AfterWords Literary Festival announces live virtual literary festival from Halifax, September 30-October 4
Over 20 writers participating from Nova Scotia, Canada and beyond.
(Halifax, NS) – The AfterWords Literary Festival, a five-day celebration of writers, readers, and the ideas that bring them together, has announced its full program and list of participating writers for its second annual festival, to take place virtually from Halifax, Wednesday, September 30 to Sunday, October 4.
With a theme of ‘Writing Into An Uncertain Future’, the festival will offer a mix of readings, conversations, workshops, and the launch of Conundrum Press’s Nova Graphica: A Comic Anthology of Nova Scotia History. All events will be webcast through Zoom.
“Presenting the festival online is an incredible opportunity to reach audiences not only everywhere across Nova Scotia, but also across Canada and well beyond,” says Ryan Turner, Festival co-executive director. “In our first year, we brought writers and readers together in Halifax, and this year, we’ll bring writers and readers together wherever they are.”
This year’s headliner, sponsored by the University of King’s College, is New York Times best-selling author Roxane Gay.
"Roxane Gay has consistently topped the list of writers our Master of Fine Arts students want to hear from and her views on race, feminism, politics and culture make her a thinker whose insights are timelier than ever," says Kim Pittaway, executive director of the MFA in Creative Nonfiction at the University of King's College. “We're thrilled to partner with AfterWords in making this event possible.”
Joining Gay as part of the event are visiting authors Vivek Shraya, Catherine Hernandez, Shani Mootoo, Cory Doctorow, Thea Lim, Michelle Good, Cecily Belle Blain, playwright Keith Barker, and Nova Scotian authors Sue Goyette, El Jones, shalan joudry, and Francesca Ekwuyasi. Goyette and Barker will both lead writing workshops as well, along with Thea Lim, Carol Bruneau, Randy Boyogoda, and JJ Steeves.
“Frankly, we’re bruised from pinching ourselves. We’re thrilled to be revealing this truly exciting group of writers who have agreed to join us for AfterWords this year,” says Festival co-executive director Stephanie Domet. “To have any one of these writers in front of audiences in Halifax would be terrific. To have all of them at once is seriously a dream come true.”
Hosts for the AfterWords Literary Festival include CBC Radio IDEAS producer Mary Lynk, playwright Colleen Murphy, journalist Evelyn C. White, poet Amanda Jernigan, and writer and festival co-director, Stephanie Domet.
Tickets to festival events will be available for sale and reservation on Monday, August 10 at 10 a.m. Most events are offered free of charge, with a suggested donation of $5 to help the festival build for the coming years.
For more details on all participating writers and the full festival program visit: AfterWordsLiteraryFestival.com.
The AfterWords Literary Festival is grateful to Arts Nova Scotia, Access Copyright Foundation, Communities, Culture and Heritage Nova Scotia, Halifax, PlayConnect, University of King's College, Dalhousie University, Rosie Porter, Susan Crowe and Dorianne Rheaume, Bookmark, and the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia for their financial support of the festival.
About AfterWords Literary Festival
The AfterWords Literary Festival second annual festival will take place in Halifax through virtual means from Wednesday September 30 to Sunday October 4, 2020. The festival offers a mix of readings, conversations, celebratory events, and workshops geared to professional writers, and brings together international, Canadian, and Nova Scotian writers.
For more information on the AfterWords Literary Festival, visit: AfterWordsLiteraryFestival.com.
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