Author Elizabeth Hay will be appearing at the Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival, which runs through Sunday, Oct. 23.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
Thicken your weekend's plot at the Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival, a celebration of the written word that features over 100 authors – many of them major award-winners – from across Canada and around the globe.
Over the next two days, you can catch some of the biggest names in contemporary Canadian literature, including Miriam Toews, David Adams Richards and Elizabeth Hay, along with current Giller and G-G nominees Esi Edugyan, Lynn Coady and Zsuzsi Gartner.
Explore the scars of the conflict in Sierra Leone with Commonwealth Prize-winning author Aminatta Forna, or hear tales of life in sub-Saharan Africa, and in northern tree planting camps, at Non-Fiction After Noon with Gary Geddes, Charlotte Gill and Andrew Nikiforuk; learn about the Canadian immigrant experience with former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson in Room For All of Us, or find out about Chinese-Canadian life with Kevin Chong, Jen Sookfong Lee and Ling Zhang; sit in on a conversation between veteran writers Rudy Wiebe and Clark Blaise; and catch past G-G winners Joan MacLeod, Nino Ricci and John Vaillant at the 75th anniversary Governor General's Award Party.
Feeling criminal? Head for Bloody Scotland, an event where you'll find top Scottish crime authors Stuart MacBride, Denise Mina and Ian Rankin discussing the crooks they've created, or delve into humanity's darker side with Coady, Adams Richards, Nicole Lundrigan and D.W. Wilson at Possibilities of Hope; then pick yourself up with champagne and croissants at the Sunday Brunch featuring Wayne Arthurson, Anita Rau Badami, Marina Endicott and more.
Want poetry in motion? Don't miss Griffin Prize-winning Canadian poet Don McKay at We're Not the Centre of the Universe, as well as a host of award-winning wordsmiths at The Poetry Bash.
The Vancouver Writers and Readers Festival runs through Sunday. For more info and a full schedule, visit writersfest.bc.ca.