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Tanya Talaga, Danny Ramadan, Lisa Moore, MG Vassanji, and David Robertson to appear at the 16th annual Kingston WritersFest.

September 13, 2024

Kingston, Ontario – September 10, 2024 – For Immediate Release: Tanya Talaga, Danny Ramadan, Lisa Moore, MG Vassanji, and David Robertson appear at the 16th annual Kingston WritersFest. The festival moves to The Screening Room as its primary location for on-stage events with special off-site programming throughout the downtown area September 25-29, 2024.

Tanya Talaga, prize-winning journalist and author of Seven Fallen Feathers and the CBC Massey Lectures All Our Relations: Finding the Path Forward will appear in a special event at Market Square Hotel on Friday September 27 as she speaks to the work being done to unravel centuries-long oppression, in support of her new book The Knowing! This event is generously supported by Lodge Pole Arts Alliance.

In The Knowing, Anishinaabe author Tanya Talaga retells the history of this country through an Indigenous lens, beginning with her great-great-grandmother and her family through decades of government- and Church-sanctioned enfranchisement and genocide. For generations, the treatment of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people has been a shameful open secret, as Indigenous peoples were subjected to residential schools, “Indian hospitals” and asylums.  

“KWF is so much more than a reading and lecture series,” says Artistic Director Aara Macauley.

“Art isn’t created in a vacuum; authors respond to and write in rebellion against the world issues that concern and affect us all.

We want to facilitate a program that makes space for diverse opinions and ideas to be voiced in a constructive and respectful environment.”

The programming this year also discusses healthcare and judicial reform, the complexity of identity, Perfection, Ruin and Love; Moms, Martyrs and Human Monsters; and even sex. The Morning After is a panel event with a few of the authors and the publisher of Secret Sex, an anthology of steamy short fiction written by renowned Canadian authors… except we don’t know who wrote which story! This is a special morning coffee event.

A few other hidden gems not to be missed:

  • Terrible People and Wild Failures with authors Zoe Whittall and Emily Austin
  • The Ancientness of Being Queer with Joelle Barron and Anthony Oliveira 
  • Breaking with Tradition with Eosena Fun and Li Charmaine Anne 

+ dozens more on-stage discussions, workshops and special events 

The Big Idea with Carol Off (who also has a solo event with her new book at the festival) which tenderly approaches the topic of democracy in a US election year is now sold out. Ticket’s for Carol Off’s solo event are still available.

New evening events bring folks together in an open mic and for a gathering full of conversation, live performance and community to celebrate the work of the late Steven Heighton at The Mansion; Literary Trivia Night moves to Something in the Water Brewing Company; and the Last Chapter Brunch, being held at the Delta, will focus on fostering community through food with the release of cookbook-memoir-manifesto The Depanneur by Len Senater! The ever-popular Book Lovers Lunch with Ben McNally is sold out for 2024.

KWF is also focused, as always, on celebrating local authors with appearances by Mary Averling, Ashley-Elizabeth Best, Sadiqa de Meijer, Jason Heroux, Mariah Horner, Helen Humphreys, Aric McBay, Lindy Mechefske, Armand Garnet Ruffo, Julie Salverson, Jenn Stephenson, as well over as a dozen local interviewers.

There are only a few passes left for Kingston WritersFest’s immersive writing retreat at the Delta by Marriott Kingston Waterfront. The Retreat features 3 Writers Studio Master Classes a day during the Thursday-Saturday of the festival, instructed by a curated faculty comprised of award-winning and renowned Canadian authors. Limited single-class tickets will be available for classes that aren’t yet full. Both Writers Retreat and Festival event tickets can be purchased online. Tickets will also be for sale in person the week of the festival at KWF’s pop-up box office and festival bookshop at The Screening Room. 

For more on Kingston WritersFest, this year’s events, and the author lineup please visit kingstonwritersfest.ca.