Beverley McLachlin is not only the bestselling author of two novels and a memoir, Truth Be Told (winner of the prestigious Writers’ Trust Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing), but also the longest-serving Supreme Court Chief Justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the position. Join us for this intimate, one-on-one conversation with the Alberta-born legend about her remarkable life and her new thriller, Proof. Complimentary Coffee & Tea provided by Barrow Coffee Roasters.

WordFeast

Here’s an exclusive opportunity to have lunch with eight extraordinary storytellers—Diana Beresford-Kroeger, Shashi Bhat, Holly Gramazio, Catherine Hernandez, Robyn Harding, Beverley McLachlin, Nita Prose & Marissa Stapley—and Ann VanderMeer, one of the world’s top editors. They will join you for intimate conversation throughout a multi-course meal, prepared by the chefs at District Lounge, a private dining room in the District at Beltline created by renowned Calgary chefs Duncan Ly and Roy Oh.

Be sure to come hungry and ready to devour every word as you share a table and meal with your favourite authors and like-minded readers. The lunch will feature one celebrity guest per table for 15-20 minutes for each course before playing musical chairs and moving on to the next table. Lunch starts promptly at 12:00pm so please be sure to arrive early to ensure you don’t miss any courses.

When we have two of the most accomplished and well-respected editors in the business in Calgary at the same time, how could we resist creating a new opportunity to listen, laugh, and learn from the best? Ann VanderMeer laid the groundwork for the current modern horror craze as the editor of Weird Tales, winning a Hugo (we’ll talk about early submissions from a then-unknown Stephen Graham Jones). And she’s an expert in classic and modern science fiction and fantasy, as well as introducing North American audiences to international stars in translation.

If you’re a Canadian author, you want to join the select club of writers Anne Collins edits, which includes Wordfest faves Jann Arden, Cherie Dimaline, Roméo Dallaire, Carol Off, Eden Robison, Martha Wainwright, and Ian Williams. Oh, and she also worked her magic with Barry Lopez, Richard Powers, and Patti Smith.

These powerhouse Ann(es) are post-menopausal women with cats, with decades of wit and wisdom, so we expect a refreshingly bracing Happy Hour.

Attention forward thinkers. Futurists. Imagineers. Re-wilders. This is the show for you! You know Jeff VanderMeer  from the Southern Reach Trilogy, which is being reissued just in time to become a quartet with the release of Absolution. You might also know him as the co-editor of the Big Books of Science Fiction, Classic Fantasy, and Modern Fantasy, as well as the co-curator of The Weird and The New Weird (we would have called this show The Future is Weird, except that adjective is being delightfully deployed by the Dems to save, well, democracy right now). Oh, and he is attempting to drag Florida into the ecological future, one saved raccoon, one saved indigenous species at a time. 

We’re pretty sure Madeline Ashby is caught up with all things VanderWild as a sought-after futurist in this age of hyper change, crafting science fiction prototypes for Changeist, the Institute for the Future, the Smithsonian Institution, SciFutures, Nesta, The World Health Organization, and the World Bank. Her new novel, Glass Houses, is a gleefully decadent near future whodunit perfect for fans of Severance, The White Lotus, and Black Mirror.

Bang the gong! After a five-year hiatus, a Wordfest fan favourite returns! Part Def Poetry Jam, part reality-TV talent show, with a soupcon of 1970s game-show cheesiness, Literary Death Match features six brave authors performing their best short readings before a panel of all-star judges (including one past champion!). Plus, it’s worth the price of admission just to see what fabulous suit master of ceremonies Adrian Todd Zuniga will wear.

The poets of Wordfest leap from the pages to the stage in Poetry Cabaret. Conor Kerr (Old Gods), Michael Lista (Barfly), Canisia Lubrin (The Dyzgraphxst), and Benjamin Hertwig (Slow War) will take the mic to regale you in verse.

Even tastier, we’re going to fill Memorial Park with music, thanks to the interplay between words and sound woven by Calgary jazz pianist Timothonius (whose repertoire includes stride, neo-soul, gospel, and contemporary soul music) and vocalist Jane Madeleine.

Be part of this magical collaboration and fill your Friday night with a figurative (and perhaps a literal) cocktail of the poetic joy and wonder within us all.