Canadian Festivals and Reading Series
Canadian Literary Festivals and Reading Series are eligible to apply for funding through the Union's National Public Readings Program. Through this program, The Writers’ Union of Canada supports organizations across Canada that are hosting public author readings by providing payment for the author's reading fee and some travel expenses. This program is only open to authors who are members of the Union.
Have we missed a festival or reading series? Please email us the name of the festival, the city and province it takes place in, and its website, and we will happily add it to the list. Thank you!
Canada
- Canadian Festival of Spoken Word
- Freedom to Read Week
- National Poetry Month
- TD Canadian Children’s Book Week
- The Word On The Street (events in Halifax, Toronto, Saskatoon & Lethbridge)
British Columbia
- Bookfest: Children’s Book Festival (Vancouver Island)
- Can Write (Vancouver)
- Canadian Individual Poetry Slam (Vancouver)
- Cherie Smith JCCGV Jewish Book Festival (Vancouver)
- Dead Poets Reading Series (Vancouver)
- Denman Island Readers and Writers Festival (Denman Island)
- Elephant Mountain Literary Festival (Nelson)
- Galiano Literary Festival (Galiano)
- Lit Fest New West (New Westminster)
- LiterASIAN (Vancouver)
- North Shore Writers’ Festival (Vancouver)
- Planet Earth Poetry reading series (Victoria)
- Shuswap Lake International Writers’ Festival – Word on the Lake (Salmon Arm)
- Sidney and Peninsula Literary Festival (Sidney)
- Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts (Sechelt)
- Surrey International Writers’ Conference (Surrey)
- The Pacific Festival of the Book (Victoria)
- Vancouver Writers Fest (Vancouver)
- Victoria Festival of Authors (Victoria)
- Whistler Writers Festival (Whistler)
- Word Vancouver
- Word on the Lake Festival (Salmon Arm)
Yukon
There are no active literary festivals in Yukon at this time.
Alberta
- Banff Mountain Book Festival (Banff)
- Calgary International Spoken Word Festival
- Edmonton Poetry Festival (Edmonton)
- LitFest (Edmonton)
- STARfest - St. Albert Readers Festival (St. Albert)
- Stroll of Poets (Edmonton)
- Taleblazers: Young Alberta Book Society Literary Festival
- When Words Collide (Calgary)
- WordFest (Banff and Calgary)
North West Territories
-
Northwords (Yellowknife)
Saskatchewan
- Ânskohk Aboriginal Writer's Festival (Regina)
- Saskatchewan Festival of Words (Moose Jaw)
- Vertigo (Regina)
Manitoba
Ontario
- 1000 Islands Writers Festival (Gananoque)
- Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story (Wingham)
- Art Bar Poetry Readings (Toronto)
- BookFest Windsor (Windsor)
- Brockton Writers Series (Brockton Village, Toronto)
- Canadian Author Series (Port Colborne)
- Common Readings (Toronto)
- County Reads Authors Festival (Picton)
- Day of the Poets (Orangeville)
- Draft Reading Series (Toronto)
- Eden Mills Writers’ Festival (Eden Mills)
- First Nations House (Toronto)
- The Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) (Brampton)
- gritLIT (Hamilton)
- Impossible Arts (Toronto)
- Junction Reads (Toronto)
- Killaloe Kids Book Fest (Killaloe)
- Kingston Writers Festival (Kingston)
- Lakefield Lit Festival (near Peterborough)
- Life Rattle Podcasts
- Lit Live (Hamilton)
- Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop (Thunder Bay)
- Ottawa International Writers Festival (Ottawa)
- Poetry London (London)
- Prose in the Park (Ottawa)
- Riverbed Reading Series (Ottawa)
- Salon du Livre du Grand Sudbury (Sudbury)
- Salon du Livre de Hearst (Hearst)
- Shab-e She'r - Poetry Night (Toronto)
- Spoken Word Canada
- Spring Pulse Poetry Festival (Hamilton)
- Telling Tales Festival (Hamilton)
- Toronto International Festival of Authors (Toronto) – TWUC members receive a 50% discount on tickets.
- Toronto Poetry Slam (Toronto)
- Toronto Storytelling Festival (Toronto)
- Tree Readings (Ottawa)
- Two Women Productions (Lanark County)
- VerseFest (Ottawa)
- Voices of Today (Toronto)
- Wild Writers Literary Festival (Waterloo)
- Words in the Woods Dunedin Literary Festival (Dunedin)
- Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival (Sudbury)
- Words Aloud (Durham)
Quebec
- Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival (Montreal)
- Festival International de la Littérature (Montreal)
- Festival Phenomena (Montreal)
- ImagiNation Writers' Festival (Quebec City)
- Salon du Livre de Montréal (Montreal)
- Trois-Rivieres International Festival of Poetry (Trois-Rivieres)
- The Wakefield Writers Festival - La Pêche (La Pêche)
Nova Scotia
- Read by the Sea (River John)
- Cabot Trail Writers Festival (Baddeck)
- Lunenburg Lit Festival (Lunenburg)
New Brunswick
- Attic Owl Reading Series (Moncton)
- Fog Lit Festival (Saint John)
- Frye Festival (Moncton)
- Lorenzo Society Readings (Saint John)
- Word Feast (Fredericton)
- Wordsfall (St. Andrews)
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Ochre Fest (Ochre Pit Cove)
- Sparks Literary Festival (St. John’s)
- Winterset in Summer (Eastport)
- Writers at Woody Point (Woody Point)
Prince Edward Island
There are no active literary festivals in Prince Edward Island at this time.
