The Festival of the Written Arts brochure arrived this week and it’s quickly become a hot topic for discussion in our household. This is a great August weekend event, but you’ve got to be organized before the tickets go on sale because many of the events sell out quickly.
This is their 29th anniversary, so, what are the highlights? This year’s Giller prize winner, Johanna Skibsrud will talk about her first novel The Sentimentalists. John Vaillant, author of The Golden Spruce, returns to the Festival with a new book The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival, and it promises to be another page-turner. Margaret Trudeau, wife of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau makes her first appearance at the Festival with her third book Changing My Mind, and will be interviewed by award-winning journalist Vicki Gabereau. All together, there will be 21 authors speaking over this wonderful 3-day weekend event.
The Festival has been described as, “Canada’s longest running summer gathering of Canadian writers and readers, featuring established literary stars and exciting, new voices… with opportunities for writers and readers to mingle amidst Rockwood’s heritage gardens.” If you’re a reader (aren’t we all?) and want to do some research on your reading list for the upcoming year, this is definitely the place to be.
You can check out the full program at their website, http://www.writersfestival.ca/, but I wouldn’t delay. As for me, I’ll have my choices made and be ready with my phone on speed-dial come 8AM on Wednesday, May 25th.
