Colson Whitehead in Conversation

Join us before Festival Week at this September Special Event!

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead kicks off the Vancouver Writers Fest’s fall 2026 Special Event lineup on Wednesday, September 16. The bestselling author joins us with Cool Machine—the magnificent final volume of his lauded Harlem Trilogy (Harlem Shuffle, Crook Manifesto)

Named a most anticipated book by The New York Times, The New Yorker, TIME, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, LitHub, and Bookriot, this exuberantly entertaining new novel brings readers back to the gritty streets of 1980s New York. Unable to secure a loan for his beloved wife, furniture salesman Ray Carney is dragged back into the criminal underworld for one last heist. Coming out of retirement and teaming up with his old partner in crime will mean risking the safety and security he’s spent decades building for his family, with only one shot to get it right.

Whitehead will be interviewed on-stage by Vancouver journalist and writer William Johnson. Books will be for sale at the event from Book Warehouse, a division of Black Bond Books.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for supporting Colson Whitehead’s appearance in Vancouver.

Event Participants:

William Johnson

WILLIAM JOHNSON is a writer, strategist, and community builder based in Vancouver. He is the founder of Vancouver Tech Journal and VP at Overstory Media Group, where he helps grow local journalism across Canada. His writing spans technology, business, and food culture, appearing in outlets including The Georgia Straight. Through storytelling and events, William spotlights the people and ideas shaping Vancouver’s future. William joins us pre-Festival to interview Colson Whitehead at a September Special Event.

Colson Whitehead

Colson Whitehead joins us a pre-Festival Special Event on September 16, 2026.

COLSON WHITEHEAD is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twelve works of fiction and non-fiction, and is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, for The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad, which also won the National Book Award. A recipient of MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships, he lives in New York City.