Events
Kick-off Event with Margaret Atwood
“A Word After a Word After a Word is Power”
Sunday, August 24, 2025
2:00 – 3:30 pm
Margaret Atwood, in conversation with Ian Williams
2025 Festival Pass
Program Guide
Authors Onstage
Resistance and Refuge
Madeleine Thien’s Book of Records casts a
curious girl and her secretive father in a
speculative fable of migration. Uncertain of
any future, the child is rescued by books,
migrants’ tales, and fragments of famous
past lives. Canisia Lubrin’s debut novel,
which won the 2025 Carol Shields Prize,
is rooted in the Code Noir of 1685 that
governed slavery and shaped the modern
world. Her diverse characters from the past,
present and future, struggle to live free of
history.
What We Carry
A profound and stylistically daring debut novel from an accomplished poet, We, the Kindling maps the terrain of brutality and survival, suffusing the worlds of these girls and women with an unforgettable humanity.
Stories narrated by six fictional women give voice to the real-life victims of a reign of child kidnappings that terrorized Uganda for decades. Many did not return; those who did bore the weight of unspeakable burdens to family and communities that preferred to look away.
Projections and Reflections
Event DetailsFriday, September 19, 20251:30 - 3:00 pmLimestone City BallroomKingston Marriott...
You Can’t Read That!
Libraries culled, titles dropped from the curriculum, authors accused of indoctrination – censorship is on the rise, fed by political agendas left and right. In On Book Banning, Ira Wells argues that the solution to opposing viewpoints is not outright expurgation—and that freedom of expression makes both art and democracy possible.
Bushwhacked by Inspiration: Short Stories
“A short story,” wrote Lorrie Moore, “is a love affair, a novel is a marriage.” Indeed, short stories are intense, compressed nuggets of revelation, but the best of the them are never fleeting: their impact can last a lifetime. In Skin, Catherine Bush is haunted by global crises and the complexities of human connection. Deepa Rajagopalan mines the quotidian for the universal. Jamal Saeed’s stories, written while a political prisoner, search for truth in the imaginary. Sarah Tsiang reads from Sacred Rage: Selected Stories, a posthumous collection by Steven Heighton, who said, “I simply wrote stories whenever I got bushwhacked by inspiration.”
Follow the Threads
Haute couture and a tapestry of family stories mingle in two delectable reads. In Margaret’s New Look by Katherine Ashenburg, a controversial exhibition of Christian Dior’s 1947 collection exposes personal and political mysteries. Jeanne Beker’s Heart on My Sleeve explores a wardrobe of high-fashion memory and thrift-store artefacts that reveal a remarkable life well worn.
Mystery at the Marriott
Witty, twisty, the best in murderous–and highly contemporary–cozies. Nita Prose’s latest, The Maid’s Secret, is a spirited heist caper and unexpected love story. Kate Hilton’s (& Elizabeth Renzetti’s) Widows and Orphans is a zingy whodunit, replete with suspect wellness gurus and devious influencers.
Soldiers Go to War
Linden MacIntyre’s enthralling biography of Sir Hugh Tudor (An Accidental Villain) traces a brilliant military career turned tragic when Churchill sends him to the 1920 Irish rebellion. Jack Wang’s fictional WWII paratrooper, Josiah Chang (The Riveter), serves on the front lines in hopes of earning Canadian citizenship and the right to vote. Two soldiers, one real, one fictional, caught up in the maelstroms of war and intractable prejudice.
52 Ways to Reconcile
With warmth and humour, Indigenous YA author and memoirist David A. Robertson provides the essential guide to small but attainable acts that can make a genuine difference on the path to reconciliation and a healthier country. “For every Canadian who ever asked, what can I do? this is the book you’ve been waiting for.” – Shelagh Rogers.
The Mind Mappers
In his bestselling book The Mind Mappers: Friendship, Betrayal, and the Obsessive Quest to Chart the Brain, award-winning Globe and Mail Quebec reporter Eric Andrew-Gee pursues the tortured friendship between world-famous neurologist Wilder Penfield and his forgotten co-researcher William Cone. Don’t miss this riveting and revealing conversation!
Elbows Up! and After
The Elbows Up movement is the Canadian political story of the year, a swell of national pride confronting an existential threat and inspiring Canada’s sharpest and most influential minds to ask and answer: how do we meet the moment? Join Elamin Abdelmahmoud, editor of the new anthology Elbows Up!: Canadian Voices of Resilience and Resistance, and contributors Off, Robertson, and Moscrop for a lively, candid discussion of the phenomenon and its future.
Inside Story
Anne Collins, Executive Editor at Random House Canada, has been editor to some of the top writers in the world, including Julian Barnes, Robert Macfarlane, Richard Powers, Douglas Coupland, Roméo Dallaire, Michelle Good, Chris Hadfield, Linden MacIntyre, Carol Off, Eden Robinson, Ian Williams, and more.
Books & Bites
Knowledgeable, generous, and always delightful, Ben McNally of Toronto’s Ben McNally Books is our reliable guide to the best titles of the season. His picks range across genres, with insights on popular bestsellers and recommendations of lesser-known gems. Lose yourself in a good book – but register early: seating is limited at this popular event.
Wild Rides
You’ve Changed, the eagerly awaited new novel by Giller Prize winner Ian Williams, is a sharp, inventive, and absurdly funny dissection of a marriage between people who can no longer recognize each other. In Endling—a mix of extinction science, the international bride trade, and Russia’s war against Ukraine—Maria Reva spins fiction with all-too-real life. Join a conversation between the creators of two of the most dazzling and buzz-worthy novels of the year.
Walking with Beth
In the spring of 2021, Merilyn Simonds asked her friend Beth Robinson if she’d like to go for a walk. Simonds had just turned 70, entering what struck her as a mysterious, even frightening stage of life. Beth, a vibrant centenarian, was as awake to the world as a person half her age. Who better to ask what might come next? Walking with Beth is a unique take on longevity and friendship, full of wisdom, tenderness, joy, and the passions that sustain a long life.
Writers Studio
Transforming Fact Into Story
Friday, Sep 19
2:30 – 5:30 pm
Participants in this class will explore some of the literary methods that enable fact-based writing to spring to life. We will consider what photographs reveal (and also what they do not reveal). We will ask if narratives need to move beyond the constraints of facts, and we will consider how memories feed – but sometimes inhibit – the vital work of imagination.
Secrets of the Picture Book
Friday, Sep 19
8:30 – 11:30 am
For the first time, Kingston WritersFest offers a master class in the craft of writing picture books. This hands-on workshop for adult writers begins by exploring the key elements that make a picture book compelling.
Play with Poetry
Friday, Sep 19
9:30 – 11:00 am
Embrace a sense of play and delight with poetry. Even experienced poets are sometimes afraid to try different poetic forms. However, if one thinks of poetic forms as similar to a game structure, we see forms for what they are: an invitation to play.
Story Is a State of Mind
Friday, Sep 19
3:30 – 5:00 pm
Sarah Selecky’s teaching bridges the often-separated worlds of technical craft and spiritual practice in writing. She has discovered that the most transformative creative breakthroughs happen when writers learn to channel their natural curiosity into heightened awareness—what she calls moving from “scattered observation to conscious presence.”
Finding the Funny
Friday, Sep 19
1:30 – 4:30 pm
This will be an active and interactive workshop, designed for all writing levels, so be ready to write, experiment, and, of course, laugh. Comedy is for everyone! Whether you’ve dabbled in it before or are just curious to give it a shot, this class will set you on your way with tips and techniques to help you find the funny.
Tackling Your Memoir: 7 Essential Steps to Courage and Craft
Saturday Sep 20
1:30 – 3:00 pm
Writers often launch excitedly into a memoir project, with a vital story to tell, and then reality hits. Or, as the great Wayson Choy used to say, The honeymoon ends. Many questions and doubts arise. Who am I to write a memoir? Who cares what happened to me? Where to start? What tense and POV to use? What to include and what to leave out? What about the others in my life who are part of the story – how can I write about them without hurting or alienating them? And more.
Writing Characters, Writing the World
Saturday, Sep 20
8:30 – 11:30 am
When writing fiction, every author faces the challenge of bringing characters to life and moving them through a lively world. Participants can expect an exciting variety of in-class prompts that focus on attention, motion, and specific noticing.
The Modern Publishing Landscape
Event DetailsSaturday, September 20, 20258:30 - 9:30 amRideau RoomKingston Marriott...
How to Write a Story Only You Can Write
Event DetailsSaturday, September 20, 202510:00 - 11:30 amRideau RoomKingston Marriott...
Leave Them Hanging
Saturday Sep 20
1:30 – 3:00 pm
What is suspense? Alfred Hitchcock said it was showing the audience the bomb under the seat in the theatre, leaving them wondering when it will go off. In this three-hour master class, acclaimed crime writer Howard Shrier will show you how to raise the levels of suspense in your story so that readers keep turning pages into the night.
Wording the Image: Writing Inspired by Visual Art
Saturday, Sep 20
noon – 3:00 pm
How do we translate a painting, drawing, collage, or sculpture into words? This three-hour intensive class designed for emerging and experienced writers offers a chance to explore the beautiful practice of ekphrasis (writing that engages with a work of visual art).
A Character Walks into a Predicament
Sunday, Sep 21
8:30 – 11:30 am
12:30 – 3:30 pm
Prepare to dive deep into what each character carries, what’s in their pockets, their tote, their personal baggage: the physical world and the props it provides the character in striving to achieve their goal and in better revealing them to the reader.
The More Things Change: Writing Believable Transformations Across Genres
Sunday, Sep 21
8:30 – 10:00 am
Good writing depends on change. Fiction writers don’t rest until their characters undergo a significant change over a story’s arc. This transformative master class will journey through the power of change, exploring change as a cornerstone of writing, and inspiring participants to reflect on their own evolving arc as a writer.
Intergenerational Storytelling: Unpacking Family Legacies and Unspoken Truths
Sunday, Sep 21
1:30 – 3:00 pm
Caroline and Liisa will delve into how historical context shapes personal lives, how silence can become a legacy, and how to approach sensitive subjects with both authenticity and compassion by focusing on several key areas.
Readers Salon
How to Read a Poem
Do you blanch at the sight of lines that don’t stretch all the way across the page? Noted poet and dynamic presenter Paul Vermeersch discusses some of his favourite poems, deconstructing their basic poetic forms, explaining how each poem can change the way we read, and discussing how these poems have informed and inspired his own writing. William Carlos Williams famously described a poem as “a small (or large) machine made of words.” Yes, says Vermeersch, but it’s the reader who operates the machine!
Please Don’t Cry, Mr. Wolf
Translators translate not only words; they translate culture. But how does a translator convey cultural difference while remaining faithful to the original text? And how to translate jokes and swear words? Novelist, translator of sixteen Quebec novels into English, and winner of the Governor General’s Award for Translation, Wayne Grady traverses the world of translated literature, sharing some of the hair-pulling conundrums that drive translators crazy, even when they get them right, and make readers laugh out loud when they don’t.
Developing a Reader’s Eye
Reading, like other encounters with art, deepens our experience of life itself. We can feel ourselves changed by a painting or a sculpture or a book. Drawing on her new collection of essays, In the Field, Kingston Poet Laureate and Governor General’s Award winner Sadiqa de Meijer explores the ways in which reading becomes transformative. What happens in our imaginations when we engage in the collaborative solitude of reading a book? And what are the implications of that alchemy for our culture and ourselves?