Meet two premier voices in Canadian dark fantasy fiction.
Dark Side Fantasy
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2026 Authors Onstage
Beyond the Veil of Things
Sophia Hannan and Rebecca Hirsch Garcia take to the stage with two remarkable fantasy novels.
Odds, Ends, and Exile: Essays in Focus
The personal essay possesses an incredible, elastic range, serving as a vital tool to inform, delight, and profoundly change minds. Award-winning writers Richard Kelly Kemick and Jamaluddin Aram explore this dynamic form on the KWF stage.
Into (and Out of) the Wild
Delve into our complicated relationship with the natural world with acclaimed authors Robert Moor and Andrew Westoll.
Our Reconstructions
How do the stories we inherit shape who we become? Kingston WritersFest is thrilled to present, a special evening with literary legends Helen Humphreys and Judith Thompson.
Short Story Showcase
Three masterful storytellers take the festival stage to show exactly how much narrative power, depth, and precision can be packed into the short story form. This marquee event brings together distinct literary voices to explore the sharp edges of human relationships, hidden histories, and the art of the literary remix.
Strange Pilgrims
For aspiring Canadian screen or TV writers, Hollywood is the north star. Getting there is a combination of hard work, talent, and luck. Coming back is a whole other thing.
A Fan’s Life
What happened to the sports we used to love? And the way we used to love them? Giller Prize-nominee David Macfarlane explores these questions in On Sports, a nostalgic yet sharp look at the games that define, move, and repel us.
Poets in a Strange Land
Join acclaimed author Camilla Gibb and former Kingston Poet Laureate Jason Heroux as they discuss their new collections. Blending Gibb’s profound anthropological insight with Heroux’s signature “surrealism of the everyday,” this compelling session celebrates two distinct, powerful voices.
Reckonings
Experience a powerful evening of storytelling with award-winning authors Tara Gereaux and Wayne Johnston, author of The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. Johnston’s new novel, The Novice of Holloway Hall, follows an acerbic former novice unearthing family secrets in a crumbling Newfoundland estate. Meanwhile Tara’s Wild People Quiet, set on the prairies post World War II, is the story of a woman with a strong interest in keeping her secrets hidden.
Familiar Creatures
Authors Dan Werb and Nadja Lubiw-Hazard explore the complex connections between humans and the animal kingdom.
Future Forces & Quixotic Quests
Glenn Dixon and Mark Medley take to the stage to explore profound human connections in The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances and Live to See the Day.
The Unremembered Past
Welcome back Marina Nemat as she joins Leslie Shimotakahara on stage to discuss two remarkable works of historical fiction inspired by real-life family stories.
Modern Myths and Miracles
Kingston WritersFest welcomes award-winning novelists Colin McAdam and Anita Rau Badami to the stage.
The Inbetween Leader
Kingston WritersFest is delighted to present former Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould with her new book, The Inbetween Leader: Cultivating Courage and Unity in a Complex World.
Grease on the Palms
Lifelong eco-activist Maude Barlow takes the stage with journalist, author, and former roughneck Don Gillmor to examine and expose the forces driving our climate crisis.
The Sting
Join Leslie Bradford Scott and Kingston’s own Adrian Michael Kelly as they dismantle family secrets and personal wreckage.