EVENT: Word Vancouver, Sept 19-24

WORD VANCOUVER

WHEN: September 19-24, 2017
WHERE: Various locations
ADMISSION: Free

Between September 19 and 24 (six days!), a multitude of free reading and writing activities will take place at various locations and are all part of the Word Vancouver festival.

The big festival day happens on September 24 in and around the Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library; from 11 am – 5 pm, take in free readings, panel discussions, writing workshops, site performers, family activities, an exhibitor marketplace, and more. Canadian authors, as well as book, magazine, comics, education, and literacy exhibitors will gather to celebrate our region’s thriving literature and literacy communities. Activities and fun for all ages!

Word Vancouver is thrilled to have authors of all genres joining us in 2017: Carleigh Baker, Grant Lawrence, Katherine Collins, Gurjinder Basran, Michael V. Smith, Jónína Kirton, Adèle Barclay, Rodney DeCroo, Julie Flett, Jen Sookfong Lee, and many more!

This year, look forward to approximately 100 readings and presentations, 150 authors and panelists, 25 workshops, and 75 exhibitors. Festival day on Sunday will include 9 venues!

Sunday highlights include:

• site activities such as an interactive Buddha Board installation; Circus Lab — roving characters unicycling or performing other acrobatic feats; a Fairy Tale Scavenger Hunt for families; and, much more!
• Community Garden and Suspension Bridge — fiction and non-fiction readings, includes: fiction authors Ahmad Danny Ramadan, Sheena Kamal, Janie Chang, Robyn Harding, Tim Bowling, Daniel Zomparelli, Dina Del Bucchia, and Bridget Canning (all the way from Newfoundland!); fitness/lifestyle presentations from Louise Green (author of Big Fit Girl) and Manda Aufochs Gillespie (author of Green Mama-to-Be); several books about Vancouver — Blood, Sweat, and Fear by Eve Lazarus, The Last Gang in Town by Aaron Chapman, City on Edge by Kate Bird; All the World’s a Stage (about Bard on the Beach) by Jayne Seagrave; Dirty Windshields by Grant Lawrence, The Georgia Straight by Doug Sarti and Dan McLeod (Doug Sarti will appear), and The White Angel by John MacLachlan Gray (a fictional telling of the Janet Smith murder); and, comics presentations that include Katherine Collins and a panel on Vancouver Comics History presented by Cloudscape Comics.
• Perpective Point, Port of View, and The Moat — workshops and panels, includes: “Playwriting Exploration” with Hiro Kanagawa and Ryon Holmedal; “Mini–Manuscript Consults” presented by SFU’s The Writer’s Studio and Blue Pencil Sessions presented by Editors British Columbia; “Feeling a Little Mixed—or—Do I Have a Story to Tell You?” (workshop) with Jónína Kirton; “Local Authors, Local Settings— Mysteries Set in BC” panel; “Getting Started: Children’s Writers and Illustrators Discuss Getting Published” panel; and, “Embracing Change: The Evolution of Room Magazine” panel.
• Sunrise Suite and the CUPE Stage — poetry, includes readings and performances by: Chelene Knight, Heidi Greco, Emma Field and Spillious (Vancouver Poetry House), Sheri-D Wilson, Shazia Hafiz Ramji, Shaun Robinson, Stephen Collis, and many more!
• Imagination Island and The Quay — Readings for children and family activities, includes: readings by Nicola I. Campbell, Dan Bar-el, and Mahtab Narsimhan; and, a photo wall and bubble station, bookmark making and a book coin toss!

From Tuesday to Saturday, experience free author readings, events, and professional development workshops at venues around Vancouver, such as “An Evening of Japanese Poetic Forms: From the Tokaido Road to the World Stage” at Historic Joy Kogawa House. (detailed listings below)

In 2017, Word Vancouver features Read Local events programmed by the Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia; these include Poetry in Transit, readings by poets whose work will be featured on transit buses in the coming year, as well as readings by several BC-published children’s authors. !

WORD VANCOUVER — September 19-24, 2017, Various locations

Tuesday, September 19:

• 6:30 pm: Banyen Books & Sound (3608 W 4th Ave.) — Decade of Discovery — with authors Shahla & Peter Nygaard
• 6:30 pm: VPL Brittania Branch, Gallery Room (1661 Napier St.) — Pandora’s Collective & VPL Brittania Branch present Poetic Pairings — with Jónína Kirton and Sho Wiley, Elee Kraljii Gardiner and RC Weslowski, Bonnie Nish and Angela Rebrec, Cynthia Sharp and Timothy Shay, Chelsea Comeau and Lara Varesi

Wednesday, September 20:

• 6:30 pm: Banyen Books & Sound (3608 W 4th Ave.) — Meet Me In Hard-to-Love Places — with author Eric Bowers
• 7:00 pm: The Cottage Bistro (4468 Main St.) — Pandora’s Collective presents Twisted Poets Literary Salon — with Theresa Kishkan, Dan MacIsaac, and Arleen Paré

Thursday, September 21: 

• 7:00 pm: Banyen Books & Sound (3608 W 4th Ave.) — The Muslimah Who Fell to Earth — with contributors Azmina Kassam and Meharoona Ghani
• 7:00 pm: VPL nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona Branch (730 East Hastings St.) — “Finding, Hiring, and Working with a Freelance Editor” (workshop)

Friday, September 22:

• 6:30 pm: Christianne’s Lyceum (3696 West 8th Ave.) — “Heroics and Heart” (readings & craft activity)
• 7:30 pm: Historic Joy Kogawa House (1450 West 64th Ave.) — “An Evening of Japanese Poetic Forms: From the Tokaido Road to the World Stage” (readings, discussion & workshop)

Saturday, September 23:

• 9:00 am: PNE Forum (2901 East Hastings St.) — INSPIRED Senior Living Magazine presents “55+ Lifestyle Show” (entertainment and seminars)
• 11:00 am: ArtStarts Gallery (808 Richards St.) — A fun workshop to explore the idea of written, spoken, and gestured words through creative art forms! (workshop)
• 11:00 am: Carnegie Centre (401 Main St.) — “Write a Book and Get Published” (workshop)
• 12:00 pm: Carnegie Centre (401 Main St.) — “Type Up!” — Volunteers will be on hand to type up written work
• 2:30 pm: Carnegie Centre (401 Main St.) — “Note to Self: Therapeutic Writing for Writers” (workshop)

Sunday Sept. 24, 11 am-5 pm:
Library Square (in and around VPL Central Branch, 350 W Georgia St.): Festival day! Readings, panel discussions, workshops, entertainment, a marketplace, and more!

Info: www.wordvancouver.ca, info@rebuscreative.com, 604-684-8266 (Watch for programming updates on our website in September!) Full program details at our website and via issuu: https://issuu.com/wordvancouver/docs/word_vancouver_program_2017

***

Word Vancouver:
Over the span of more than two decades, the festival has expanded from a single day event to a six-day event, attracting thousands of local, Canadian, and international festival-goers to its events. Word Vancouver has become Western Canada’s largest celebration of reading and writing primarily by remaining 100 percent free and providing all-ages programming, making it inclusive and accessible. Held during the days leading up to the last Sunday of September at various venues throughout the city, the festival promotes books and authors with free exhibits, performances, and hands-on activities for a wide range of ages and interests.