A festival bringing Canadian authors and readers together is returning to the North Shore this week.
The North Shore Writers Festival is taking place at the North Vancouver District Public Library’s Lynn Valley branch from April 24 to 26 with author discussions and writing workshops to help share the ins and outs of having a book published.
Now in its 25th year, the free writers festival will kick off with a traditional welcome with Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) knowledge keeper Tsitsáyxemaat (Rebecca Duncan) Thursday evening.
Shortly after there will be “Hockey Talk” with author and sportswriter Daniel Wagner and sports author and former journalist Ed Willes, with North Shore News editor Andy Prest moderating. Following that will be a panel discussion with award-winning journalists Steph Kwetásel’wet Wood and Anne Shibata Casselman discussing their experiences reporting on the environment.
Friday night starting at 7 p.m. will be a literary trivia event hosted by Vancouver-based author, comedian and voice actor Charles Demers. Each member of the winning team will be awarded a prize and title of the “2025 North Shore Writers Festival Literary Trivia Champions,” plus random draw prizes.
Canadian poet and picture book writer Laura Farina will start Saturday’s lineup with a hands-on workshop detailing the conventions of a picture book, followed by a panel discussion about how to get your work published traditionally or self-published and gain publicity.
Love getting chills from reading horror and thrillers? Authors Sam Wiebe, Linda Cheng and Erica McKeen will chat with memoir author JJ Lee about how they intertwine the darkness into their work.
The last literary discussion will be with author Chelene Knight discussing her latest book Safekeeping: A Writer’s Guided Journal for Launching a Book with Love, and reading from her two books Safekeeping and Let It Go: Free Yourself from Old Beliefs and Find a New Path to Joy. Margaret Gallagher from CBC’s North by Northwest will host the discussion.
The writers festival will end off with a closing reception with refreshments and music, as well as an announcement of the winner of the North Shore Writers’ Association’s annual writing contest.
Registration is required to attend events. Check the North Shore Writers Festival website to find timing of events.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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