Log In
Subscribe to Blog
Back to Search
The Port Moody Public Library is pleased to welcome all readers and writers to the first Tri-Cities Writers Festival! We are excited to join the Coquitlam Public Library and the Terry Fox Public Library in bringing ten celebrated and award-winning authors to our libraries and to your screens.
Schedule of workshops and events
Author Talk with David A. Robertson
Friday, June 14, 9:45am-10:45am • Virtual • Drop-in • Ages 9-13
This virtual event is being live-streamed on YouTube, with a Q&A period following the author talk.
David A. Robertson is a two-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award, has won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, as well as the Writer's Union of Canada Freedom to Read award. He has received several other accolades for his work as a writer for children and adults, podcaster, public speaker, and social advocate. He was honoured with a Doctor of Letters by the University of Manitoba for outstanding contributions in the arts and distinguished achievements in 2023. He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and lives in Winnipeg. Visit him online at https://www.darobertson.ca/
Author Talk with Kenneth Oppel
Friday, June 14, 11:15am-12:15pm • Virtual • Drop-in • Ages 8-13
This virtual event is being live-streamed on YouTube, with a Q&A period following the author talk.
Kenneth Oppel is the bestselling author of numerous books, including Airborn, which won the Governor General's Award for children’s literature and a Michael L. Printz Honor Award, and the Silverwing trilogy, which has sold over a million copies worldwide. The Nest and Half Brother both won the Canadian Library Association’s Book of the Year for Children Award. Some of his other books include The Boundless, Every Hidden Thing, and Inkling. His latest books are the Bloom trilogy, Ghostlight, and Silverwing: The Graphic Novel. Visit him online at www.kennethoppel.ca or on Twitter @kennethoppel.
Author Talk with Michelle Good
Friday, June 14, 12:45pm-1:45pm • Coquitlam Public Library (City Centre branch) • Drop-in • All ages
Michelle Good is a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. After working for Indigenous organizations for twenty-five years, she obtained a law degree and advocated for residential school survivors. Good earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia while managing her own law firm. Her poems, short stories, and essays have been published in magazines and anthologies across Canada. Five Little Indians, her first novel, won the HarperCollins/UBC Best New Fiction Prize, the Amazon First Novel Award, the Governor General’s Literary Award the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Award, the Evergreen Award, the City of Vancouver Book of the Year Award, and Canada Reads 2022. On October 7, 2022 Simon Fraser University granted her an Honorary Doctor of Letters. Her newest work, Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada, came out in 2023. Visit her online at https://www.michellegood.ca/
Author Talk with Iona Whishaw
Friday, June 14, 2:00pm-3:00pm • Coquitlam Public Library (City Centre branch) • Drop-in • All ages
This in-person author talk will be followed by a Q&A period.
Iona Whishaw is a former educator and social worker whose mother and grandfather were both spies during their respective wars. She is the award-winning author of the Globe and Mail bestselling Lane Winslow Mystery series. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her husband. For more details, visit https://ionawhishaw.ca/
Create your own Superperson!
Friday, June 14, 3:45pm-4:45pm • Coquitlam Public Library (City Centre branch) • Registration required • Ages 8-12
In this workshop, comic creator Graeme Partridge-David will lead you through the steps needed to design your own superhero – or supervillain! Art materials will be provided.Graeme Partridge-David is an autistic writer and cartoonist, whose pronouns are he/his/him. He was born and raised on the unceded territory of the Kwikwetlem, Tseil-Watuth, Qayqayt and Sto:Lo peoples, in what is now known as Coquitlam, BC, Canada. He gratefully lives there still with his wife, two astonishing children and their hilarious pets. He loves reading comic books and movies almost as much as he loves writing and drawing.
Cocktail Reception
Friday, June 14, 5:00pm-7:00pm • Coquitlam Public Library (City Centre branch) • Registration required • Ages 19+
The Coquitlam Public Library is holding a Cocktail Reception for the Tri-Cities Writer's Festival. Join local authors and readers alike for a two hour party celebrating the festival.
Registration is required with a fee for tickets. Tickets cost $10.00 and include access to the event, food, and one drink of your choice. Further drinks will be available for purchase at the event at a lower price. The proceeds will go toward Coquitlam Public Library's programs and services.
This is a 19+ ONLY event and every attendee is required to have a current government issued ID upon entrance.
Writers Round Table
Friday, June 14, 7:00pm-8:30pm • Coquitlam Public Library (City Centre branch) • Drop-in • All ages
Drop-in to the Coquitlam Public Library after hours for a panel discussion with Iona Whishaw, Harrison Mooney, and Kevin Chong. This discussion, followed by a Q&A period, will be moderated by local comedian and author Ryan Murphy.
All ages welcome. Entry to the event will start at 6:45 pm.
Iona Whishaw is a former educator and social worker whose mother and grandfather were both spies during their respective wars. She is the award-winning author of the Globe and Mail bestselling Lane Winslow Mystery series. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her husband. For more details, visit https://ionawhishaw.ca/
Ryan Murphy is an award-winning writer and editor who has created engaging digital content for some of the largest and most trusted brands in the world including Walt Disney Studios, HBO, and many more. His critically acclaimed short stories and columns have been published in 21 books and have been featured on more than 170 radio stations and 60 newspapers and magazines across North America. Find him online at https://www.ryanmurphywrites.com/
Harrison Mooney is a best-selling memoirist and award-winning journalist from Abbotsford, British Columbia. His debut memoir, Invisible Boy, was the winner of the 2023 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for nonfiction, and shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award and the Hurston Wright Legacy Award in memoir nonfiction. Harrison's work has appeared in the New York Times, the Vancouver Sun, the Guardian, Yahoo, Maclean's and the Tyee, where his columns appear regularly. He lives in East Vancouver with his family. Learn more about Harrison at https://www.harrisonmooney.ca/
Kevin Chong is the author of seven books of fiction and nonfiction, most recently the novel The Double Life of Benson Yu, which was a finalist for the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize and named a Best Book of Canadian Fiction by the CBC. His creative nonfiction and journalism have recently appeared in Time Magazine, Literary Hub, Montecristo, and the Globe and Mail. An associate professor at the UBC Okanagan, he lives in Vancouver with his family. See https://thatkevinchong.com/ for more details about Kevin.
Writer’s Block (aka I’m Afraid to Write Rubbish)
Saturday, June 15, 10:30am-12:00pm • Coquitlam Public Library (City Centre branch) • Registration required • All ages
Join Tanya Boteju for a workshop discussing what stands in the way of getting words on the page, and some possible methods for un-sticking ourselves. Topics covered will include common barriers such as how to begin, having nothing to write about, having TOO much to write about, lack of time, and the ever-present fears, negative self-talk, and comparison that often come with writing.
Tanya Boteju lives on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations (Vancouver, BC). Part-time, she teaches English to clever and sassy young people. The rest of her time, she uses writing as an excuse to eat pastries. Her debut novel, Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens, was named a Top Ten Indie Next Pick by the American Booksellers Association. Her second novel, Bruised, was selected as a Gold Standard book by the Junior Library Guild. Look for another YA novel, Messy Perfect, in 2025. Visit her at https://tanyaboteju.com/
Author Talk with Tanya Boteju
Saturday, June 15, 1:00pm-2:00pm • Coquitlam Public Library (City Centre branch) • Drop-in • All ages
This in-person author talk will be followed by a Q&A period.
Tanya Boteju lives on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations (Vancouver, BC). Part-time, she teaches English to clever and sassy young people. The rest of her time, she uses writing as an excuse to eat pastries. Her debut novel, Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens, was named a Top Ten Indie Next Pick by the American Booksellers Association. Her second novel, Bruised, was selected as a Gold Standard book by the Junior Library Guild. Look for another YA novel, Messy Perfect, in 2025. Visit her at https://tanyaboteju.com/
Keynote with Michael Christie
Saturday, June 15, 3:30pm-4:30 pm • Port Moody Public Library • Drop-in • All ages
Join award-winning author Michael Christie for the closing keynote of the Tri-Cities Writers Festival. This talk will be held in the Inlet Theatre and will be followed by a Q&A period.
Michael Christie is the author of the novel If I Fall, If I Die, which was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Kirkus Prize, was selected as a New York Times Editors' Choice Pick, and was on numerous best-of 2015 lists. His linked collection of stories, The Beggar's Garden, was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, shortlisted for the Writers' Trust Prize for Fiction, and won the Vancouver Book Award. His essays and book reviews have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Globe & Mail. Greenwood, his most recent novel, was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Rights have been sold in seven countries.
A former carpenter and homeless shelter worker, he lives with his two children in Victoria, British Columbia, the unceded territory of the Lkwungen speaking people, and the Songhees, Esquimalt, and WSÁNEC First Nations. Visit Michael online at https://www.michaelchristie.net/
0
Likes
Login to Like or Post a Comment
Make sure to log out of your current account before proceeding.
No login? Please enter your details below to continue.
Browser Compatibility Notification
It appears you are trying to access this site using an outdated browser. As a result, parts of the site may not function properly for you. We recommend updating your browser to its most recent version at your earliest convenience.