We extend our thanks to every moderator, author, staff member and volunteer who worked tirelessly to make every event possible and share their work. We also send our deepest appreciation to this year’s Festival funders and sponsors, listed below.

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The Festival site

We refer to the entire Rockwood Centre as the Festival site. Everything is located in the park: the Festival Pavilion, our box office, the beverage booths, the Book Tent, washrooms, and Rockwood Lodge, where Special Events A, B and C take place. You can find a site map on our website.

Accessibility

Do you need accessibility seating or have accessibility requirements? Please call the office at 604-885-9631 or email su**********@*************al.ca before your event so we can help prepare for your visit. We also offer attendant tickets (while supplies last).

Talewind Books

Talewind Books is our wonderful Festival Bookseller and they will have the most amazing pop-up book shop located in the Tent above the Pavilion (see our site map). This is where you will find books by all the Festival authors, and where you can get them signed after each event. We are very grateful to Talewind owner Courtney Lamb and her hardworking and skilled team of booksellers.

Food options

We’ll have some light snacks (i.e. think chips, nuts and chocolate bars) for sale at the Festival’s Beverage Booth, but don’t forget you are welcome to bring food from home. If you want to wander off-site, the Sechelt Farmers and Artisans Market features a variety of food vendors on Saturday morning and afternoon (9:00 am – 2:00 pm), and the nearby Hackett Park Artisan Fair is taking place August 15-16. There are also some great eating establishments in Sechelt’s downtown, just a short walk away.

Drink Concession

Strait Coffee will be on site, selling coffee and tea. This wonderful company is locally owned and operated and roasts their coffee right here on the Sunshine Coast! You can stop by their storefront (4330 Sunshine Coast Hwy) to pick up some delicious food and snacks to eat while you’re at the Festival.

The Festival’s beverage booth will feature an assortment of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks as well as light snacks. The beverage booth accepts payment by credit and debit cards as well as cash. Free drinking water is also available here.

A zero-waste Festival

Our goal of zero-waste is now easier to reach, thanks to a partnership with Salish Soils and AjM Disposal. This project will see blue-bin service from AjM Disposal and help from the staff at Salish Soils who will take away sorted and labelled recycling after the Festival. Please assist Recycling Coordinator Uli Hadeler and our dedicated recycling volunteers by being mindful about how you sort your plastic, paper and food waste at one of our clearly marked recycling stations. You can also help reduce waste by bringing your own water bottles and coffee cups from home. You can refill your water bottles in the washrooms or from the water jugs kept at the Beverage Booth.

Contests and raffles

Try out our custom crossword puzzle, test your editing skills, or participate in our Rockwood Gardens hunt. Our popular contests are back and they are completely free to enter. The contest board will be set up at the Information Booth and you will find buckets for completed contest entries located throughout the site. Check the contest board for deadlines to submit your completed contest forms to win some great prizes. A big thank you to our volunteer contest committee, especially Maureen McBeath, Catherine Calder and Laura Davis, for creating such fun puzzles and quizzes.  

During the Festival, please consider buying a raffle ticket to support the Festival of the Written Arts… and you could win a luxurious two-night stay in a signature tenthouse at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort or a Festival Pass for 2027. Friendly volunteers will be selling raffle tickets throughout the weekend, or you can drop by the information booth or the festival box office where you can also purchase raffle tickets. The draw for the raffle will be held in the Pavilion on Sunday, August 16, at 4:30 pm. You do not have to be present to win.

Real-time captioning will be available in the pavilion for Events #1-18 thanks to the wizardry and skill of Michael Gurney.

Federation of BC Writers

Bryan Mortensen, Executive Director of the Federation of BC Writers (FBCW), is attending the Festival and would be happy to talk to anyone who wants to learn about the organization. At the Federation you can connect with other writers, hone your skills, showcase your work, and get support on your journey toward publication. The FBCW is also a sponsor of Special Event B, the Dialogue Workshop with Sam Wiebe. You can find Bryan in the Book Tent during Festival weekend.

Check the weather forecast

We never thought we would say this as we approach the eve of our Festival, but we are now hoping for rain (no lightning) and cool weather, anything that will help quell BC’s raging wildfires. Our thoughts are with the thousands of people who have had to evacuate or have lost their homes. On the Sunshine Coast, please be prepared for the weather, whatever it may be. Even if it’s warm during the day, our Pavilion stays cool and it can be chilly in the evenings. We recommend that you bring a sweater or jacket, just in case.

Join us for Coffee Hour

Enjoy complimentary coffee and tea and live music from The Soporifics (Ken Dalgleish and Boyd Norman) while you share stories, talk books and mingle with other festival goers. No registration is required.

Location: Beside the Book Tent | Date: Sunday, August 16, 12:30 – 1:30 pm | Cost: Free

Parking on Saturday, August 15

A final reminder that parking in downtown Sechelt will be very hard to find on Saturday, August 15 due to the Sechelt Farmers’ and Artisans’ Market, which will be set up on Cowrie Street from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. If you are able, we recommend taking public transit or car pooling. If you do decide to drive that day, please leave yourself lots of time to arrive at the Festival. There will be drop-off/pick-up access in front of Rockwood Centre as well as a few parking spaces for those who need accessible parking. Shorncliffe Avenue will be open, but there will be lots of pedestrians to look out for and traffic will be congested. Overflow parking can be found near Chatelech Secondary.

Latecomers

Although the Festival has a wonderful, casual feel to it, our events almost always start right on time, thanks to our production team’s efficiency. Latecomers can be disruptive to both the presenter and the audience once the event gets underway. Sometimes arriving late is unavoidable, but please try to arrive at the Pavilion at least 5-15 minutes before your show starts.

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New in 2026, the Festival will offer delicious picnic lunch boxes, provided by Gourmet Girl Cafe and Catering. Gourmet Girl is a local Davis Bay community business that caters for events across the Sunshine Coast. You can drop by their storefront for some “comfort food with a twist” at 4720 Sunshine Coast Hwy, Sechelt. 

The lunch boxes will be available, by pre-order only, for pick up at the Festival site on Friday Aug. 14, Saturday, Aug. 15, and Sunday, Aug. 16. between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. Lunch boxes can be claimed at the lunch table near the Book Tent. The pre-order period for lunch boxes will close on August 10 at 10:00 am.

There are five lunch options, priced at $30.00 each (includes tax and delivery). 

• Crispy Chicken Club Wrap with tortellini pasta salad and chocolate chip cookie 
• Gluten-free Chicken Club Wrap with Greek quinoa salad and peanut butter granola bar (GF) 
• Vegetarian Falafel Wrap with tortellini pasta salad and chocolate chip cookie (vegetarian) 
• Vegan Falafel Wrap with Greek quinoa salad and peanut butter granola bar (GF, vegan) 
• Roast Beef & Cheddar Baguette with tortellini pasta salad and chocolate chip cookie

If sandwiches aren’t your style, there are also delicious charcuterie boxes offered for $24.00 (includes tax and delivery) that contain imported cheeses, salami, prosciutto, olives, and crackers. The charcuterie box is gluten-free.

Please note: The purchasing platform, Zeffy, is 100% free for the Festival of the Written Arts as we are a registered charity. To make up for this, Zeffy asks for donations to their platform from the purchaser. If you do not want to donate to Zeffy, please select “other amount” at checkout and set to 0%. Thank you for your understanding. 

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SOLD OUT!

Register for a one-on-one meeting with Janine Young, a literary writer and the managing editor of Nightwood Editions. This 20-minute session provides the opportunity to get feedback from a publishing professional and learn about the editing process.

Janine Alyson Young is a literary writer from the West Coast of BC. Her short story collection Hideout Hotel was shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed Award, and she has been toiling over her first novel ever since. She is also the managing editor at Nightwood Editions, an indie publisher which proudly works with emerging and award-winning authors. She lives on the unceded traditional land of the Skwxwú7mesh People in Gibsons, BC. 

Please note that the selected registrants will have to submit a writing sample by July 30th. More information will be provided.

Festival and day passes do not include admission to Special Event A. To reserve a ticket for the Blue Pencil Sessions, fill out this order form and the Festival Office will contact you (while supplies last).

Location: Rockwood Lodge Art Space
Date: Sessions on Friday, August 14, Saturday, August 15 and Sunday, August 16
Cost: $40.00

Event B – Dialogue Workshop with Sam Wiebe

This event is supported by the Federation of BC Writers.

Join crime writer Sam Wiebe for a workshop on dialogue. He’ll discuss the difference between dialogue and real-life speech; how dialogue relates to character, pacing, voice, and plot; and why characters say one thing and mean another (even if they don’t know it).

Sam Wiebe is the author of the bestselling Ocean Drive as well as the Wakeland novels, one of the most authentic and acclaimed detective series in Canada, including Sunset and Jericho and The Last Exile. Guns Across the River is the latest in the series. His work has won the Crime Writers of Canada award, the Kobo Emerging Writers prize, and a silver medal from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and been shortlisted for the Edgar, Hammett, Shamus and City of Vancouver book prizes. The Last Exile is a finalist for the 2026 BC and Yukon Book Prizes’ Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Wiebe lives in New Westminster, BC.

Festival and day passes do not include admission to Special Event B. To reserve a ticket for the dialogue workshop, order at writersfestival.ca, visit the festival office in person or call 604-885-9631 (while supplies last).

Location: Rockwood Lodge Art Space
Date: Friday, August 14, 12:30 – 2:00 pm
Cost: $25.00

Event C – Writing Memoir with Donna Morrissey

SOLD OUT! Contact the Festival Office to be added to the waitlist

Just what the heck qualifies as memoir and how do you tell your story truthfully when everyone in it is still alive? In this workshop you’ll learn to distinguish between three types of memoir (book length, personal essay and narrative essay), decide which one works best for your story, and identify the main themes or ‘heart’ of your work.

Donna Morrissey is the author of the nationally bestselling memoir Pluck, which was a finalist for the Atlantic Book Awards’ Non-Fiction Award, and of seven acclaimed and bestselling novels, including the national bestseller Rage the Night. She won the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Fiction for The Fortunate Brother; Sylvanus Now was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize; and The Deception of Livvy Higgs was a One Read pick for Nova Scotia in 2017. Her fiction has also won awards in the US and the UK, and has been translated into several languages. Born and raised in Newfoundland, she lives in Halifax.

Festival and day passes do not include admission to Special Event C. To reserve a ticket for the memoir workshop, order at writersfestival.ca, visit the festival office in person or call 604-885-9631 (while supplies last).

Location: Rockwood Lodge Art Space
Date: Saturday, August 15, 12:30 – 2:00 pm
Cost: $25.00

Event D – Festival of the Written Arts Coffee Hour

Enjoy complimentary coffee and tea and live music while you share stories, talk books and mingle with other festival goers. No registration required!

Location: Beside the Book Tent
Date: Sunday, August 16, 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Cost: Free

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Tickets are still on sale! Don’t miss your chance to hear from others in our incredible lineup of writers this year. You can buy tickets by calling 604-885-9631 or 1-800-565-9631 (toll-free), visiting our office in person (5511 Shorncliffe Avenue in Sechelt), or online via Tickit. You can find more information about the Festival and the remaining events by perusing the 2025 Festival Program.

We have three sold out shows (Event #1, Event #14, and Event #15), but we still have tickets available for all other regular events.

It’s raining, it’s pouring!

This weekend is going to be a rainy one! Come prepared with jackets and umbrellas. The Pavilion is an open-air site, so even though it is covered – it can still get chilly during the events.

Hungry during your event?

We are pleased to announce the return of the Festival Café! We will have fresh and local flexitarian options including a gluten-free/vegan soup, an assortment of sandwiches, and a variety of sweets. Located near the book tent, the Café will be open daily from 8:30 am – 6:30 pm.

Once you’ve got your lunch, come check out the Beverage Booth! Located between Rockwood Lodge and the Book Tent, there are a variety of non-alcoholic and alcoholic refreshments for sale. This year, you can find Sunshine Coast beer from Persephone Brewing and local cider from Banditry Cider.

Locally owned and operated, Strait Coffee will also be serving their delicious coffee and tea on site from Friday-Sunday! Their both will be located in front of Rockwood Lodge

Limited Parking on Saturday

If you are coming to the festival on Saturday morning or early afternoon (on August 16), please leave lots of time to find parking, or carpool, or travel by public transit. The Sechelt Farmer’s and Artisan Market is set up at the end of Cowrie Street until 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and it is very busy!

Shorncliffe Avenue will still be open for drop-offs/pick-ups, and we do have some limited parking for attendees with disabilities.

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Event A – Fiction Workshop: Creating Believable Characters with Caroline Adderson

The aim of this session is to people your stories and novels with characters who might walk right off the page. We will cover the meaning of names, explore techniques to deepen characterization, examine the hidden motivations of your fictional creations, trace their character arcs, and make sure that when they speak (and they will!) effective dialogue comes out of their mouths. Come prepared to write, read and share.

Saturday, August 16, 2025 | 11:30 am– 1:00 pm
Location: Rockwood Lodge Art Space (space is limited)
Workshop cost: $25.00

Event B – Festival of the Written Arts Coffee Hour

Sunday, August 17, 2025 | 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Location: Festival site, beside the Book Tent
Cost: Free

Enjoy complimentary coffee and tea and live music while you share stories, talk books and mingle with other festival goers. No registration required!

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ONLINE SALES

We are selling tickets online through Tickit, a 100% independently owned and operated company based in British Columbia. Before June 2 you will be able to find links to tickets for individual events on the Meet the 2025 Writers page on our website, or visit our storefront on Tickit. Please note there is a surcharge on tickets purchased online, though GST is already included in all of our prices. Ticket links will not be live until June 2 at 8:30 a.m. PDT.

TELEPHONE SALES

We have reserved a limited ticket inventory for telephone sales—please call us at 604-885-9631 or 1-800-565-9631 (toll-free). We will have two lines open and two people receiving orders. Please have your order and credit card ready when you call in so that we can take care of you as quickly as possible and move on to the next caller. If you do not get through, please leave a message with your name and phone number and we will try to return calls in the order we receive them. The busiest time will be the morning of Monday, June 2, but we will be available all week, taking calls and processing orders.

IN-PERSON SALES

In-person sales will be available as of Tuesday, June 3. Our office hours will be Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The office is located at 5511 Shorncliffe Avenue in Sechelt, at the lower entrance to Rockwood Centre.

You can download a digital copy of the festival brochure to see a full schedule of events:

A few reminders about Festival tickets …

• There are no refunds unless an event is cancelled. A $5 fee is charged for ticket exchanges (subject to availability).
• Pavilion seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Seats are not assigned.
• If you order online, we will be able to scan digital tickets at the door, so there is no need to print out tickets to individual events (unless you want to!).
• If you are buying a festival pass (either a full festival pass or day passes) you will need to pick up a physical festival pass at our box office when you arrive on site.
• We will keep waiting lists, so if an event sells out before you are able to purchase tickets, please call the office at 604-885-9631 or email summerintern(at)writersfestival.ca and ask to be put on a waiting list.

ACCESSIBILITY

• A limited number of parking spots for people with physical disabilities are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
• The Festival Pavilion, our venue, is fully accessible. If you have special seating needs please call the office prior to August 14 so we can help prepare for your visit.
• We ask that those who have requested accessibility assistance or seats arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the event.
• Real-time captioning for Events #1-20 will be available.

Questions? Please phone the Festival of the Written Arts office at 1-800-565-9631.

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Bring your questions about specific programs, writing grant applications, and BC Arts Council’s funding process and priorities.

Book in advance by emailing mi***************@****bc.ca before Thursday, August 15. After this date, drop by the Rockwood Lodge front porch during festival hours to sign up on the form provided.

Michelle Benjamin manages literary programs at the BC Arts Council, including programs for creative writers, book and magazine publishers, and early career development.

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Subscribers to the 2024 Festival of the Written Arts will have access to ticket sales starting Monday, May 27 at 9:00 am, as well as a 10% discount on all tickets and festival passes. *

Subscribers and the general public will be able to order tickets online (links will be available on our website) and by phone at 604-885-9631 and toll-free at 1-800-565-9631, starting on the dates above. As of June 4, you will also be able to purchase tickets by visiting our festival office at 5511 Shorncliffe Avenue in Sechelt, BC.

To purchase a subscription to the 2024 festival, please visit the link below.

* For early access to 2024 ticket sales, you must order your subscription by May 20, 2024. The 10% discount will be available to subscribers until ticket sales for each event have closed, but discounts will not be given retroactively.

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