Why should you become a subscriber?

To make sure we can keep value in this program for everyone who subscribes, we are selling a maximum of 200 subscriptions, and we will close subscription sales whenever we sell out, or on May 16, 2026.

PLEASE NOTE:

Buying a subscription won’t automatically guarantee that you will be able to buy all the tickets and passes you want. To ensure access to the more popular events and passes, we will be capping sales at 2 passes and 4 tickets per event per subscriber during the presale period. We will also be reserving inventory for all events and passes to release on Monday, June 1, 2026, when sales open to the general public. This means subscriber inventory may sell out in some cases, and we urge you to order early to avoid disappointment. Subscribers will be able to purchase additional passes and tickets with their 10% discount as soon as general sales open on June 1st.

Questions? Please email in**@*************al.ca. You can purchase a subscription by using the link below, or by phoning the office at 604-885-9631 during business hours. Thank you for your support!

The post Don’t miss your chance to subscribe to the 2026 Festival of the Written Arts appeared first on Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts.

At the orientation you can meet other volunteers, help yourself to drinks and snacks, browse for some free books and magazines, and enter a draw for a prize basket with local goods and gift certificates for Sunshine Coast businesses. Folks are welcome to stay for the whole two hours, or just ten minutes!

• Wednesday, May 27 | 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

NEW LOCATION: Seaside Centre, 5790 Teredo Street, Sechelt.

Attending a volunteer orientation meeting is not mandatory if you want to volunteer this year, but if you can come, please drop by. You are also welcome to fill out the volunteer contact form on our website.

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Funded in part by a generous Responsive Community Grant from the Sunshine Coast Foundation, the program aims to support a new generation of storytellers on the Sunshine Coast by offering students in-depth, week-long workshops with professional writers that will inspire them and help develop their skills and storytelling/writing abilities.

Kathleen Gros, a cartoonist and graphic novelist from Vancouver, was selected as the 2026 CABC secondary writer-in-residence. Gros travelled between Chatelech Secondary and Elphinstone Secondary from February 23-27 to deliver workshops on making zines (short magazines), publishing graphic novels and creating comics. She worked with approximately 50 creative writing, art and English students at each high school.

Gros’s most recent graphic novels include Carousel Summer, Anne: An Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (Sort Of), and Jo: An Adaptation of Little Women (Sort Of). She graduated with a BFA in Illustration from Emily Carr University of Art and Design and currently teaches students of all ages at Place des Arts in Coquitlam, and teen students at Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

The CABC elementary writer-in-residence is Tanya Lloyd Kyi, who is excited to be working with grade 5, 6 and 7 students at Roberts Creek Elementary during the week of April 20-24.

Tanya Lloyd Kyi is the author of more than 30 books for children and young adults and is an instructor at the UBC School of Creative Writing. Her most recent titles include The City of Lost Cats, Feeling Your Feelings, What Will I Discover; Our Green City, Better Connected (written with her daughter, Julia Kyi); and The Best Way to Get Your Way.

The Roberts Creek Elementary Writer-in-Residence program will culminate with a celebratory public event featuring Kyi and some of the student participants reading from their work. The event will take place on Friday, April 24 at 1:30 pm at the Roberts Creek Legacy Garden (or, in the case of inclement weather, the Roberts Creek Elementary School Library).

CABC is a joint initiative of School District 46—Sunshine Coast and the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts that brings writers into Sunshine Coast classrooms to talk about books and writing and encourage students to express themselves through both the written and spoken word. Each year CABC also publishes Coastal Voices, an annual anthology of student writing.

The post A new generation of storytellers: school writer-in-residence program launched on the Sunshine Coast appeared first on Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts.

The deadline to submit to the 16th edition of Coastal Voices is almost here!

Coastal Voices is an anthology of writing by Sunshine Coast students which is published annually by Celebration of Authors, Books and Community (CABC), a joint initiative of School District 46 – Sunshine Coast and the Festival of the Written Arts that was formed to promote literacy and to encourage youth to express themselves through both the written and spoken word.

Students in Kindergarten to grade 12 have until Friday, March 13 to submit up to three poems, stories, personal narratives or short essays with a maximum length of 500 words. Volunteer adjudicators usually receive between 700-800 submissions each year, which they then have to whittle down to 150-200 pieces for the anthology.

The anthology’s professional design is possible thanks to Edmund Arceo, the publisher and founder of Zoom magazine. Arceo has been involved with Coastal Voices since its beginning sixteen years ago, and he volunteers his time and expertise each year to produce a beautiful volume that honours and celebrates its contributors.

For more information about submitting to Coastal Voices, students can talk to their teachers, or email project coordinator John Lussier at jl******@*****bc.ca.

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The Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts is thrilled to be presenting An Evening of Stories and Songs with Grant Lawrence and Friends on Thursday, April 23, 2026 at the Pender Harbour School of Music.

Author, broadcaster and Sunshine Coast raconteur Grant Lawrence has created an outstanding evening of storytelling and songs. Grant will share stories from his bestselling books Adventures in Solitude and Return to Solitude, as well as his upcoming new book, Whale Tale. Between stories, songs will be performed by special musical guests Jeremy Fisher (Ottawa), Desiree Dawson (Vancouver) and Louise Burns (Vancouver Island).

Tickets are very limited! Doors will open at 6:30pm, showtime is 7:00pm. Tickets are $41.80 ($38.00 plus $3.80 in fees). Book sales courtesy of EarthFair Store.

The post An Evening of Stories and Songs with Grant Lawrence and Friends  appeared first on Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts.

Reasons to become a subscriber:

To make sure we can keep value in this program for everyone who subscribes, we are selling a maximum of 200 subscriptions, and we will close subscription sales whenever we sell out, or on May 15, 2026.

PLEASE NOTE:

Buying a subscription won’t automatically guarantee that you will be able to buy all the tickets and passes you want. To ensure access to the more popular events and passes, we will be capping sales at 2 passes and 4 tickets per event per subscriber during the presale period. We will also be reserving inventory for all events and passes to release on Monday, June 1, 2026, when sales open to the general public. This means subscriber inventory may sell out in some cases, and we urge you to order early to avoid disappointment. Subscribers will be able to purchase additional passes and tickets with their 10% discount as soon as general sales open on June 1st.

Questions? Please email in**@*************al.ca. You can purchase a subscription by using the link below, or by phoning the office at 604-885-9631 during business hours. Thank you for your support!

The post Subscribe to the 2026 Festival of the Written Arts appeared first on Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts.

Special thanks to our generous auction donors…

Arts Club Theatre, BC Ferries, Canadian Tire (Sechelt), Coast Academy of Dance, Fred’s Sechelt, Gigi Hoeller Art, Painted Boat Resort Spa & Marina, Rockwater Secret Cove Resort, Sechelt Inn, and Talaysay Tours.

The post Bid in Our Online Auction! appeared first on Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts.

The post Podcast: Festival 2025 Review appeared first on Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts.

Join us for an inspiring afternoon with renowned science journalist and beloved broadcaster Bob McDonald, as he shares stories from his remarkable life and career, drawn from his new memoir, Just Say Yes. Bob will reflect on his decades-long journey bringing science to Canadians — and how saying “yes” opened doors to extraordinary adventures.

Date: Sunday, October 5, 2025
Location: Raven’s Cry Theatre, 5555 Sunshine Coast Hwy., Sechelt
Time: 2:00–4:00 p.m. (Doors open for general admission at 1:30 p.m.)

The Event Includes:

• A captivating talk by Bob McDonald
• An audience Q&A
• A special raffle, featuring great prizes! Tickets will be for sale at the event only.
• A book signing session, courtesy of Talewind Books

Ticket Options:

VIP Experience – $75 (limited quantities available)

• Exclusive pre-event Meet & Greet with Bob McDonald
• A signed copy of Bob’s memoir, Just Say Yes (value $35)
• Reserved premium-section seating

General Admission

• $30 for one ticket
• $25 for two or more tickets – bring a friend and save!

Virtual Ticket

• $25.00 for one ticket (link will be valid for 2 weeks after October 5, 2025)
  

Online Auction

You can also support the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts by bidding in our online auction until October 15, 2025. Check out these special items – including original art and exciting experiences – and help raise funds to support Canada’s longest-running summer gathering celebrating Canadian writers and readers! All proceeds will help us continue bringing exceptional literary experiences to our community. Visit 32auctions.com/SCFWA2025.

Special thanks to our generous event sponsors and raffle and auction donors…

Arts Club Theatre, BC Ferries, Canadian Tire (Sechelt), Coast Academy of Dance, Claytons Heritage Market, Douglas & McIntyre, Driftwood Players, Fred’s Sechelt, Gigi Hoeller Art, London Drugs (Gibsons), Painted Boat Resort Spa & Marina, Raven’s Cry Theatre, Rockwater Secret Cove Resort, Sechelt Inn, Starbucks (Sechelt), Sunshine Coast Foundation, Talewind Books, Kirsty Tosczak – PREC, Talaysay Tours, Troller Ale House

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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.

The post The 2025 Festival has begun! appeared first on Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts.