00. Barbara Kingsolver in Conversation

Barbara Kingsolver’s bestselling works of fiction—including The Poisonwood Bible, Demon Copperhead, and The Lacuna—have earned her a devoted readership around the world. Kingsolver joins us with her new instant classic, Partita, in conversation with award-winning journalist and author Marsha Lederman.

A promising, former music conservatory student has made peace with her marriage and modest livelihood, when a shocking phone call from an old lover shakes her to the core. With razor-sharp acuity and deep affection, Partita reflects on class barriers, the risks of ambition, and what might be the greatest romance of all: our eternal human longing for art and beauty.

Kingsolver herself is a pianist and music lover, and this captivating event will be uplifted by piano pieces performed by Allen Ding, an award-winning pianist and student at the Vancouver Academy of Music. Celebrate the opening of the 39th annual Vancouver Writers Fest at an evening of brilliant art, music, and conversation.

Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for supporting Barbara Kingsolver’s appearance in Vancouver, and our Community Partner: Vancouver Academy of Music.

More information about the Festival:
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Event Participants:

Allen Ding

An 11th grade student at St. George’s School, ALLEN DING currently studies with renowned pianist and conductor Ian Parker at VAM. Allen won 3rd place at the CMC National Finals in both 2018 and 2022. In 2025, he received a Provincial Gold Medal for his exam results in ARCT Piano. Allen plays piano in the award-winning Pi Trio, coached by Ian Parker and award-winning violinist Jenny Lim. They have performed at and organized many concerts, raising tens of thousands of dollars for charities such as Doctors Without Borders and the Canadian Cancer Society.

Barbara Kingsolver

BARBARA KINGSOLVER is the author of ten bestselling works of fiction, as well as books of poetry, essays, and creative nonfiction. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and has received numerous awards and honors including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the National Humanities Medal, and the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

Marsha Lederman

MARSHA LEDERMAN is an award-winning journalist and author. A columnist for The Globe and Mail, she previously served as The Globe’s Western Arts Correspondent for 15 years. She is the author of Kiss the Red Stairs: The Holocaust, Once Removed and October 7th: Searching for the Humanitarian Middle. Born and raised in Toronto, she has lived in Vancouver since 2007.