matson, about Arthur’s final year at Terry Fox Junior High, and how he uses his wit (and his column in the school paper) to skewer the censorship of the play he wrote. Also in The Quay will be “Dumb and Stoopid,” two drawing workshops for kids aged 8-12 lead by For Better or For Worse creator Lynn Johnston.

Heart of a Champion by Ellen Schwartz

The family entertainment stage, The Dock, will feature the talents of sibling phenoms Kai and Lia of Fiddlin’ Frenzy; Dixie Star Storytelling, who fire the imagination of children and grown-ups alike with their innovative and interactive shows; stories and songs from Renae Morriseau and M’Girl; and improv for all ages with Vancouver Youth Theatre.

Imagination Island is where you will find fun, interactive family activities all day long. Join the staff and volunteers of Christianne’s Lyceum and dress the trees around the library in beautiful words, hunt for word treasure to turn into a sparkling poem, or write a fortune to add to their fortune-telling machine. Compose a frameable, inspiring piece of literary art celebrating your adventures at Word Vancouver with CWILL BC members and Reading Lights contributors. Frontier College will have a bookmark-making station, a book coin toss, and a jelly-bean guess where kids can win a bundle of books. Visit the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable and contribute to the creation of a colourful paper mural background and add your own collaged animals to it. Decoda Literacy Solutions, the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, the FortisBC Street Team, Kids’ Lit Quiz, and WestCoast Families will have more fun activities on Imagination Island too!

Renae Morriseau of M’Girl

Other family activities at this year’s Sunday event include a colouring book activity featuring pages from locally-published colouring books; and a fairy tale scavenger hunt, where kids can search the festival site for 10 characters and answer questions about them to win a prize.

In addition to Sunday’s programming, also be sure to visit Christianne’s Lyceum on Friday, September 23 for An Evening of Faerie Magic. The Lyceum’s garden has long attracted faeries far and wide. They will be celebrated with stories, treats, and crafts for the entire family. Enjoy tea and faerie bread while making faerie sculptures and listening to faerie stories told by experts Tiffany Stone, Kallie George, Danika Dinsmore, and Christianne Hayward.

A full listing of our family events and all other programming can be found in our program guide or on our website.

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.

Word Vancouver is Coming!

The 22nd Annual Word Vancouver Festival will be back this fall! From September 21-25, you’ll enjoy readings, workshops, entertainment, and more. All for FREE!

Our main festival day will once again take place at Library Square at the Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library on Sunday, September 25. Fiction and non-fiction author presentations will include Lynn Johnston (For Better or For Worse), Anosh Irani (The Parcel), Bif Naked (I, Bificus), Jen Sookfong Lee (The Conjoined), Ujjal Dosanjh (Journey After Midnight), Paul Yee (A Superior Man), Ronald Wright (The Gold Eaters), and Joy Kogawa (Gently to Nagasaki).

Anosh Irani (photo credit: Nirmal Shah)

Garry Gottfriedson (Deaf Heaven), bill bissett (th book), Kim Fu (How Festive the Ambulance), Jordan Abel (Injun), and Kevin Spenst (Ignite) will share their poetry in the poetry venue.

Children’s authors such as Caroline Adderson (Jasper John Dooley: Public Library Enemy #1), Jordan Stratford (The Case of the Girl in Grey), Uma Krishnaswami (Book Uncle and Me), Michelle Gilman (What Grandma Built), and Stacey Matson (Notes from the Life of a Total Genius) will read from their latest books in the family area.

Bif Naked (photo credit: Karolina Turek)

In addition to readings and author presentations, you will also find panels, workshops, entertainment, and our vibrant exhibitor marketplace in and around the library.

Leading up to the main festival day, from September 21-24, you will find plenty of other exciting literary events happening around town, including a presentation by Governor-General’s Award Winning author Mark Winston at Banyen Books & Sound on Thursday, September 22, and the Pandora’s Collective Literary Awards Gala at CBC Studio 700 on Saturday, September 24.

More festival details will be available soon. Stay tuned!

The 21st Annual Festival Concludes

Word Vancouver has wrapped up for another year. Thank you to everyone that participated and attended! We had a great time, and we hope you did too.

We enjoyed events from September 23 to 26 at venues including SFU Harbour Centre, The Cottage Bistro, Banyen Books & Sound, Christianne’s Lyceum, Historic Joy Kogawa House, CBC Studio 700, and the VPL Central Branch. The festival culminated with the main day on Sunday, September 27 in and around Library Square, where attendees delighted in author readings, writing workshops, panel discussions, entertainment, public typing stations, and more!

The 2015 festival saw the debut of our Family Stage, which featured family-friendly entertainment and activities all day long on our main festival day. Surrounding the Family Stage were plenty more kids and family activities, found under the Kids’ Lit and Kids’ Words tents. Thank you to those who donated to our Chimp campaign to help fund this new family programming!

Also new to the festival was our Underground Words + Art venue. This venue was devoted to everything comics and chapbooks and featured panels, workshops, readings, and exhibitors.

This year’s festival may have come to an end, but we’re already excited about next year’s! Look for details in the new year about the 2016 festival.

Comics and Chapbooks at Word

Word Vancouver is very pleased to host lots of great comics and chapbooks programming at this year’s festival! With a whole venue devoted to comics and chapbooks this year, you’ll find programming all day long on Sunday, September 27.

Underground Words + Art will be located in the Alice MacKay Room, which is inside the library and downstairs. Here you will find 20+ comics and chapbooks exhibitors, including Vancouver Comic Con, Jonathon Dalton, Colin Upton Comics, Gustafson Chapbooks Series, and Phantacea Publications. A full list of Underground exhibitors can be found on the site map page of our program guide on page 35.

In addition to visiting the exhibitors in Underground Words + Art, you can also take part in hands-on workshops, such as “Comics Workshop for Beginners” with David Lasky, “Visual Storytelling” with Ken and Joan Steacy, and “Poems Fit to Print and Fold: A Chapbook Workshop” with Kevin Spenst; join a panel of experts for “The Chapbook: For Love or Money” and “Comics: DIY and Self-Publishing”; and enjoy chapbook readings from The City Series: Number One–Vancouver and Cascadia.

Additional comics programming will be in Writing Talks, also located downstairs in the library in the Peter Kaye Room. Here you will find I Thought I Told You to Shut Up, a documentary screening with David E. Boswell, as well as readings from Julian Lawrence (The Adventures of Drippy the Newsboy Vol 1: Drippy’s Mama) and Michael Kluckner (Toshiko).

For more details about all things comics and chapbooks at this year’s festival, be sure to check out our program guide and website.

Tons of Family Activities

This year Word Vancouver will have even more fun and activities for kids and families! 2015 marks the launch of our Family Stage, which will feature family-friendly fun and entertainment all day long on Sunday, September 27. Here you’ll find performances by Dixie Star Storytelling, Sharon Shorty (the current VPL Storyteller in Residence), Vancouver Youth Theatre, and Fiddlin’ Frenzy. You will also enjoy readings from award-winning Australian author Aleesah Darlison as well as Grant Lawrence, Mike McCardell, Nan Gregory, and Kathryn Shoemaker, who will share their favourite children’s books. In addition, there will be interactive sessions with Maura Camino, including Spanish Storytime and Spanish Music Time. Visit our website for a full listing of Family Stage entertainment.

Returning for this year’s festival is Kids’ Words, which will feature author and illustrator readings from Deborah Hodge (West Coast Wild: A Nature Alphabet), Julie Flett (Dragonfly Kites), Robin Stevenson (The Summer We Saved the Bees), Brandee Bublé (Jayde the Jaybird), Robert Heidbreder (Song for a Summer Night), and more! If you’re looking for YA programming for your teens and tweens, you’ll find them in Authors’ Words, with readings from Darren Groth (Are You Seeing Me?) and Rachel Hartman (Shadow Scale). Kids’ Lit will also return with fun, interactive family activities provided all day long by FortisBC, Maura Camino, Christianne’s Lyceum, the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, Decoda Literacy Solutions, Frontier College, and WestCoast Families.

In addition to Sunday’s programming, be sure to join us at Christianne’s Lyceum on Friday, September 25, for “Adventure Awaits!” Following readings from Tiffany Stone, Elisa Gutiérrez, Kathy Beliveau, and Lee Edward Födi, children will be invited out to the Lyceum’s garden for a magical glow-in-the-dark treasure hunt!

Check out our website and official program guide for a full listing of festival events and activities.

Interested in supporting our children’s and family programming? Help us help kids fall in love with books and reading by donating to our Chimp campaign!