Every year, Victoria hosts Vancouver Island’s largest and liveliest celebration of authors and the literary community, bringing in authors from across Canada.
Now returning for their eighth year, the Victoria Festival of Authors is thrilled to welcome back book lovers, established and emerging writers, esteemed authors, and everything in between!
The festival will take place from Wednesday, October 16th to Sunday, October 20th and will feature a variety of events with authors spanning across numerous genres.
Not only are these events a way to engage with authors and creators, it’s also an opportunity to learn something new, meet like minded people and get a sense for Victoria’s rich literary community.
Events will kick off at 7:30 p.m. with “Writing for the Next Generation: the Importance of Indigenous Children’s Books”, moderated by Monique Gray Smith and curated by Nadya Comeau.
It will be held at Langham Court Theatre with authors Leslie Gentile, Ren Louie and Karen Whetung—who recently published her book, Four Fallen Eagles.
Another event worth highlighting is the beloved “Forest Poet/Tree Walk”, in which guests will walk with the authors as they read from their works.
Explore W̱MÍYEŦEN (wh-my-eh-then: place of the deer) Nature Sanctuary (formerly known as Mary Lake) with moderators Yvonne Blomer and Beth Kope, and authors Brandi Bird, Tim Bowling, Cynthia Woodman Kerkham and Shō Yamagushiku.
Yamagushiku published his first collection of poems earlier this year, titled shima. It follows both a narrative that spans his own life, as well as an ancestral, mythical parallel.
As this is an outdoor event, bring appropriate shoes, raingear, and energy for an hour-long walk through the woods and trails with stops along the way for poems.
If you hope to get in on the action ahead of the festival’s startdate, a launch weekend will be hosted on Saturday, September 21st and Sunday, September 22nd.
Launch weekend is new to the festival this year, and will feature four workshops with four of BC’s most celebrated authors, and a reading that includes them all.
The workshops offer sliding scale pricing, so attendees will have the ability to select a price that reflects financial comfortability.
Further, if the discount tickets still present financial hardship, contact them to discuss an alternative.
For the full 2024 Victoria Festival of Authors schedule, you can visit their website and learn more about what each has to offer.
If you wish to check out each of the books that will be featured at this year’s event, you can do so, here.
Happy reading and get ready to be inspired and captivated!
2024 Victoria Festival of Authors
- Where: Locations vary by event
- When:
- Launch weekend: Saturday, September 21st and Sunday, September 22nd
- Festival runs from Wednesday, October 16th to Sunday, October 20th
