We tried SO hard not to pair them, but in the end… how could we not? Two of Ireland’s greatest living writers, both Booker Prize winners, will take the DJD stage together for some excellent craic. Though the Irish might often be known for a late night, Doyle and Enright are the perfect pairing for a lively morning—even if you’ve been Wordfesting all weekend, you won’t mind the wake-up call that gets you in your seat for this one!

Prepare to be visually wowed. And have your heart open three times bigger. After devouring their books, we had to give Jenny Heijun Wills (Everything and Nothing at All), Tessa Hulls (Feeding Ghosts), and Teresa Wong (All Our Ordinary Stories) the opportunity to share a stage. Though they each weave a unique tapestry in their work, across countries, cultures and genres, they write toward common threads of family, belonging, and community that are at the heart of what it means to be human. Heijun Wills’s book has been nominated for the Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize, while graphic novelist Hulls is up for the 2024 Kirkus Prize. And Wong is Calgary’s comics treasure.

Festival favourite Kyo Maclear wrote this about Heijun Willis’s latest, but she could easily be referring to all three books: “What does a book look like when it subverts narrow stories of kinship and ancestry, when it refuses to pander or be pinned down and possessed, when it upends crushing dichotomies, fixed definitions, forced choices? It looks like this. Defiantly wise. Unbeautifully beautiful. Capaciously loving. Mutinous.”

Hertwig (Juiceboxers) somehow completed his novel while opening, with his partner, Paper Birch Books, one of Edmonton’s coolest indie bookstores. MacNaughton, together with her sister Nicola, tapped into the exploding romance market with groundbreaking Slow Burn Books, the “spiciest specialty bookstore in Calgary.” Smith co-owns Owl’s Nest Books, Calgary’s oldest independent bookstore—and the Imaginarium’s book-selling partner. For anyone who dreams of owning a bookstore, here’s the inside story.

Sometimes our twosomes pair themselves, as happened when, after reading just one of the stellar reviews of Canisia Lubrin’s novel Code Noir, Tanya Talaga (The Knowing) tweeted she couldn’t wait to read it. We can’t wait to sit in on what promises to be an unforgettable conversation between these two forthright, fierce women who are repositioning not just their respective genres, but our future as Canadians. 

Maaza Mengiste calls Code Noir “a revelation. Proof that it is possible for an imagination to outpace the rest of us, and beckon from a future far richer and more brilliant than we know.” And we’ve been working to bring Talaga to Calgary ever since she blew away our colonial blinkers with Seven Fallen Feathers. Deeply personal and meticulously researched, The Knowing retells the history of this country through an Indigenous lens, beginning with the life of Talaga’s great-great grandmother Annie Carpenter and her family as they experienced decades of government- and Church-sanctioned enfranchisement and genocide. It’s a seminal unravelling of the centuries-long oppression of Indigenous Peoples that continues to reverberate in these communities today.

To Kate Neville (Going to Seed: Essays on Idleness, Nature, & Sustainable Work), the phrase “going to seed” means regeneration, not disintegration. The collection, which intersects  science, literature, religious theories, and the natural world, argues there are alternatives to society’s constant need for speed and productivity—ones that can also address crises both spiritual and environmental. Joining Neville will be “slow news” journalist and podcaster Jeremy Klaszus (The Hollowing of the Calgary Herald), founder and editor of The Sprawl.

The pub date for your book has been announced—now what? These creative writers will share how they’ve marketed themselves and their books. Jenny Heijun Wills’ Instagram account features her adorable Doberman puppy “reading” an advance copy of Everything and Nothing at All. Coming from the world of game design, debut author Holly Gramazio (Husbands) knows a thing or two about playfulness. The duo will share an informal & question-led conversation about activating reader engagement.

Wordfest is thrilled that hometown heroes Tegan and Sara will be part of the 29^th Imaginairium festival. Inspired by their lives, CRUSH (the concluding book in Tegan and Sara Quin’s bestselling middle-grade graphic novel duology) is all about crushes, crushing it, and being crushed by life in junior high. Moderated by someone who was there—the twins’ biggest fan and supporter, their mom Sonia Clement—you won’t want to miss this very special conversation as they discuss writing, music, first crushes, first songs, first loves, family, and more. 

Jones (I Was a Teenage Slasher, The Indian Lake Trilogy) and Robertson (The Misewa Saga, The Reckoner Rises series) are both lethal with a pen. But they’re also huge pop culture buffs, always deep-diving for their next watch, read, or listen. This show is a can’t-miss if you love Spotify Wrapped, your Goodreads TBR, or reading Letterboxd reviews… especially if you don’t mind a healthy dose of horror.

A priceless interview with two unstoppable journalists. When not writing poetry (Barfly), Michael Lista leads a parallel life as an award-winning, investigative reporter for such esteemed publications as Toronto Life, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic. (The Globe and Mail’s Jana Pruden calls Lista “one of the best, and most astute, true crime chroniclers in the country.”) Lista’s friend and fellow long-form award-winner Christina Frangou will uncover the secrets of how he gets the story.

Long before Insta influencers, there was Jeanne Beker. In her new memoir, Heart on My Sleeve: Stories From a Life Well Worn, the TV personality, fashion maven, and journalist looks back on life through the clothes she wore. From her Toronto childhood, growing up the daughter of Holocaust survivors, to her gigs on The NewMusic and Fashion Television (where she rubbed shoulder pads with the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Keith Richards, and Beyoncé), to her journey with cancer, the first fashionista of Canada reminds us why clothes matter. Making the evening extra special, Beker’s equally-stylish stagemate is the delightful groundbreaking novelist Nita Prose (The Mystery Guest, The Mistletoe Mystery), whose alter ego (not Molly the maid!) edited Heart on My Sleeve in a past life.