by Jessica MacLeod

I attended Kingston’s Writersfest in September. This was not my first time attending, and I’m sure it will not be my last.  It calls itself a “festival for readers and writers,” and it truly lives up to this claim.

For me, what makes Kingston’s event different from Ottawa’s is that, in addition to having authors do readings and take questions, there are also events that are solely for workshopping and learning how to be a better writer.  Also, it’s a jam-packed four days with almost all events happening in or near the same building (which, this year, was the newly renovated Marriott).  This means all these big names in Canadian literature and all the readers and aspiring writers are mingling together in the same environment for the course of the festival and building a welcoming, friendly atmosphere all the while.

All the authors at Writersfest are traditionally published authors; many of them are award-winning and also teachers of creative writing at universities or prominent organizations such as the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity. Some have been or are short-listed for Gillers and Governor General’s Awards. At one point, I was chatting with a fellow attendee, and we agreed that while it does get expensive to attend the festival for a few days, we were learning from MFA-calibre instructors about a variety of writing types: poetry, short fiction, creative non-fiction, memoir, and traditional non-fiction.  I even attended a workshop on writing humour. No joke.

Here are just some of this year’s featured authors: Mark Abley, Catherine Bush, Eric Friesen, Wayne Grady, Linden MacIntyre, Carol Off, Otoniya J. Okot Bitek, Nita Prose, Deepa Rajagopalan, Merilyn Simonds, Madeleine Thien, Jack Wang, and Ian Williams.  You should also know that Sarah Yi-Mei Tsiang offers fantastic poetry workshops.

The tough part about the festival is deciding which events to attend. Sometimes you’re trying to choose between two equally appealing events or workshops. Another challenge is choosing between these amazing events and wandering downtown Kingston in gorgeous September weather. 

I had a great time.  In fact, despite sore hands and wrists from writing so much, I was buzzing with contentment, inspiration, and learning for days after my return. 

Save the date, 25Apr2026,  8:30 – 12:00. Our very first Writing Workshop!

Filling Your Creative Well. Led by Jessica MacLeod. Details to follow.