There’s something for everyone in our Festival 2016 Line-up!

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be transported to other worlds and places – all carried on the words of five terrific Canadian authors during the 2016 Elora Writers’ Festival on Sunday, May 29 at the Wellington County Museum and Archives. 

Join us as we hop from genre to genre – crime, sci-fi/fantasy, memoir, poetry and humour – and meet the authors up-close-and-personal once the readings (and another classic Q&A session) are done.

Ready? Here’s our Festival 2016 line-up:

Dietrich Kalteis, author of The Deadbeat Club

Dietrich Kalteis joins us – all the way from Vancouver, people! Yes, Dietrich is making the trip from B.C. to share his West-Coast noir thrillers – The Deadbeat Club is his latest, with Triggerfish coming out in June. His novel Ride the Lightning won a bronze medal for Canada West Regional Fiction at the 2015 Independent Publisher Book Awards.

J.M. Frey, author of The Untold Tale

J.M. Frey will transport us into other worlds – think science fiction and fantasy with a big dose of steampunk for good measure. She’s an actor, an academic, a voice artist – and much, much more. Her latest novel is The Untold Tale, which she calls “an epic-length feminist meta-fantasy.” Her debut novel, Triptych (2011) was a winner at the San Francisco Book Festival. Coming soon, a steampunk trilogy featuring “a girl vigilante and her mysterious rocketpack.” (Yup. We need to know more about this, please!)

Douglas Gibson, author of Across Canada by Story

Douglas Gibson, former editor and publisher, will spill the behind-the-scenes details of his life in the Canadian literary universe with Across Canada by Story, the follow-up to Stories about Storytellers. He’s been wowing audiences across Canada as he performs his one-man literary stage show, too. Want to know the real stories about Canadian books and writers? Get your questions ready, because Doug is the guy with the answers.

Pamela Mordecai, author of Red Jacket

Pamela Mordecai is another award-winning author whose resumé hops from genre to genre – poetry, novels, children’s books – and includes teaching as well. Her novel Red Jacket was shortlisted for the 2015 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and her poems have been shortlisted for the CBC Literary Award.

Terry Fallis, author of Poles Apart

Finally, a familiar face to EWF audiences – Toronto novelist Terry Fallis makes his third appearance at our Festival, with his latest comic hit, Poles Apart, in hand. Terry just won his second Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, too (for No Relation). We remember his first appearance, where he read from the now-classic The Best Laid Plans and apologized to us for his flawed Scottish accent. (And then, of course, there was his second appearance, where fellow-author Sonia Day’s passionate reading about gardening inspired him to comment on his “peony envy”...!) Delighted to have you back, Terry!

That’s the line-up. Do you notice anything different?

Yes, there are only five authors, instead of the traditional six. That’s because we’re going to do something new. At the conclusion of the readings, we’ll invite all five authors back to the stage for an informal Q&A with questions provided by you, the audience. Expect the unexpected!

There will also be food, drink and schmoozing galore – a trademark of our Festival.

Sound good to you? It sounds great to us – and it’ll be perfect if you’re there too. Please join us!

WHEN: Sunday, May 29, 2016, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (…or a bit longer?)

WHERE: Aboyne Hall, Wellington CountryMuseum and Archives (lots of parking!) 

HOW: Tickets are $25, available by visiting or contacting Roxanne’s Reflections Book & Card Shop, 152 St Andrew St W, Fergus, Ontario, 519 843-4391. 

Need more information? Roxanne, our wonderful Mistress of Ceremonies, can also answer any questions you may have about the event. Call her at the store, 519 843-4391, or email us at elorawritersfestival@gmail.com

See you on May 29 in Aboyne Hall!

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