The 2018 Eden Mills Writers' Festival has announced this year's lineup.
The 30th anniversary of the event takes place Sunday Sept. 9, in the village of Eden Mills.
"Every year, on a Sunday in September, book-lovers of all ages descend upon the village of Eden Mills to lounge in sloped backyards at the edge of the Eramosa River, and enjoy the luxury of being read to by their favourite authors," said a festival press release.
"For 30 years, the residents of Eden Mills have hosted a who’s who of Canadian literature in a setting that Guelph/Eramosa Township Mayor Chris White says, “makes folks feel like they have been dropped into a 19th century English novel.”
The festival is a showcase for CanLit legends and rising literary stars, featuring reading sets dedicated to young readers, young adult readers, French audiences, as well as fans of poetry, creative non-fiction and more.
"In recognition of the 30th anniversary, the EMWF has assembled a stellar lineup for Festival Sunday, including Madeleine Thien, Rawi Hage, Esi Edugyan, Sheila Heti, Thomas King, Dennis Lee, Cherie Dimaline, and recently-announced Griffin Poetry Prize winner Billy-Ray Belcourt. With more than 40 authors attending the festival to read from recent work, “The 2018 EMWF has something for everyone,” said Kim Lang, the festival's artistic director.
Rounding out the weekend are a series of events guaranteed to excite both readers and writers. Dan Needles, “Canada’s funniest farmer”, kicks things off at the 30th anniversary celebration on Friday Sept. 7 in Eden Mills, and authors Sheila Heti and Craig Davidson (aka Nick Cutter) host writing workshops in Guelph on Saturday Sept. 8.
Canadian icon Jann Arden to the University of Guelph, also on Saturday Sept, 8. The multiple Juno award-winning singer-songwriter will share her story and explore the inspiration behind her memoirs, including Feeding My Mother.
A detailed schedule of events can be found on our website. For more information or to arrange interviews with our Artistic Director and/or any of our authors, please contact Melissa McGrath at [email protected].
The full list of authors:
Adult Authors
Jann Arden, Feeding My Mother (Random House, 2017)
Katherine Ashenburg, Sofie & Cecilia (Knopf, 2018)
Sharon Bala, The Boat People (Penguin Random House, 2018)
Billy-Ray Belcourt, This Wound is a World (Frontenac House, 2017)
Dave Bidini, Midnight Light (Penguin Random House, 2018)
Carol Rose Daniels, Hiraeth (Inanna Publications, 2018)
Craig Davidson, Saturday Night Ghost Club (Penguin Random House/Knopf, 2018)
Julie Demers, Little Beast (Coach House, 2018)
Claudia Dey, Heartbreaker (HarperCollins, 2018)
Esi Edugyan, Washington Black (HarperCollins, 2018)
Omar El Akkad, American War (Penguin Random House, 2017)
Kim Fu, The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore (HarperCollins, 2018)
Brian Goldman, The Power of Kindness (HarperCollins, 2018)
David Goudreault, Mama’s Boy (Book*hug, 2018)
Rawi Hage, Beirut Hellfire Society (Knopf, 2018)
Kate Harris, Lands of Lost Borders (Knopf, 2018)
Sheila Heti, Motherhood (Knopf, 2018)
Thomas King, Cold Skies (HarperCollins, 2018)
A.F. Moritz, The Sparrow (House of Anansi, 2018)
Iain Reid, Foe (Simon & Schuster, 2018)
Waubgeshig Rice, Moon of the Crusted Snow (ECW, 2018)
Nathan Ripley (pen name of Naben Ruthnum), Find You in the Dark (Simon & Schuster, 2018)
Peter Robinson, Sleeping on the Ground (McClelland & Stewart, 2017)
Heidi Sopinka, Dictionary of Animal Languages (Hamish Hamilton, 2018)
Amy Stuart, Still Water (Simon & Schuster, 2018)
Claire Tacon, In Search of the Perfect Singing Flamingo (Wolsak & Wynn, 2018)
Madeleine Thien, Do Not Say We Have Nothing (Penguin Random House, 2016)
Kim Thuy, Vi (Penguin Random House, 2018)
Tom Wilson, Beautiful Scars (Doubleday, 2017)
Young Adult Authors
Karen Bass, Two Times a Traitor (Pajama Press, 2017)
Gillian Chan, The Disappearance (The Cooke Agency, 2017
Natasha Deen, Game’s End (Yellow Dog, 2017)
Cherie Dimaline, The Marrow Thieves (Dancing Cat Books, 2017)
Lesley Livingston, Defiant (HarperCollins, 2018)
Marsha Skrypuch, Don’t Tell the Enemy (Scholastic, 2017)
Children's Authors
Sigmund Brouwer, Innocent Heroes (Penguin Random House, 2017)
Lana Button, My Teachers’ Not Here (Kids Can Press, 2018)
Dennis Lee, Good Night, Good Night (HarperCollins, 2018)
Casey Lyall, Inky’s Great Escape (Sterling Publishing, 2017)
Sylvia McNicoll, The Snake Mistake Mystery, (Dundrun, 2018)
Brad Woods (storyteller)
