The amazing folks at WORD Vancouver Festival have put together over a week of free literary programming this year and we’re celebrating with a giveaway!
UPDATE: NOW CLOSED
Congrats to our online and day-of prize winners Khatija, Mansoum, and Pamela!
(Missed the giveaway? Be sure to join our newsletter to stay in the loop and make sure you never miss out!)
Word Vancouver 2022 featured midweek online sessions, Saturday children’s programming in Surrey, and Sunday all-audiences programming in downtown Vancouver and livestreaming (recorded events available online and links have been added below where available)
Check out our exhibition tables on Saturday and Sunday for free kids’ activities, bookmarks, and bonus book basket giveaways.
And read on for a complete list of the many FREE panels, readings, and workshops featuring CWILLers:
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
9:30 to 10:15 AM
Location: Online
Type: Reading · Cooking Demonstration
Audience: Grades 4-6
IN THE KITCHEN: A FAIRY TALE
Host: CWILLer Emily Seo
Readers:
- Karim Alrawi, Arab Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook (Tradewind Books, illustrated by Nahid Kazemi)
- Sobhi al-Zobaidi & Tamam Qunembou-Zobaidi
Join Karim as he explores the importance of food through stories. There will be a cooking lesson by Sobhi and Tamam of Tamam: Fine Palestinian Cuisine. Come hungry.
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
1:00 to 1:45 PM
Location: Online
Type: Reading · French Language/En Française
Audience: Grades 1-3
LES AVENTURIERS!
Host: CWILLer Suzanne de Montigny
Readers:
- CWILLer Caroline Adderson, Pierre & Paul: Dragon! (Owl Kids, illustrated by Alice Carter)
- Sarah Lalonde, La Jardinière des océans (Orca Publishing), illustrated by France Cormier
Join us for two adventurous tales and see how sometimes doing things a little differently can lead you to unexpected treasures or help you win victoriously in battle.
Thursday, September 22, 2022
10:30 to 11:30 AM
Location: Online
Type: Reading · Conversation Circle
Audience: Grades 4-6
RISING UP FROM THE PAST
Host: Heige S. Boehm
Readers:
- CWILLer Barbara Nickel, Dear Peter, Dear Ulla (Thistledown Press)
- Kathy Kacer, Louder Than Words (Annick Press)
- Susan McClelland, Boy from Buchenwald: The True Story of a Holocaust Survivor ( Bloomsbury · Raincoast Books, co-written by Robbie Wisean)
The lessons of the Holocaust will forever be harrowing, but these three authors take on three unique and novel approaches to present tales of adversity and resilience from the WWII era to a generation decades removed from the stories they only learn about in history books.
Thursday, September 22, 2022
1:00 to 1:45 PM
Location: Online
Type: Reading · Conversation Circle
Audience: K to Grade 3
FINDING THE WAY IN YOUR CITY
Host: CWILLer K.A. Wiggins
Readers:
- CWILLer Kari Rust, The House At the End of the Road (OwlKids)
- Darren Lebeuf, My City Speaks (Kids Can Press, illustrated by Ashley Barron)
Two authors share stories of kids discovering how to connect to their city and see places in a whole new light. In one case, a group of children befriend an older man and learn about the many fascinating older objects he holds onto in his house. In the other, a visually impaired young girl experiences the places around her through all her other senses, appreciating them in all their richness.
Friday, September 23, 2022
7:00 to 8:45 PM
Location: Christianne’s Lyceum, Vancouver
Type: In-person, auditorium-style (delivery and questions)
Audience: Ages 4-12, Parents Welcome
PAGES AND PAJAMAS: A COZY NIGHT OF STORYTELLING
Host: Christianne Hayward
Readers:
- Erin Kraan
- CWILLer Tiffany Stone
- CWILLer Jami Gigot
- Laura Farina
- CWILLer Tanya Kyi
- CWILLer Sarah Ellis
Join us in your pajamas or loungewear and let our authors/illustrators take care of bedtime stories, so you can drop into bed the minute you get home. There will be ample time to ask these storytellers your questions and, of course, to enjoy some tasty treats. This event is aimed at children ages 4 to 12 and parents/adults are invited to join as per their availability.
Saturday, September 24, 2022
10:30 to 11:30 AM
Location: Surrey City Centre Library
Type: Reading · Conversation Circle
Audience: Pre-K to Grade 1
WHAT MAKES YOU YOU?
Host: Jamie Dunlop Khau
Readers:
- CWILLer Rhiannon Wallace, Leopold’s Leotard (Orca Publishing, illustrated by Risa Hugo)
- Kuljinder Kaur Brar, My Name Is Saajin Singh (Annick Press, illustrated by Samrath Kaur)
Identity comes in all different formats. Finding who you are and owning it is important in both these authors’ books as their characters work through the challenges that the world offers.
Saturday, September 24, 2022
12:00 to 1:00 PM
Location: Surrey City Centre Library
Type: Reading · Conversation Circle
Audience: Grades 4-6
TWISTS AND TURNS
Host: CWILLer K.A. Wiggins
Readers:
- CWILLer Emily Seo, The Science of Boys (Tradewind Books, illustrated by Gracy Zhang)
- Bree Galbraith, Wednesday Wilson Fixes All Your Problems (Kids Can Press, illustrated by Morgan Goble)
Life can be full of twists and turns especially when you’re trying to fit in, help family and friends, and ultimately find out who you are. Join these two authors as they share their characters’ unique ways of being true to themselves in a world full of questions and observations.
Sunday, September 25, 2022
11:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Location: SFU Harbour Centre— Segal Centre Room B, Vancouver & Online
Type: Panel Discussion, Q&A
Audience: All Ages, Aspiring & Emerging Professionals
WRITING & ILLUSTRATING KIDS’ BOOKS
Host: CWILLer K.A. Wiggins
Readers:
- CWILLer Sara Leach, Slug Days (Pajama Press)
- CWILLer Claire Lordon, illustrator, Spring in the Woods (Albert Whitman & Company, written by Sue Tarsky)
- CWILLer Danielle S. Marcotte, Les pirates d’outre-tombe (Bouton d’Or Acadie)
- CWILLer Bryce Raffle, The Littlest Dinosaur Goes to School (Grimmer & Grimmer Books)
Join a broad selection of professional BC authors and illustrators to chart paths to (children’s) publishing, the state of the industry, and core storytelling skills for picture books, middle grade, and YA.
This panel is perfect for supporters of local lit, fans of children’s fiction, and aspiring kidlit authors alike. Bring your questions and don’t forget to enter our giveaway!
Sunday, September 25, 2022
11:30 to 12:45 PM
Location: SFU Harbour Centre—Classroom 3, Vancouver
Type: Felting Workshop
Audience: All Ages/Adult
DEEPLY FELT: NEEDLE FELTING FOR GROWN-UPS
Facilitator: CWILLer Holman Wang, Great Job, Mom! & Great Job, Dad! (Penguin Random House)
Calling all crafters and makers! Kidlit creator and fibre artist Holman Wang will introduce you to the basics of needle felting — the process of repeatedly stabbing loose wool with a specialized notched needle until the wool entangles and mats enough to form sculptable felt.
Come and make a very basic wool creation, learning the skills that will help you continue with the handicraft at home. No experience necessary!
Sunday, September 25, 2022
4:30 to 5:30 PM
Location: SFU Harbour Centre—Classroom 3, Vancouver & Online
Type: Workshop
Audience: All Ages/Adult
WHY YA?
Facilitator: CWILLer Jacqueline Firkins
Given the shifting landscape of YA books — market, genre classifications, reader expectations, etc. — this is an ideal time for YA authors (both published and prospective) to consider why they want to write YA.
Is your story suited to the current market and readership? Is it adaptable to an adult or middle-grade readership? What makes it nest firmly within YA? What do you bring to the market that’s unique? How does your book tie in with popular comp titles? What’s happening with New Adult? What makes you passionate about writing for this particular age group?
Over the hour, we’ll discuss what drives us as authors to write for YA readers, what’s going on in the marketplace, and what, at heart, makes a book YA besides the age of its protagonists.
The CWILL BC Society blog 