A reading by three of the most dynamic and provocative performers in the genre: Joyelle McSweeney (author of TOXICON), Urayoán Noel (author of BUZZING HEMISPHERE/RUMOR HEMISFÉRICO), and Ronald V. Wilson (author of POEMS OF THE BLACK OBJECT). Co-sponsored by the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. Learn more here.
The 2019-2020 Writers Read Concordia season emphasizes the local, the influencers, the activist, the transformative, the conversation and the collaborative impulses. Co-sponsored with the School for Canadian Irish Studies, Writers Read Concordia presents Doireann Ní Ghríofa and LeAnne Howe for an evening of Irish and Choctaw poetry, followed by a …
Join the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia and the League of Canadian Poets for a reading by five Nova Scotian members of the League of Canadian Poets: Janet Barkhouse, Deirdre Dwyer, Chad Norman, Anne Simpson, and Margo Wheaton. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be …
The Al Purdy house on Roblin Lake near Ameliasburgh, Ontario is now the site of the A-Frame Residency Program, under which writers are offered a time and place to work in a location that is attractive and of historic significance. Each year between mid-April and mid-November the house will be …
Griffin Poetry Prize winner Eve Joseph joins fellow writers Yvonne Blomer, Lorna Crozier, Cecily Nicholson and Jason Stefanik for this much anticipated Whistler Writers Festival event. Learn more here.
Multi-award winning poets Raymond Antrobus, Ilya Kaminsky and Carcanet debutante Lisa Kelly share the stage to perform their latest work. The event explores both the poets’ personal experiences of d/Deafness as well as looking at a wider political and historical context in which d/Deaf communities have been marginalised. Learn more …
The competition offers a $1,500 prize for Best Suite by an Emerging Writer, and $1,500 for Best Suite by a Writer at Any Career Point. The total page length of the suite submission is not to exceed 16 pages. It is urged that a submitted suite be complete work, not …
The Vancouver Writers Fest’s flagship Festival welcomes local and international writers to stages on and around Granville Island for a week of literary events and immersive conversations for all ages. As Artistic Director Leslie Hurtig says of this year’s Fest, “We have created a week of events that will entertain …
Award-winning poets Anne Boyer (author of A HANDBOOK OF DISAPPOINTED FATE) and Tongo Eisen-Martin (author of HEAVEN IS ALL GOODBYES) will share the podium for our first Vocarium reading of the season. A reception and book-signing will follow the event. Learn more here.
Words Worth Books presents an evening of poetry with Tanis MacDonald and Moez Surani, reading from their most recent poetry collections, Mobile and Are the Rivers in Your Poems Real respectively. Learn more here.
Running since May 9, 1980, the Tree Reading Series (Tree) is one of Canada's longest-running literary events and an essential part of Ottawa's vibrant literary community. Tree is a non-profit organization that supports established and emerging writers from Ottawa and across Canada by offering a supportive public venue for writers …
The Art Bar is recognized as Canada's longest running poetry-only, weekly reading series. Since 1991, it has featured both emerging and established poets from across Canada and occasionally from abroad. It has become a hub for the poetry community, and entry point for new voices, a place for people to …
This celebration of one of Canada's most famous poets features a rare screening of the 2015 feature documentary Al Purdy Was Here, as well as live performances from two of the artists featured in the film: Doug Paisley and Snowblink. Learn more here.
The Poetry London Reading Series, in partnership with the London Public Library, hosts monthly readings and poetry workshops in London, Ontario. They bring a diverse list of Canada’s finest poets into London for readings, as well as providing a wide range of poetry-related opportunities for local writers and poetry aficionados. …
Following a successful inaugural year, Spotlight Series returns to the Art Gallery of Northumberland in support of its growing art education initiative. Intimate and interactive, the 4-part artist series features local artists and their stories and passions for their art form from poetry, to opera, modern dance and animation film, …
The Toronto International Festival of Authors is an 11-day celebration of words and ideas for curious readers of every kind. Learn more here.
The 2019-2020 Writers Read Concordia season emphasizes the local, the influencers, the activist, the transformative, the conversation and the collaborative impulses. Co-sponsored with x (Post) Colonial Ports Conference with CISSC, Writers Read Concordia presents writers David Chariandy and Shazia Hafiz Ramji. Learn more here.
Pivot Readings are well into Fall now, with their fourth installment for the new season, with some amazing readers: Terrence Abrahams, Carolyn Bennett and Nikki Reimer. Learn more here.
The 2019-2020 Sheridan College Writer-in-Residence will serve a term of six months (November to April). In addition to working on their own writing project, the Writer-in-Residence will provide creative leadership, mentoring, and public outreach in the area of creative writing and/or publishing (including class visits and public events), to members …
The 2019-2020 Writers Read Concordia season emphasizes the local, the influencers, the activist, the transformative, the conversation and the collaborative impulses. Writers Read Concordia presents writer Kathryn Mockler, offering a reading and workshop on poetry and climate change activism. Learn more here.
The Ottawa International Writers Festival partners with the Plan 99 Reading Series for a late afternoon of stunning live poetry, with readings by Jacqueline Turner, K.B. Thors and Nikki Reimer. Learn more here.
The Department of English & Cultural Studies at McMaster University, McMaster University Library, and the Hamilton Public Library invite applications from Canadian creative writers for the position of Mabel Pugh Taylor Writer in Residence. At this time, they are calling for applicants for three, non-renewable positions, one in each of …
The most diverse poetry reading and open mic in Toronto, Shab-e She’r has been bridging the gap between diverse poetry communities, bringing together people from different ethnicities, nationalities, ages, disabilities, religions (or lack thereof), poetic styles, voices and visions. At Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night) we don’t just wait for diversity …
Join Audreys Books as they celebrate the poetic career of Billy-Ray Belcourt! This event will feature readings by both Billy-Ray Belcourt and his friends, who will each share and read the poems that they found most meaningful in their own lives. Learn more here.
The Art Bar is recognized as Canada's longest running poetry-only, weekly reading series. Since 1991, it has featured both emerging and established poets from across Canada and occasionally from abroad. It has become a hub for the poetry community, and entry point for new voices, a place for people to …
One of the biggest single poem competitions in the world, the National Poetry Competition is open to anyone aged 17 or older. The competition is for previously unpublished poems of up to 40 lines in length. This year's judges are Mona Arshi, Helen Mort and Maurice Riordan. Learn more here.
The LaHave Review is an online poetry journal edited by Michael Goodfellow and will launch in December, 2019. Each issue will feature one poem per season, a biography of the poet, and an interview. The LaHave Review is named after the LaHave River in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. The river …
Contemporary Verse 2 (CV2) magazine offers a poetry contest exclusively for writers under the age of 35. The YOUNG BUCK poetry prize will be awarded to the author of the single best submitted poem, along with $1000 and publication in CV2. Three honourable mentions will also be awarded, each with …
The Malahat Review invites entries for its annual Open Season Awards in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction with prizes totalling $CAN 6000. The contest is open to Canadian and international writers anywhere in the world, with a final deadline of midnight (PDT) on 1 November 2019. All entries are judged …
The Words Aloud Spoken Word and Storytelling Festival is a small but mighty regional event held in the southwestern Ontario village of Durham (pop. 2500), about an hour-and-a-half north of Guelph. Co-founded in 2004 by Liz Zetlin and Dawna Proudman, in response to a suggestion from Durham Art Gallery curator …
Words is committed to the advancement of accessibility in the arts, cultural participation within the community, and diversity in our programming. During the first weekend of November each year, Words brings the Southwestern Ontario region together for a celebration of creative ideas, artistic expression, and cultural diversity. Words features emerging …
The Toronto Arts Council and the Toronto International Festival of Authors have partnered on Toronto Lit Up, an initiative designed to spotlight Toronto writers and empower local artists with career-building opportunities. The programme also gives curious readers access to their local writing community. Toronto Lit Up book release parties take …
With the Poetry In Voice / Les voix de la poésie recitation contests, students choose classic and contemporary poems from the junior anthology for grades 6-8. Then they learn them deeply, commit them to memory, hone their recitation skills, and compete for over $75,000 in travel and prizes. Learn more …
Supported by Arts Nova Scotia and in partnership with the Halifax Regional Municipality and the Halifax Public Libraries, the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) is bringing Poetry in Motion to Halifax. A public poetry art project, Poetry in Motion will feature short poems and excerpts from longer poems on …
Join publisher Wolsak and Wynn at the Gladstone Ballroom to launch another wonderful season of Fall books, including Gary Barwin's For It Is a Pleasure and a Surprise to Breathe: New and Selected Poems. Learn more here.
The Art Bar is recognized as Canada's longest running poetry-only, weekly reading series. Since 1991, it has featured both emerging and established poets from across Canada and occasionally from abroad. It has become a hub for the poetry community, and entry point for new voices, a place for people to …
Verb Festival is an annual writers festival in Wellington, New Zealand. They celebrate Aotearoa writers with international guests. Verb Festival features the famous LitCrawl on Saturday 9 November: 25 events in 3.5 hours in 25 venues. Learn more here.
The 2019-2020 Writers Read Concordia season emphasizes the local, the influencers, the activist, the transformative, the conversation and the collaborative impulses. Writers Read Concordia presents writer Margaret Christakos in conversation with Sina Queyras. Learn more here.
Opening with a panel discussion on literary event curation, this event will feature Margaret Christakos, Deanna Radford, Danielle St. Amour and Jason Camlot, facilitated by Klara du Plessis. It will focus on different contemporary and historical strategies for literary event curation, while also incorporating a visual arts curatorial perspective for …
The world premiere screening of this fascinating documentary on the renowned poet and novelist behind The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments is followed by an onstage conversation with directors Nancy Lang and Peter Raymont, interviewed by Carol Off. Learn more here.
The C.D. Wright Women Writers Conference focuses on women-identifying writers from all genres and all experience levels, from journalism to mass market books to literary endeavors, and beyond. The goal is to provide a space for camaraderie, connection-making, and inspiration, and while women-identifying writers are the only presenters at the …
Poetry In Aldeburgh is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to build on and continue the heritage of poetry and over 30 years of poetry festivals on the Suffolk Coast. Their first festival was in November 2016 and they hold them annually. They also work with local and national organisations in …
Join Another Story and Palimpsest Press to celebrate the launch of Ceilidh Michelle's butterflies, zebras, moonbeams and Shane Neilson's Constructive Negativity: Prize Culture, Evaluation, and Disability in Canadian Poetry. Learn more here.
This workshop presents the sonnet as a tool to explore contemporary concerns that can be incorporated into a weekly, even daily writing practice. Participants will write new sonnets and review them with the group to explore and integrate in-depth theory elements. Through revisions, they will see how to exploit the …
Vancouver Manuscript Intensive is structured to ensure that a personal and highly supportive one-to-one mentorship is offered to develop one's manuscript as a whole. They match each of their participants with a talented, often award-winning, professional author who is also a skilled editor in their genre. Learn more here.
The right words in the right order are able to tangibly change reality. Know how to use your words and you know how to make magic. Learn from the greats as we dissect and explore the nuances rhetorical devices of effective persuasion. From Shakespeare to Fred Rogers, we will talk …
In Our Tongues is Ottawa’s first Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPoC) reading and art series. The featured artists at this gathering are: Kevin Schofield, Manahil Bandukwala and Eyob Tzu. Learn more here.
The Art Bar is recognized as Canada's longest running poetry-only, weekly reading series. Since 1991, it has featured both emerging and established poets from across Canada and occasionally from abroad. It has become a hub for the poetry community, and entry point for new voices, a place for people to …
The Brockton Writers Series (BWS) is a bi-monthly literary reading series founded in November, 2009. The series’ vision is to host writers who reflect Canadian literature and Canadian diversity, defining diversity to include: established and emerging writers, writers of colour, queer writers, younger and older writers, aboriginal writers and other …
The 2019 CBC Poetry Prize shortlist will be announced today. Learn more here.
This event offers a dynamic reading by a distinct array of poetic innovators from the region: Kristen Case, Amanda Cook, Danielle Legros Georges, Suzanne Mercury, Oliver Strand, and Janaka Stucky. The evening will also serve as a welcoming reception for Harvard scholar at risk Chib?ìhè Obi Ach?mbá. Come one, come …
The Woodstock Bookshop started and runs Woodstock Poetry Festival, a completely independent festival that has now been running for seven years. This year's poets taking part include Raymond Antrobus, Niall Campbell, Vidyan Ravinthiram, Hannah Sullivan, Mary Jean Chan and more. Learn more here.
Sheri-D Wilson, Poet Laureate of Calgary, is sending out a call out to the community, the entire city and the world — I invite you, to write a portrait in the form of a poem, prose poem, or snapshot/ flash fiction — about someone you know (not about yourself) that …