This intimate conversation between friends, cousins, and longtime ‘Peg denizens David A. Robertson (The Sleeping Giant, God Flare, and The Kodiaks Home Ice Advantage) and Niigaan Sinclair (Wînipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre) kicks off the festival’s series of inspired author pairings.

The Kris Demeanor & Deborah Willis Variety Show

Calgary creative duo Kris Demeanor (YYC’s first Poet Laureate and singer/songwriter, whose latest recording is Songs for My Father to Fall Asleep To) and Deborah Willis (her novel Girlfriend on Mars was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Award and shortlisted for the Leacock Medal for Humour) host this brand-new variety show and—we’re calling it now—instant Wordfest classic. You can expect the unexpected in this extravaganza hybrid, starring short-story specialist Carleigh Baker (Last Woman), comic artist Sig Burwash (Vera Bushwack), photographer Leah Hennel (Alone Together), and award-winning playwright Clem Martini (Cantata & The Extinction Therapist).

An Evening with Lev Grossman & David A. Robertson

Lev Grossman (The Bright Sword, The Magicians trilogy) and David A. Robertson (The Misewa Saga, The Reckoner Rises series) are world-building pros with mammoth imaginations. Alice Kuipers (Spark: On Writing for Kids & Young Adults) hosts the conversation between this dynamic genre-expanding duo and the direction it will take is anyone’s guess! (Though if we were the betting kind, we’d have money on the question “How the heck can these writers be so prolific?!”)