Save The Dates: Oct. 14 to 19, 2025
It’s the 30th Annual Wordfest Fall Imaginairium Festival!!!

Thank you for making the 2024 Imaginairium a larger-than-life confetti canon of big ideas—proof that, when we gather together around the power of words, the world feels… WonderFULL. By enthusiastically showing up in Calgary for the world’s best writers, you’ve co-created the interconnected, diverse, propulsive, thriving community of Wordfesters.

Canada’s Liveliest Literary Festival returns next fall, Oct. 14 to 19, in Calgary’s vibrant Beltline neighbourhood. Since Wordfest was founded in 1996, we’ve been exceeding expectations about what a literary event can be (and selling out shows), so please sign up for our newsletter to avoid missing out. We’ll be showcasing your favourite authors from the past 30 years, as well as writers we’ll be talking about for the next 30 years, at the 2025 Imaginairium, as well as in special events throughout the year.

Here’s What WonderFull Looks Like

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YEAR-ROUND SCHEDULE

May

Wordfest & CAJ present Gabrielle Drolet & Brittney McNamara

May 29 @ 7 PM MT $25

Memorial Park Library, 2nd Floor
1221 2 St SW
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As legacy media struggles, the next generation of journalists is producing relevant, engaging, refreshingly fearless coverage. Wordfest is thrilled to be able to bring together two North American powerhouses disrupting the journalism landscape: Canadian editorial cartoonist and journalist, Gabrielle Drolet and Brittney McNamara, the features editor at Teen Vogue, which bills itself as “the young person’s guide to conquering (and saving) the world.” The lively and timely conversation includes an audience Q&A and book signing. READ MORE
Wordfest & CAJ present Mark MacKinnon

May 31 @ 2 PM MT $25

Memorial Park Library, 2nd Floor
1221 2 St SW
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At this crucial time for journalism, facts, and public trust in media, Wordfest and the Canadian Association of Journalists are proud to present a conversation with Mark MacKinnon, Senior International correspondent for The Globe and Mail, who has been covering international affairs and Canada’s role in the world since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and the subsequent war in Afghanistan. One of Canada’s most decorated foreign correspondents, MacKinnon has won the National Newspaper Award seven times. He was nominated in 2022 and again this year for his ongoing coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This vital afternoon conversation, hosted by journalist Christina Frangou, includes an audience Q&A and book signing. READ MORE

June

Wordfest presents Guy Gavriel Kay & J. M. Miro

Jun 03 @ 7 PM MT $35

Memorial Park Library, 2nd Floor
1221 2 St SW
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This 30th Anniversary pairing of Guy Gavriel Kay and J. M. Miro (the fantasy nom de plum of Steven Price) promises to be as exquisite as the fine whiskey you’ll be tasting at this spirited conversation, ringlead by Wordfest’s Shelley Youngblut. Miro describes Kay’s newest bestseller, Written in the Dark, as a masterpiece: “An absolutely astonishing novel about poetry, and war, and what it means to be human, by our greatest living writer of the fantastic.” Not sure what to expect? Think "Hebridean Baker experience," but with a fantastical twist. Your ticket includes a premium tipple, audience Q & A, and book signing fuelled by Owl’s Nest Books. You can pre-order both featured books—Written in the Dark and Ordinary Monsters—and the authors’ back lists here. READ MORE
The Way We Calgary'd

Jun 10 @ 7 PM MT $25

Patricia A. Whelan Performance Hall, Central Library
800 3 Street SE
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Wordfest turns 30 this year and we’re throwing a lively bash to celebrate the Calgarians who helped build Wordfest. It’s our way of thanking writers, readers, and community builders for helping to spark our thriving literary scene. And what better way to showcase this city’s range of wordy goodness than inviting seven of our finest storytellers to share a seven-minute tale about the relationship between their art and their hometown, in its all its contradictions, complexities, and connections. Join us for The Way We… Calgary’d, featuring Ali Bryan, Marcello Di Cintio, Will Ferguson, Cheryl Foggo, Richard Harrison, Joshua Whitehead, and Teresa Wong, with a special performance by Tom Phillips. READ MORE
Wordfest presents Robert Macfarlane

Jun 17 @ 7 PM MT $25

Patricia A. Whelan Performance Hall, Central Library
800 3 Street SE
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This is the show Wordfest has been waiting all year to announce. Join us for an exclusive opportunity to see British writer, naturalist, and Nobel Prize contender Robert Macfarlane. He's coming to Calgary as part of his North American tour to celebrate Is a River Alive?, which is not just Macfarlane's latest literary masterpiece, but a rallying cry and a catalyst for change. It is a book that will open hearts, spark debates and challenge perspectives. A clarion call to re-centre rivers in our stories, law and politics, it invites us to radically re-imagine not only rivers but life itself. At the heart of this vital, beautiful book is the recognition that our fate flows with that of rivers—and always has. No one understands that better than Albertans, and we are thrilled to have Canadian writer and naturalist Kevin Van Tighem hosting the conversation, which will followed by an audience Q&A and book signing fuelled by Shelf Life books. You can  pre-order your copy of Is a River Alive?, as well as Macfarlane’s extensive back list (which includes the international publishing phenomenon The Lost Words), here. READ MORE
Reading in the Wild

Jun 24 @ 4 PM MT FREE

Memorial Park (OUTDOORS) 1221 2 St SW
1221 2 St SW
Wordfest and Calgary Public Library are excited to announce the return of Reading in the Wild, Calgary’s outdoor Read-A-Thon! Imagine our city's most beautiful inner-city park bursting with people of all ages enjoying the simple pleasure of reading outside. This free event is for everyone—children, teens, seniors, friends, neighbours, colleagues, even well-behaved dogs. Readers of all ages are welcome to bring a blanket and book (or borrow one on site!) to read amongst fellow readers in the wild. This free, all-ages community event takes place on June 24 in Central Memorial Park, home to Alberta’s oldest library. Opened in 1912 with funding from Andrew Carnegie, it is now a still-thriving national historic site as well as Wordfest’s year-round performance space, where we connect the world’s best writers with the world’s best readers. You can bring your current read or we’ll supply the magic: You can choose from a specially curated selection from the Library's collection, organized by age and interests, which you are welcome to check out at any time from the fabulous Memorial Park Library staff. Don’t have a library card? You can sign up for a free one on the spot! READ MORE
Wordfest & Calgary Public Library present Darkest Miriam with Martha Baillie

Jun 25 @ 6:30 PM MT $25

Patricia A. Whelan Performance Hall, Central Library
800 3 Street SE
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Directed by Naomi Jaye, executive produced by Charlie Kaufman, and adapted from Baillie’s Giller Prize nominated novel The Incident Report, the Hollywood Reporter describes Darkest Miriam as “a small wonder of a film, eloquent and captivating.” Says lead actor Britt Lower (Severance), “When I read this script, I knew Miriam was for me. When I met Naomi and Martha, I knew we were in the same creative family… I can’t wait for you to see this story about a librarian who falls in a hole and opens her heart.” Discover more about the transformation of the book to the film here. Following the screening, Martha Baillie will join Wordfest’s Creative Ringleader Shelley Youngblut for a conversation, which includes an audience Q&A. Shelf Life books will be on site with copies of The Incident Report and Dandy Brewing Company will have libations. And yes, there will be complimentary popcorn, courtesy of Calgary Public Library. READ MORE

September

Wordfest presents R.F. Kuang

Sep 14 @ 4 PM MT $55

Patricia A. Whelan Performance Hall, Central Library
800 3 Street SE
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SOLD OUT! Click here to join the waitlist. (Thank you, Wordfesters, for your remarkable support. If you missed out on tickets, get yourself, your friends, family, and neighbours to sign up for our e-blast to ensure you never miss out next time!) Wordfest welcomes bestselling fantasy phenom R.F. Kuang with her highly anticipated novel Katabasis, a dark academia tour de force drenched in magic that author Leigh Bardugo calls “a witty, gory, harrowing ride.” Kuang’s oeuvre (including Babel and Yellowface) has established her as a master of storytelling. This exclusive experience will be hosted by Paula Turcotte. Your exclusive ticket includes a pre-signed deluxe limited-edition copy of Katabasis with a custom Canadian tour stamp. READ MORE

About Us

Wordfest™ beams out from Calgary, Canada in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, Treaty 7 territory. We are an entrepreneurial arts non-profit founded in 1996 as one of Canada’s leading literary festivals. Our small team’s mission (which is to connect the world’s best audiences with the world’s best authors) has evolved to include producing lively, accessible shows year-round, in addition to the fall Imaginairium Festival. Our unique (and free) Wordfest Youth program focuses on Grades 5 to 12 to fuel teen literacy, providing interactive experiences and class sets of books to thousands of students every year. We also produce Imagine On Air Audio, as well as online programming.

Our goal? To help you think bigger, dig deeper, and build meaningful relationships. Sign up for our newsletter here to become a part of the vital Wordfest community.