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2020 Festival: October 19 - 25 | SPECIAL EVENTS: SEP - DEC

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2020 Festival: October 19-25
Special Events: Sep - Dec

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Youth Book Corner: Tune Into the Vancouver Writers Fest
Youth Book Corner: Hobbit Day
Youth Book Corner: Writers in the Classroom

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When Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane met in 1976, t

When Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane met in 1976, they had no idea that they would go on to write over forty books between them, balance their careers with their devotion to each other, and to their cats, for decades. Then, in 2017, their life changed when Patrick became seriously ill. The illness devastated them both. A celebrated poet and an Officer of the Order of Canada, Crozier’s memoir is a powerful portrait of a long marriage and a clear-eyed account of grief, writing as consolation, and the significance of poetry. A must-read memoir from a significant voice in Canadian poetry and winner of a multitude of awards, including the George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award, League of Canadian Poet’s Pat Lowther Award and Governor General’s Literary Award.⠀
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Tickets on sale now on our Showpass Box Office at http://bit.ly/VWFboxoffice!⠀
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@thesaskatchewanpoet @mclellandstewart #VWF2020 #throughthegarden #lornacrozier

Join beloved Governor General’s Literary Award-w

Join beloved Governor General’s Literary Award-winning author Kenneth Oppel as he discusses the first and second books in his critically-acclaimed trilogy about deadly plants, bizarre pathogens and a scrappy crew of teens working to unravel the mystery of their own immunity. Oppel is a favourite among young readers and an exceptional presenter. Audiences can look forward to an engaging and energetic start to their day—complete with themes of how the next generation can take the planet’s future into their own hands and prevent environmental calamity. An author who has sold millions of copies worldwide and inspired generations of readers, Oppel is a celebrated and immersive storyteller with a loyal following of teachers, librarians, and students alike. Catch this event on October 21. Tickets on sale now on our Showpass Box Office at http://bit.ly/VWFboxoffice!⠀
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@kenneth.oppel @harpercollinsca #VWF2020 #kennethoppel #hatchnovel #bloomnovel

Multi-award winning author and inaugural Massey Le

Multi-award winning author and inaugural Massey Lectures speaker Thomas King introduces readers to Bird and Mimi in Indians on Vacation, a brilliant, poignant new novel on personal and political histories. Inspired by postcards sent by their Uncle Leroy nearly a hundred years earlier, the couple attempt to trace Leroy and the family medicine bundle he took with him to Europe. Witty, sly and powerful, this tale follows one couple’s wanderings through Europe’s famous capitals to reveal a complicated past, present and future.⠀
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Tickets on sale now on our Showpass Box Office at http://bit.ly/VWFboxoffice!⠀
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@harpercollinsca #VWF2020 #thomasking #indiansonvacation #gillerprize

The best books for young adults contain the very s

The best books for young adults contain the very same elements that any great book does: innovation, careful attention to craft, and, of course, a really great story at the heart of it all. Join three fantastic writers and creators as they discuss their work that does all of this, and so much more. A.S. King, David. A Robertson and Sybil Lamb also use story to challenge us to reinvent the template of a novel, to investigate and interrogate our concepts of gender, and to decolonize our minds. Tanya Boteju guides a discussion about how each of these authors didn’t do what others told them to—in craft, in life, in self-perception—during an unexpected and inspiring event that celebrates heart as much as it does talent. Catch this event on October 21. Tickets on sale now on our Showpass Box Office at http://bit.ly/VWFboxoffice!⠀
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@davidrobertsonwriter @harpercollinsca @6byillamb @arsenalpulp #VWF2020 #askingauthor #asking #digbook #davidrobertson #davidarobertson #blackwater #thebarrengrounds #arsenalpulppress #sybillamb

Postcolonial Love Poem is an anthem of desire agai

Postcolonial Love Poem is an anthem of desire against erasure. American Book Award-winner Natalie Diaz’s brilliant second collection demands that every body carried in its pages—bodies of language, land, rivers, suffering brothers, enemies, and lovers—be touched and held as beloveds. Through these poems, the wounds inflicted by America onto an Indigenous people are allowed to bloom pleasure and tenderness. In claiming this autonomy of desire, language is pushed to its dark edges, the astonishing dunefields and forests where pleasure and love are both grief and joy, violence and sensuality. Diaz defies the conditions from which she writes, a nation whose creation predicated the diminishment and ultimate erasure of bodies like hers and the people she loves. Postcolonial Love Poem unravels notions of American goodness and creates something more powerful than hope—a future is built, future being a matrix of the choices we make now, and in these poems, Diaz chooses love.⠀
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Tickets now on sale on our Showpass Box Office at http://bit.ly/VWFboxoffice!⠀
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@ndinn @graywolfpress #VWF2020 #nataliediaz #postcoloniallovepoem #graywolfpress

The list of awards and accolades for these three A

The list of awards and accolades for these three American writers combined would continue long past this page, so we’ll just say that these incredibly gifted writers are at the top of their game, their works each addressing timeless and timely themes of individuality, freedom, justice, equality. Megha Majumdar’s electrifying debut, A Burning, follows three characters seeking to rise—to the middle class, to political power, to fame in the movies. Kawai Strong Washburn’s groundbreaking novel folds the legends of Hawai’ian gods into an engrossing family saga. Charles Yu’s fiction can be discovered in episodes of Westworld or one of his two lauded novels. His most recent, Interior Chinatown, is an intimate story about race, pop culture, and escaping stereotypes. These three sharp minds talk about the bright side of living in America right now—and writing it, too. Don’t miss out on this event on October 21. Tickets now on sale on our Showpass Box Office at http://bit.ly/VWFboxoffice!⠀
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@megha.maj @theincrediblekdub @penguinrandomca #VWF2020 #meghamajumdar #aburning #aburningnovel #kawaistrongwashburn #sharksinthetimeofsaviors #charlesyu #interiorchinatow

In 2015, Steven Heighton, the Governor General’s

In 2015, Steven Heighton, the Governor General’s Literary Award-winning poet of The Waking Comes Late, volunteered on the frontlines of the Syrian refugee crisis, on the isle of Lesvos in Greece. Heighton worked on the landing beaches and in a camp providing meals, clothes, and rest to refugees after their crossing from Turkey. Heighton—alongside locals and under-equipped aid workers—found himself in emergency roles for which he was woefully unqualified. This is an account of the crisis and an exploration of the borders that divide us and the ties that bind.⠀
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Tickets now on sale on our Showpass Box Office at http://bit.ly/VWFboxoffice!⠀
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@biblioasis_books #VWF2020 #stevenheighton #reachingmithymna

Understanding the importance of culture and tradit

Understanding the importance of culture and tradition comes with age, yet children are acutely aware of community and the need to belong. Bestselling author David A. Robertson has a knack for exploring these poignant, important themes in our lives. He visits the Festival with the first instalment of a new, middle grade series. The Misewa Saga follows two Indigenous children, Morgan and Eli, forced into foster care and feeling disconnected—until they find a portal to a new reality and must embark on an important mission to save their newfound community, Misewa. The novel launches in tandem with Robertson’s remarkable memoir, Black Water, which shares his story as an Indigenous son who grew up away from his culture—and how a visit to his family’s trapline heals old wounds and creates a new future. A returning favourite, Robertson captivates minds of every age with his storytelling prowess. Make sure to catch this event on October 20. Tickets now on sale on our Showpass Box Office at http://bit.ly/VWFboxoffice!⠀
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@davidrobertsonwriter @harpercollinsca #VWF2020 #davidrobertson #davidarobertson #blackwater #thebarrengrounds

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