Savour an afternoon of outstanding readings and high tea delicacies at this beloved Writers Fest tradition first started by our late founding artistic director, Alma Lee. The tables will be laden with scones, sandwiches, and cookies; the tea and coffee will be flowing, alongside a signature glass of sherry. Accompanying the sumptuous spread are readings of captivating fiction from celebrated authors: Anita Rau Badami (Asha in Her Garden), Patricia Finn (The Golden Boy), Melissa Harrison (The Given World), Nazanine Hozar (The Small Ones), Eden Robinson (The Sorceress of Sky Serpents), and Damien Wilkins (Delirious). Hosted by Bill Richardson.
Generously sponsored by the Faris Family in memory of Yulanda Faris.
Damien Wilkins’ attendance generously supported by Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa.
More information about the Festival:
Venue Map and Addresses | Box Office | Accessibility
Event Participants:
ANITA RAU BADAMI’s first novel was the bestseller Tamarind Mem. Her bestselling second novel, The Hero’s Walk, won the Regional Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and Italy’s Premio Berto, was named a Washington Post Best Book, was longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction, and was a finalist for the Kiriyama Prize. Her third novel, Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? was released in 2006 to great acclaim, longlisted for the IMPAC Award, and a finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Award. Her fourth novel, Tell It to the Trees, was longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and shortlisted for the Quebec Writers’ Federation Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. The recipient of the Marian Engel Award for a woman writer in mid-career, Badami is also a visual artist. She lives in Montreal.
PATRICIA FINN is a writer, ghostwriter, and editor. She was educated in Canada and New Zealand, where she completed post-graduate work in English and classics with a focus on Aristotle and Athenian tragedy. She has worked for television networks and production companies in both countries, including CBC and Television New Zealand. She has family roots in Canada and the United States and now lives in Vancouver.
MELISSA HARRISON is a novelist, nature writer, podcaster and children's author. Her 2018 novel All Among the Barley was the UK winner of the European Prize for Literature. Her work has been shortlisted for the Costa Book Award and the Wainwright Prize and longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction. She lives in Suffolk.
NAZANINE HOZAR was born in Tehran, Iran, before coming to Canada as a child. Her debut novel, Aria, is an award-nominated bestseller that was published to international acclaim. The Small Ones is her second novel. Nazanine Hozar lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
BILL RICHARDSON is the author of Last Week, an illustrated children’s book that sensitively portrays medical assistance in dying (MAiD); I Saw Three Ships, a collection of stories set in Vancouver’s West End; and Hare B&B, a picture book with illustrations by Bill Pechet.
EDEN ROBINSON is the author of several award-winning books, including Traplines, which won the Winifred Holtby Prize in the UK; Monkey Beach won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and was a finalist for the Giller Prize & the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction. Her book, Son of a Trickster, became a finalist for the Giller Prize & Canada Reads. She lives in Kitamaat Village, BC.
DAMIEN WILKINS is the author of fourteen books, including Delirious, which won the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. He is Director of the International Institute of Modern Letters Te Pūtahi Tui Auaha o Te Ao at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
