Writers confirmed to date
Caroline Adderson
Winner of the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for her novel Sitting Practice, Caroline Adderson returns with her newest book, the short story collection A Way to Be Happy, which was longlisted for the Giller Prize.
Gurjinder Basran
Gurjinder Basran’s newest novel takes us to The Wedding as we bear witness to the coming together of two South Asian families and the ensuing fun and drama.
andrea bennett
andrea bennett is a National Magazine Award–winning writer and a senior editor at The Tyee. Their latest book is Hearty: On Cooking, Eating, and Growing Food for Pleasure and Subsistence.
Eddy Boudel Tan
Named a Rising Star by Writers’ Trust of Canada in 2021, Eddy Boudel Tan’s newest novel, The Tiger and the Cosmonaut, is a suspenseful and emotional exploration of family, loss, and resilience.
Timothy Caulfield
A Professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health, and Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta, Timothy Caulfield is the author of the bestselling books The Cure for Everything, Relax, Dammit! and, most recently, The Certainty Illusion: What You Don’t Know and Why It Matters.
Michael Crummey
Celebrated poet and novelist Michael Crummey’s masterful novel, The Adversary, is a #1 national bestseller, a Globe & Mail “best book,” and a finalist for the 2025 Dublin Literary Award.
Deirdre Simon Dore
Deirdre Simon Dore is a Canadian writer. Her short fiction has won, among other awards, the Journey Prize and has been published in numerous journals and translated into Italian. Her debut novel, A Reluctant Mother, is a finalist for the 2025 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.
Amal Elsana Alh’jooj
Amal Elsana Alh’jooj is a passionate activist and thinker bringing attention to issues facing indigenous communities, especially those of Palestinian Bedouin heritage. Hope is a Woman’s Name is her debut memoir.
Charlotte Gill
Charlotte Gill was born in London and raised in the United States and Canada. Her latest book, Almost Brown, a mixed-race family memoir, is published by Penguin Random House. She is also the author of Eating Dirt, a national bestseller that won the BC National Award for Canadian Nonfiction.
Lorna Goodison
Lorna Goodison is the author of 15 books of poetry, including Mother Muse which was shortlisted for The Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry, and Redemption Ground, her first-ever book of essays. Her most recent book is a new translation of The Inferno, which re-imagines Dante’s classic with a Jamaican setting using Jamaican vernacular.
Garry Gottfriedson
Renowned Secwépemc poet Garry Gottfriedson has dedicated his newest collection, The Flesh of Ice, as a tribute and remembrance to residential school survivors. He has published 13 additional books and holds a Masters of Education Degree from Simon Fraser University.
Holly Hogan
Wildlife biologist Holly Hogan’s Message in a Bottle, a non-fiction GG finalist, reveals the devastating effects of our plastic-addicted lifestyle on our oceans and the efforts to clean them up.
Brian Thomas Isaac
Brian Thomas Isaac, winner of an Indigenous Voices Award for his debut novel All the Quiet Places, returns with Bones of a Giant, a powerful story of struggle and redemption.
Evelyn Lau
Evelyn Lau is the author of 15 books. Her poetry has received the Milton Acorn Award, the Pat Lowther Award, a National Magazine Award, and nominations for the BC Book Prize and the Governor General’s Award. Parade of Storms (2025), is her tenth collection of poetry.
Sarah Leavitt
Sarah Leavitt is a cartoonist and educator living in Vancouver, BC. She is the author of the graphic memoir Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer’s, My Mother, and Me, the award-winning historical fiction comic Agnes, Murderess, and most recently, Something, Not Nothing: A Story of Grief and Love (2024).
Bruce McIvor
Dr. Bruce McIvor, lawyer and historian, is a partner at First Peoples Law LLP, a law firm dedicated to defending and advancing Indigenous Peoples’ inherent and constitutionally protected title, rights and treaty rights. He is the author of Indigenous Rights in One Minute.
Susin Nielsen
Celebrated author and screenwriter Susin Nielsen’s newest book, Snap, is a laugh-out-loud novel about finding friendship—and redemption—in unexpected places and the essential need for human connection.
Carol Off
Eminent journalist and author Carol Off delivers this year’s Rockwood Lecture. Her newest book, At a Loss for Words, examines how language shapes democracy, spreads propaganda, and polarizes societies in modern times.
Nita Prose
Hotel maid extraordinaire Molly Gray returns in award-winning author Nita Prose’s The Maid’s Secret. Part heist caper, part epic love story, this latest whodunnit will keep readers in blissful suspense.
David A. Robertson
David A. Robertson, a two-time Governor General’s Literary Award winner, shares stories from his memoir All the Little Monsters, exploring the struggles and small victories of living with chronic anxiety and depression. He is also the author of the just published 52 Ways to Reconcile.
Ardra Shephard
Ardra Shephard is a sought-after writer, consultant, podcaster, and speaker, whose award-winning blog Tripping on Air has an international reach and reputation. Ardra is also the creator and host of AMI-tv’s lifestyle series Fashion Dis. Her debut book is the memoir Fallosophy: My Trip Through Life with MS.
Jane Urquhart
Jane Urquhart is the author of more than 15 books and winner of numerous prestigious literary awards. Her latest novel, In Winter I Get Up at Night, was an instant national bestseller.
Guy Vanderhaeghe
Guy Vanderhaeghe has won numerous awards for his many novels, but his newest work, Because Somebody Asked Me To, is a collection of insightful essays on books, history and much more.
Zoe Whittall
Novelist, poet and screenwriter Zoe Whittall’s newest work, Wild Failure, is a collection of short stories that continues her insightful examination of themes of identity, relationships and societal norms.
Teresa Wong
Teresa Wong is the author of the acclaimed graphic memoirs All Our Ordinary Stories (2024) and Dear Scarlet (2019), both finalists for The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Prize. Her comics have appeared in The Believer, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s and The Walrus.
Ryan McMahon (musical guest)
Winner of multiple Vancouver Island Music Awards, Ryan McMahon has established himself as one of western Canada’s most prolific singer/songwriters. His fine blend of folk and rock will close this year’s Festival.