May 16-17, 2025
Northwestern Ontario's Largest
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Events at a GlanceFRIDAY MAY 16
Mix 'n Mingle and Reading 7:00 pm - with Rod Carley Definitely Superior Art Gallery Open to the public. SATURDAY MAY 17 Workshop: Poking the Bear: The Art of Writing Humour 11:00 am Co.Lab, Goods & Co Marketplace Pre-Registration required - click here for details Literary Market/Book Fair 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Goods & Co Marketplace, Red River Road Open to the public Workshop: The OAC Presents Grants for Northern Writers 1:00 pm Co.Lab, Goods & Co Marketplace Open to the public Workshop: Publishing in the North Latitude 46 & Mischievous Books 2:00 pm Co.Lab, Goods & Co Marketplace Open to the public NOWW LitFest Gala and Awards Party with keynote speaker Rod Carley Goods & Co Marketplace, Red River Road $75 per person Tickets available here |
LITFEST 2025 - EVENT DETAILS
Friday May 16Reading, Mix and Mingle
On Friday evening at 7:00 pm, join us at Definitely Superior Art Gallery to hear Rod Carley read from his book and mingle with other readers and writers. This event is free and open to the public. No pre-registration required. Vertical Divider
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Saturday May 17Workshops/Panels
Workshop 1: POKING THE BEAR: The Art of Writing Humour WITH ROD CARLEY Join award-winning author Rod Carley on Saturday at 11:00am for a short but sweet workshop on how to write humour in a natural and engaging way. 11:00 am Co.Lab, Goods & Co, Red River Road Registration is required. Click HERE for more information. Workshop 2: THE OAC PRESENTS GRANTS FOR NOTHERN WRITERS Join Ontario Arts Council (OAC) Northern Arts Representative, Alana Forslund, and Literature Officer, Sue Carter, as they go over some of the benefits of applying for Northern grants and some of the different streams available. 1:00 pm Co.Lab, Goods & Co, Red River Road Free to attend but registration is required. Click HERE. Workshop 3: PUBLISHING IN THE NORTH Join Heather Campbell of Latitude 46 and Makenzi Fisk of Mischievous Books as they dive into the complexities of publishing in a remote part of the world. From ebooks to print to marketing and everything in between, they will answer most of your publishing questions and help you make informed decisions for your fledgling novel. 3:00 pm Co.Lab, Goods & Co, Red River Road Free to attend but registration is required. Click HERE. BOOK FAIR AND LITERARY MARKET A celebration of local artists and authors, over 20 vendors will have wares on offer for the literary lover in all of us! The market will take place on Saturday May 17 at the Goods & Co from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Free and open to the public. For more information, click HERE. LITFEST GALA AND LITERARY AWARDS PARTY Join the 27th annual celebration of the writers and writing of Northwestern Ontario for a gala evening at Goods & Co. with special event catering by the Foundry. The keynote address will be given by Rod Carley. The evening will include the announcement of the NOWW 2025 Writing Contest winning entries. Tickets are $75 per person can be purchased HERE. Deadline for purchasing is Monday May 6. |
Workshop/Panel Presenters for LitFest 2025
Keynote Speaker, Rod Carley, is the award-winning author of four works of literary fiction: RUFF September 2024), Grin Reaping (long listed for the 2023 Leacock Medal for Humour, 2022 Bronze Winner for Humour from Foreword Review INDIES, a Finalist for the 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Humor/Comedy, and long listed for the ReLit Group Awards for Best Short Fiction of 2023); Kinmount (long listed for the 2021 Leacock Medal for Humour and Winner of the 2021 Silver Medal for Best Regional Fiction from the Independent Publishers Book Awards); A Matter of Will (Finalist for the 2018 Northern Lit Award for Fiction).
Join Rod Saturday May 17 at 11:00am in Co.Lab for the Canadian Humour 101 Workshop.
Alana Forslund is based in Thunder Bay as the Northern Arts Representative at the Ontario Arts Council (OAC). Prior to joining the OAC in 2017, she worked as the Executive and Artistic Director of Community Arts & Heritage Education Project, bringing arts education programming to schools and community spaces across Thunder Bay. In addition to her work in arts administration, Alana is also a practicing visual and craft artist.
Join Alana Saturday May 17 at 1:00 pm Co.Lab for the Northern Grants Workshop
Sue Carter is the Literary Officer at the Ontario Arts Council. Previously she held positions as Deputy Editor at Inuit Art Quarterly and as the long-time Editor-in-Chief at Quill & Quire. In addition to her editorial work and teaching at Centennial College, Sue is an award-winning journalist and former books columnist, with her culture writing appearing frequently in the Toronto Star and other major publications.
Join Sue on Saturday May 17 at 1:00 pm Co.Lab for the Northern Grants Workshop!
Latitude 46 Publishing was established in 2015 by Heather Campbell and Laura Stradiotto with a goal to publish distinctive literary works by established and emerging authors with a connection to northern Ontario, as well as narratives about the unique landscape and culture of the region. We seek to uncover the untold stories of the North, both fiction and non-fiction, although we’re equally interested in representing diverse storytellers who can bring ideas and facts to life. Latitude 46 Publishing is located in Sudbury, ON, along the 46th parallel. Latitude 46 Publishing is a member of the Literary Press Group, Association of Canadian Publishers and Ontario Book Publishers Organization.
Join Heather Campbell Saturday May 17 at 3:00 pm Co.Lab for the Northern Publishing Workshop
Join Heather Campbell Saturday May 17 at 3:00 pm Co.Lab for the Northern Publishing Workshop
Independent Publishing and Design. Canadian authors. Compelling stories. With authors like John Pringle and Joan Baril, Mischievous Books specializes in Northern voices and helping authors get their stories into the hands of readers. Mischievous Books is based in Atikokan, where Author and publisher Makenzi Fisk grew up. With a background in design were many years of technical writing, which she turned to fiction inspired by real characters and events. Refusing to compromise her story for a publishing opportunity, she realized she had the skills to establish her own company. Her debut novel under a trade name earned an international award, and all three in the series became mystery thriller finalists. Recognition in the writing community led to submissions from other authors for publication of their manuscripts, with the first claiming a spot as Canadian bestseller, and the most recent as Entershine Bookshop’s top seller last year. In addition to providing publishing assistance to others, including a recent 3-book museum project, Mischievous Books has published over a dozen works under its own banner, exclusively focusing on Canadian authors.
Join Makenzi Fisk Saturday May 17 at 3:00 pm Co.Lab for the Northern Publishing Workshop
Join Makenzi Fisk Saturday May 17 at 3:00 pm Co.Lab for the Northern Publishing Workshop
MANY THANKS TO OUR GREAT SPONSORS and PARTNERS!
