Metro Vancouver
North Shore Writers Festival
Date: April 2026
This festival, which has been running for over 25 years, takes place annually in North Vancouver. It is a completely free event that spotlights local writers, authors, and poets.
For more information: https://northshorewritersfestival.com/
Verses Festival of Words
Date: April 2026
This festival centers poetry, spoken word, storytelling, and music. It is hosted annually by the Vancouver Poetry House. Its main event is the Canadian Individual Slam Championship, in which slam poets from all over Canada go head-to-head.
For more information: https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/about-verses/
Vancouver International Publishing Conference
Date: June 2026
This one day conference takes place in the vibrant Shipyards District of North Vancouver. The Vancouver International Publishing Conference brings together publishers, authors, booksellers, agents, marketers, and industry leaders to provide expert-led discussions on publishing pathways, legal rights, book-buying trends, cutting-edge marketing strategies and more.
For more information: https://vipconference.ca/
Composed Festival of Writing & Film
Date: June 2026
This free three-day festival brings together writers and filmmakers at the North Delta Centre for the Arts. The Composed Festival of Writing & Film features an open mic night, a spoken word competition with cash prizes, creative workshops, and culminates in the Composed Short Film Festival, which features award-winning short films from local, national, and international filmmakers.
For more information: https://dlas.ca/?page_id=21511
The Unicorn Poetry Festival
Date: August 4th—August 7th, 2027
The first ever Unicorn Poetry Festival
Featuring workshops, showcases, a national poetry slam team competition, book launches and special guests! It’s going to be wild fun with unicorn bubbles, chocolate and a little bit of the carnivalesque!
For more information: https://www.instagram.com/death_rides_a_unicorn_events/
Word Vancouver
Date: September 2027
Word Vancouver is the largest free literary festival in all of Western Canada. Typically held at UBC Robson Square, this event highlights a host of local exhibitors and spotlights a series of local writers and poets.
For more information: https://www.wordvancouver.ca/
Vancouver Writers Fest
Date: October 18-25, 2026
The Vancouver Writers Fest draws tens of thousands of people to Granville Island annually to celebrate literature. It is a full week of both paid and free events, including readings, workshops, book signings, interviews, panel discussions, and more.
For more information: https://writersfest.bc.ca/
Surrey International Writers’ Conference
Date: October 23-25, 2026
The Surrey International Writers’ Conference was founded in 1993 and is the most comprehensive professional development conference of its kind in Canada. This conference offers writers from all genres and all experience levels the opportunity to hone their craft with in-person, hybrid, and online classes. It features presenters and attendees from all over the world and fills the Sheraton Guildford hotel with around 700 industry professionals every October.
For more information: https://www.siwc.ca/
Fraser Valley & Sea-to-Sky
BC Author Book Fair
Date: June 2026
The BC Author Book Fair is a new annual event, taking place in Chilliwack. This event, boasting over 70 vendors, brings together authors, booksellers, and book enthusiasts in a one-day festival.
For more information: https://bcauthorsociety.ca/events/
Whistler Writers Festival
Date: Thursday, November 5th—Sunday, November 8th, 2026
This festival is a “multi-venue, multi-artist, multi-day event” that features both local writers and those from all across Canada. This festival features a variety of events, including workshops, readings, panels, and children’s programming.
For more information: https://whistlerwritersfest.com/
Fraser Valley Writers Festival
Date: November 5th—November 7th, 2026
The Fraser Valley Writers Festival is a free, three-day event that was founded in 2007 and revitalized in 2018. It takes place in Abbotsford and features a variety of events including keynote addresses, live readings, panel discussions, workshops, and live podcast recordings. Unique to this event, all participating authors are commissioned to write a new work and debut it for the first time at the festival.
For more information: https://www.fvwritersfestival.com/
Vancouver Island & Sunshine Coast
Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts
Date: August 2026
This festival takes place annually in Sechelt. This festival exclusively centers Canadian writers across a variety of genres and hosts a series of events, including workshops, panels, readings, and more.
For more information: https://writersfestival.ca/
Art & Words
Date: August 2026
Art & Words is hosted annually by the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society in Gibsons. This event celebrates local writers, authors, and photographers.
For more information: https://www.scwes.ca/art-words
Write On Bowen
Date: September 2026
This weekend festival hosts insightful and interactive workshops facilitated by published authors, professional writers and incredible mentors. Highlights of this festival are the Literary Cabaret and the Writing the Island guided literary walk.
For more information: https://www.writeonbowen.com/
Victoria Festival of Authors
Date: October 12-18, 2026
The Victoria Festival of Authors is Vancouver Island’s largest literary celebration. The event highlights both regional authors and talent from all over Canada through both its in-person and online programming.
For more information: https://victoriafestivalofauthors.ca/
Kootenay & Okanagan
Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival
Date: May 2026
This festival takes place annually in Salmon Arm and features workshops, open forums, writing panels and one-on-one manuscript feedback at the Blue Pencil Sessions. This festival also features the Askew’s Word on the Lake Writing Contest, in which the winners are featured in Word on the Lake’s annual anthology.
For more information: https://wordonthelakewritersfestival.com/
Wine Country Writers Festival
Date: September 2026
This event, held annually in Penticton, hosts a series of workshops, panels, and community programming.
For more information: https://wcwfestival.com/
Central & Northern B.C.
Northern BC Writers Fest
Date: July 2026
In July 2026, the first-ever Northern BC Writers Fest will be held in Prince George. This is anticipated to be a month full of workshops, presentations, and more.
For more information: https://nbcwritersfest.ca/