Last year, the Kingston WritersFest (KWF) pulled off a remarkable comeback from some financial woes and was a resounding success. This October, in celebrating the literary festival’s 18th year, organizers hope to build on that momentum with another outstanding lineup of talented writers.
“We want our audiences to experience great authors with great books,” says new Festival Director Bruce Geddes.
The roster of visiting writers this year is impressive, with more than a few storytellers who might be considered marquee headliners. “There are a few,” Geddes agrees. “Let’s start with the fiction: Wayne Johnston, Jess Gibson, Glenn Dixon, Colin McAdam.”
National bestselling novelist Johnston’s latest is The Novice of Holloway Hall, while Gibson’s short story collection, The Good Eye, still has readers buzzing. The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon has garnered superb reviews. McAdam’s Daphnis and Chloe was one of LitHub’s Most Anticpated Books of 2026.
Then there’s bestselling novelist Wayne Grady.
“Wayne Grady has a really interesting book of short stories out — they’re ‘covers’ of other stories,” says Geddes. “So in the same way Jimi Hendrix covered Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower, Wayne Grady’s The Cartel and Other Cover Stories includes ‘covers’ of Kafka, Chekov, and Lydia Davis.”
Margaret Atwood calls the book “unmissable.”
“We also have Jody Wilson-Raybould with a book on leadership (The Inbetween Leader: Cultivating Courage and Unity in a Complex World) and Dan Werb with a book about how animals have evolved to thrive in human-dominated urban environments (Our Wild Familiars: How Animals Are Adapting to Cities and Reshaping the Natural World).”
Geddes also notes that two literary legends, Helen Humphreys and Judith Thompson, are appearing on stage at the same event, both with new books — Humphreys with a highly anticipated memoir entitled Summerland: Family, Loss, and the Inheritance of Dreams, and playwright Thompson’s début novel In Crow’s Field.
“[And] Kim Echlin is coming with a book of essays,” Geddes says, “but they’re so beautifully written they might as well be poetry. Richard Kelly Kemick also has a book of essays out called Decadence, and they are truly hilarious.”
Geddes, who came to the KWF as its new director “mid-stream,” says he was impressed by the wonderful comeback the festival made last year and is excited to continue the tradition of excellence the festival has become known for since its inception in 2009.
“It really shows how much booklovers across eastern Ontario care about literature,” he points out. “Last year was run entirely by volunteers and for many it was basically a full-time job. I don’t know if many other cities would be able to pull off what KWF pulled off last year. My hope is that we can honour their commitment by continuing to bring in writers our audiences want to see. That’s not just for this year, but for the future too.”
If audiences take a flip through this year’s program (which can be found at <a href="kingstonwritersfest.ca">kingstonwritersfest.ca</a> as well as at many area bookstores), Geddes is confident they’ll find an appealing event — featuring an author they love, say, or a book they’ve heard wonderful things about, or perhaps a talk about a subject so interesting and timely they simply won’t want to miss it.
There are also “a multitude of workshops,” he adds, “on everything from humour writing (with Ali Hassan), to historical fiction (featuring Kai Thomas) and a really interesting one with Camilla Gibb on poetry and collage.”
Workshops in the Writers Studio series also include an advanced fiction workshop with Dennis Bock, “Close Encounters with Poetry” featuring Kingston Poet Laureate Sadiqa de Meijer, a memoir writing workshop with Kate Gies, and “The Essence and Essentials of Style” featuring Kim Echlin. A full list of Writers Studio workshops is included in this year’s program guide.
The theme for this year’s festival, which runs from October 1–4 at the Kingston Marriott, is “Words bring down walls.”
“That can be interpreted in different ways,” Geddes says, “but I like to think of it as a comment on how social reading really is. Reading is usually considered a solitary activity. This is true, but it ignores the fact that it’s also a very social activity. The only thing better than reading a good book is talking about it with other people. And that’s what the festival does by bringing book lovers together.”
Several popular events from years past are returning to this year’s program.
“We’re collaborating with Theatre Kingston for a night called Page to Stage,” Geddes says. “Instead of authors reading their own books, we’re getting actors to dramatize them on the stage at the RCHA Club. And we have Poetry 2 Go returning. That was enormously popular last year.” For Poetry 2 Go, award-winning poets will be at the ready to write people a one-of-a-kind poem on Saturday, October 3 from 10am to 3pm.
With respect to programming, there are a “few experiments” this year, Geddes says.
“For example, we’re doing three sessions with a medical angle. There’s a talk about Narrative Based Medicine with Damian Tarnopolsky and Sadiqa de Meijer, moderated by Dr. Lisa Tannock, Dean of Health Sciences at Queen’s. Damian is also doing a workshop for health care professionals. And Dr. Charles Hayter, an oncologist as well as a writer, is conducting a workshop on writing about illness.”
This year’s festival is truly steeped with talented writers and a program filled with noteworthy and not-to-be-missed events. “The list is long and lush,” Geddes notes in the festival’s program. Are there any he would like to highlight?
“Sure!” says Geddes. “Alex Pugsley is one of the most entertaining writers nobody has heard of. I think audiences are going to love him. Anita Rau Badami’s Asha in her Garden is my sleeper pick for the Giller Prize this year. Mark Medley’s Live to See the Day is about people who become obsessed with a single goal — it’s a great read and I’m looking forward to the behind-the-scenes stories from that one. Tara Henley’s The Trust Spiral should lead to some very provocative discussions.”
The Kingston WritersFest officially begins on National Truth and Reconciliation Day, September 30, with a special pre-festival evening featuring award-winning author Michelle Good in conversation with celebrated broadcaster Shelagh Rogers at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts. The two will be talking about Good’s long-anticipated new novel, Eliza Sunshine.
For ticket information for that event — and for any other at this year’s KWF — please visit kingstonwritersfest.ca. Tickets can also be purchased onsite during WritersFest hours in the second-floor foyer at the Kingston Marriott.
