Icons Guide:
Writers Studio | 
Ticketed Event
WS2. The Voice of the Poem
Zoom WebinarHow to Write for Performance As a poet, writer, and dancer, Abena Beloved Green seeks to create, engage, and elevate through words and movement. In this workshop co-presented by Calliope […]
3. FFT: Before Attica: The Kingston Pen’s Forgotten Riot
Zoom WebinarOn April 14, 1971, one of the most violent and devastating prison riots in Canadian history erupted behind the walls of Kingston Pen. Yet fifty years later, few know the […]
4. FFT: Spinning a Good Yarn: A Cross-Canada Road Trip
Zoom Webinar*** POSTPONED TO A LATER DATE *** Anyone who’s ever been gifted a hand-knit item (or gone through the effort of making one) will understand the artistry, time, and care […]
WS3. Beginnings and Endings
Zoom WebinarWhile every element of crafting a story is important, the beginning and end of a piece are likely the most memorable for a reader. A strong start draws the reader […]
5. Adventuring Within: Reconnecting with Our Deepest Self
Zoom WebinarIn a modern world where connectivity is near constant, the idea of disconnecting can feel nerve-wracking, antisocial, or unproductive. Yet a pause - for a breath, an hour, or more […]
6. Privilege, Power, and Dead Billionaires
Zoom WebinarAward-winning novelist, short story writer, scriptwriter and photographer Thomas King is back with a stand-alone thriller that takes a sly and satirical look at politics, greed, and privilege. Mixing a […]
WSS4. How to Read a Poem
Zoom WebinarMany readers are intimidated by the idea of poetry. Whether the hesitancy stems from memories of verses recited in boring monotone in English classes or fear of an indecipherable maze […]
15. Book Lover’s Banquet
Zoom WebinarLay the table, uncap your pen and get your notepads ready – here’s your backstage pass to the publishing industry! Ben McNally of Toronto’s Ben McNally Books is back to […]
7. The Long Term Crisis in LTC
Zoom WebinarOne of the greatest crises brought to light during the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly been the deplorable conditions that many of Canada’s long-term care residents find themselves living in. In […]
00. Gunplay (After the Gun Goes Off)
Join the DAN School of Drama and Music at Queen’s University in partnership with Kingston WritersFest for the international debut stage reading of Gunplay (After the Gun Goes Off). When […]
WSS5. Doing the Research
Zoom WebinarThe inspiration for writing about historical events can come from anywhere. For Catherine Fogarty, it was a chance encounter with a “This Day in History” column in a national newspaper […]
8. Herbariums: Meditations on Forgotten Flora
Zoom WebinarIn Field Study: Meditations on a Year at the Herbarium, award-winning poet and novelist Helen Humphreys continues her series of nature meditations by taking a deep look at the mostly […]
9. (Ad)Verse: Indigenous-Settler Relations
Zoom Webinarscoff·law /ˈskôflô/ noun INFORMAL•NORTH AMERICAN: a person who flouts the law, especially by failing to comply with a law that is difficult to enforce effectively – Oxford English Dictionary. The […]
WS6. Building Earths and Bending Genres: World-Building
Zoom WebinarEvery story that we write has its roots in a world that comes from somewhere—whether it’s the world that we all know, a world that’s completely imagined, or some mixture […]
10. The Voices of Ghosts
Zoom WebinarA long-buried bone found in the forest. A generation of women united by unspoken trauma. Mass graves unearthed. Voices united in protest. A secret that can no longer be hushed, […]
11. Une Femme Disparaît / The Lady Vanishes
Zoom WebinarJocelyne Saucier avec Rhonda Mullins La Lecture et La Conversation Événement en français L'auteur francophone primée Jocelyne Saucier revient sur la scène du Kingston WritersFest avec un mystère d'une petite […]
WS7. Two Paths to a Draft: Finding your material through form
Zoom WebinarIn this interactive online workshop, Susan Olding will analyze sample texts, review differing approaches to beginning a piece of writing, flex our writing muscles with a few prompts, and consider […]
12. The Robertson Davies Lecture
Zoom WebinarCamilla Gibb’s five internationally acclaimed novels: Mouthing the Words, The Petty Details of So-and-so’s Life, Sweetness in the Belly, The Beauty of Humanity Movement, and most recently, The Relatives, as […]
13. Brazen Tongues: Celebrating the Unashamed Self
Zoom WebinarSpeaking openly about women’s sexual lives and desires, outside of the fantasy or the male gaze, is still viewed as a rare and bold activity. In this event, author and […]
WSS8. Building a Productive Writing Group
Zoom WebinarThe Villanelles are a super-supportive, tight-knit community of authors who write poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction and children’s literature, and workshop each other’s poetry and prose on a regular basis. They […]
14. The Lost Boy: Fiction
Zoom WebinarOmar El Akkad was born in Egypt and grew up in Qatar before moving to Canada with his family. An award-winning journalist and author, he has traveled the world covering […]
17. Words as Solace: The Joy of Reading
Zoom WebinarWritten over the course of a decade peppered with grief and loss Big Reader: Essays explores themes of memory, loss, womanhood, disappointment, and joy, all underpinned by an abiding love […]
WS9. No Poem or Story Begins Until the Word “But” Appears
Zoom WebinarIn this workshop, Steven Heighton will lead the group to consider a literary ingredient that’s both vital and invisible: the emotional or dramatic pivot/hinge marked by the word “but” or […]
16. The Long Shadow of War
Zoom WebinarAward-winning author Guy Vanderhaeghe is back with his first new novel in nearly a decade, and readers will agree it was worth the wait! Along with interviewer Eric Friesen, the […]
18. Deep Diversity: Enacting Authentic Change
Zoom WebinarWith more than 25 years experience in the field of diversity, equity and inclusion, Shakil Chodhury has developed award-winning training and tools for organizations seeking to improve their diversity outcomes. […]
WS10. Writing the Quest: Inanna
Zoom WebinarThe ancient stories of Inanna from Mesopotamia are the oldest written poetry and song in the world. They tell about Inanna’s journey from a young goddess in a storm to […]
19. Fantastic Figures: the Magic in All Bodies
Zoom WebinarMermen, ogres, centaurs, and witches dwell on the pages of Amanda Leduc’s novel The Centaur’s Wife and Therese Estacion’s poetry collection Phantompains. In these two unique and beautifully crafted works, […]
20. The Big Idea: Addressing a Crisis
Zoom WebinarMajor world events don’t usually happen according to a schedule, but sometimes the consequences of tactical decisions can be seen miles off. When war, politics, and photo ops collide, the […]
21. Brave New Words: A Dark Debut/ Un début sombre
Zoom WebinarContent warning – this event discusses subject matter that some audience members might find distressing. Discretion is advised. Kevin Lambert is not even 30 years old, and already he is […]
22. The Ache of Memory: Fathers, Sons, and Loss
Zoom Webinar“Paintings are rarely sequential by nature,” says author David Macfarlane. “Paintings show you everything about themselves at the same time. This doesn’t mean you see everything at the same time […]
WS11. The Art of Translation
Zoom Webinar“Writers make national literature, while translators make universal literature.” – José Saramago In this workshop, Governor General’s Literary Award-winning translator Rhonda Mullins will give you an inside look into the […]
23. Selected Poems: A Mid-Career Retrospective
Zoom WebinarSteven Heighton is no stranger to the Kingston WritersFest stage. As a bestselling novelist, essayist, memoir writer and now musician, his passion for writing and the creative life is writ […]
24. A Brief Interlude: Stories of Music
Zoom Webinar“He writes with immediacy and verve, cutting out the unnecessary to leave only the most vivid.” — Literary Review of Canada Short stories tend to get short shrift in the […]
WS12. Taking Care: How to Balance Art with Self-Compassion
Zoom WebinarArt can be a transformative and healing practice, but it can also take its toll. From self-doubt, burnout, creative block to public scrutiny, there are many potential pitfalls to navigate […]
25. Making Mischief: The Trickster Trilogy
Zoom WebinarFans of magical realism, compelling family dramas, supernatural battles, and dark, humorous coming-of-age stories are in for a treat with this refreshingly unique trilogy about an Indigenous teen who discovers […]
26. On Property
Zoom WebinarIn On Property: Policing, Prisons, and the Call for Abolition, his 96 page pamphlet for Biblioasis’ Field Notes series, academic and writer Rinaldo Walcott offers an urgent, persuasive, and far-reaching […]
Download Our Schedule at a Glance!