Eden Mills Writers’ Festival invites people to slow down, think
EDEN MILLS – The Eden Mills Writers’ Festival is set to return in early September for its 37th year.
The annual festival runs Sept. 4 to 7, featuring over 45 Canadian authors, with readings, workshops and discussion panels.
Artistic director Kali Pearson said the festival is a place where people can “intentionally slow down, take some time to connect, breathe, and take some joy in life and reflect a little bit more deeply than I think we’re usually accustomed to.”
She said a focus of this year’s festival is hosting conversations with complexity and depth.
Pearson added she wants to “really make those conversations rich and more of an exploration than a black and white, polarized kind of narrative, which is what we’ve gotten so used to.”
A launch event will introduce the festival, with programming through the Guelph library, and workshops throughout the days leading up to the street festival on Sept. 7.
The street festival will have vendors, as well as several panels and authors' readings.
Panellists will discuss the writers’ craft in different genres, including short stories, poetry, mystery, historical fiction, science fiction and for the first time, ‘romantasy’ (romance fantasy), which Pearson said was added after seeing interest and excitement from the community.
Pearson said the festival is holding more interdisciplinary panels, featuring different types of writers.
“I think some of the discussions will be really fun and surprising,” Pearson said, adding poets, fiction writers, academics and non-fiction writers approach the world differently.
Pearson said there will be an area with children’s programming, as well as a calm area dedicated to giving attendees a break from the “sensory overload” of a festival.
Announced authors include:
- Governor General award-winning local authors Thomas King (Aliens on the Moon) and Madhur Anand (To Place a Rabbit);
- Giller award-winners Ian Williams (You’ve Changed), Souvankham Thammavongsa (Pick a Colour) and Michael Redhill (The Trial of Katterfelto);
- Andrew Coyne, columnist at The Globe and Mail; and
- AI ethicist Dr. Christopher DiCarlo (Building a God: The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence).
Others announced include Shari Lapena, Uzma Jalaluddin, David A. Robinson, Lisa Baird, Melinda Burns, Kira Vermond, Isaac Murdoch, James Nowak, Matt James, Laurel Croza, and Andrea Curtis.
Street festival tickets are $40 for adults, $20 for students (14 and up) with a student ID, and free for children (13 and under).
Tickets to the launch event are $20.
A full festival pass is available for $129, providing access to the street festival, library programming, the launch event, and two writing workshops.
On Aug. 6, the adult street festival ticket increases to $45, and the full pass increases to $149.
Workshops outside of the street festival will be separate paid events, with more details to be announced.
More information on the launch event, as well as a full schedule for the festival have yet to be released.
Tickets for the event can be purchased at emwf.ca.
