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.

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.

Workshops at Word

Looking to learn from the experts? Be sure to attend one of the many fantastic workshops at this year’s Word Vancouver! As with all Word Vancouver events and presentations, they are all FREE!

Alessandra Naccarato

As in the past, a full day of workshop programming will take place at the Vancouver Public Library Central Branch on Saturday, September 26, in both the Alma VanDusen and Peter Kaye Rooms. These workshops will include “Writing the Unexpected” with Alessandra Naccarato, “What Are the Outside Influences on Your Characters?” with Bennett R. Coles, “Wading into the Swamp: Getting Messy with Writing” with Daniela Elza, “Children’s Publishing Workshop” with Robin Mitchell Cranfield, “Non-Fiction Editing Workshop” with Scott Steedman, and “Crossing Boundaries: Writing in Different Genres” with Ian Weir. (Please note that reserving your 10-minute session for both the “Children’s Publishing Workshop” and “Non-Fiction Editing Workshop” is recommended. You can do so by emailing us.)

David Lasky

In addition to those on Saturday, you will also find plenty more workshops at Library Square on Sunday, September 27, the main festival day. Writing Talks workshops will include “Digital Publishing Strategies” with John Maxwell, “What Are Your Publishing Options?” with Julie Salisbury, and “How to Captivate Readers through the Senses” with Helen Polychronakos. In Word Talks you’ll find “Establishing and Growing Your Digital Footprint” with Trevor Battye and Suzanne Norman; and in Magazine Words, “Pitch Perfect” with Dan Post and AnnMarie MacKinnon. You can also join comics artists and chapbook makers in Underground Words + Art for “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. (Please note that the participant limit for the Underground workshops is 12, so pre-registering is recommended. You can do so by emailing us.)

Be sure to check out our program guide for full details about these workshops and all the programming at this year’s 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.