Imagination Writers’ Festival celebrates 15 years
Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
editor@qctonline.com
The Imagination Writers’ Festival, the only festival in the Quebec City region celebrating English-Canadian literature, is returning to the Morrin Centre from April 9-14, for a 15th edition. The festival will feature literary discovery activities for children and adults, and a translation- centred event co-hosted with the Maison de la Littérature. There will also be “live writing” sessions at the Maison de la Littérature and artistic projections onto the facade of that building.
For the 15th anniversary of the festival, many authors and speakers from previous years were invited back, explained Morrin Centre events co-ordinator Jeanne Lébossé-Gautron. “Re-invited” authors include novelists Neil Bissoondath, Waubgeshig Rice and Joan Thomas and acclaimed humour and travel writers Will and Ian Ferguson.
The festival opens April 9 when children’s author Kim Spencer meets with young readers. Later that evening, Rice, a CBC Radio host turned bestselling suspense novelist, and Thomas, winner of the Governor General’s Award for Fiction, will discuss their recent works with hosts Kim Garrity and Sylvie De Serres.
The next day will be a celebration of nonfiction featuring innovative memoirist Merilyn Simonds and her husband, science and history writer Wayne Grady. Simonds’ latest work is a biography of Swedish- Canadian ornithology pioneer Louise de Kiriline Lawrence, and Grady’s is an exploration of how the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped modern language and culture.
On April 11, the popular Books & Wine event will return, featuring sommelier Bianca Thériault. Participants can taste wines and appetizers specially selected with the featured works in mind, rub shoulders with their favourite authors and stay to hear the Ferguson brothers discuss their works with Montreal Gazette Quebec City correspondent Philip Authier.
The same evening, across the alley at the Maison de la Littérature, local author Mary Thaler will host a round table on literary translation featuring author Felicia Mihali and translator Judith Weisz Woodsworth. The event will be presented in French with a bilingual Q&A.
The following day, Montreal- based Chinese author Xue Yiwei will discuss his recent works.
On April 13, festivities begin at 10:30 a.m. with an activity for young readers aged three to seven featuring children’s author Cary Fagan. At 11:30, bilingual author and former Université Laval professor of American literature H. Nigel Thomas, whose first novel Spirits in the Dark was recently republished by Véhicule Press, will speak about his body of work with former QCT editor Michèle Thibeau. Aspiring authors are invited to a poetry workshop at 1 p.m., hosted by Daniel Scott Tysdal. At 2 p.m., suspense author Kelley Armstrong, known for the A Rip Through Time series, will discuss her craft. Later that afternoon, Linda Leith, an acclaimed Montreal-based writer and publisher known for establishing Linda Leith Publications and founding the multilingual Blue Metropolis Literary Festival, will share her insights about the publishing industry. That evening, readers will be able to hear from novelists Paul Serge Forest, Andrew Steinmetz and Donna Morrissey.
On April 14 at 11 a.m., the Morrin Centre will host a Tea & Imagination event looking back on 15 years of the festival. That event will be followed by a short-story panel and a presentation by Bissoondath on “self-censorship in an age of nationalist and identity politics.” Later that afternoon, Toronto-based Jamaican-Canadian novelist Zalika Reid- Benta will discuss her debut novel River Mumma. That evening, to close the festivities on a graceful note, the popular Literary Notes event returns. Nominees for the Quebec Writers’ Federation Ian Ferrier Spoken Word Prize will read from their works, accompanied by specially chosen music performed by musicians from the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. Throughout the week, authors will also present in local English schools. Additional events may be announced in the coming weeks.
“We try to represent the diversity in the Canadian literary landscape and new emerging writers,” Lébossé-Gautron said. The festival, particularly the partnership with the Maison de la Littérature, “is a way for us to promote English- Canadian writing to a wider public … and also a way for our [anglophone] audience to discover the Maison, which is a beautiful space,” Lébossé- Gautron said. “English-Canadian literature is so varied and vibrant and alive.”
Festival passes for adults are $40 ($25 for students) and do not include admission to the Books & Wine or Tea & Imagination events (separate tickets available for $30 or $22.50 for Morrin Centre members). Tickets for individual book talks are $15 ($7 for students). Events for children are free. Visit morrin.org to learn more.