Brad Warren 
The need to read. The urge to write. Neither of these instincts have been stifled by Covid-19. But this lengthy pandemic has increased people’s desire for human connection. That is the inspiration behind the 2021 Denman Island Readers and Writers Festival scheduled for mid-July 2021. The festival will be made up of three separate streams: … Read more
Following the article below, I’d now like to highlight the following six male authors who have successfully continued their very fine literary careers since participating in the Denman Festival: Jordan Abel, Michael Crummey, Charles Demers, Terry Fallis, Steven Price and Chris Turner. Jordan Abel joined us four years ago with his unique visual and dramatic … Read more
For many former Denman Readers and Writers Festival loyal fans, there’s a temptation to regard authors who have come to the festivals over the years as “our” authors. We seem to have a kind of proprietorial attitude towards folks we’ve shared meals with in the Back Hall, who have stayed in our homes, or have … Read more
At our 2016 Festival, Michael Christie was a young up and coming novelist who read from his second novel If I Fall, If I Die …… a moving narrative about a young boy seeking independence in a household led by an agoraphobic mother. Michael’s eloquence and spirit in both solo and panel presentations were a highlight of … Read more
Only six more months until Denman hosts the 18th Readers and Writers Festival! Our organizing committee has been hard at work lining up authors, and we are now halfway to having a complete list of invited literary guests. Here’s where we stand in mid-January. For regular listeners of CBC Radio’s White Coat, Black Art, Dr. Brian … Read more
Here is a literary question for Denman Island Readers and Writers Festival-goers ….. what do all the following writers have in common? …….. Terry Fallis, Angie Abdou, Michael Crummey, Pauline Holdstock, Steven Price, Anakana Schofield, Michael Christie, Marina Endicott, and Esi Edugyan …… the easy answer is that they are all award-winning Canadian authors. All … Read more
Lindsay Wong Lindsay Wong’s memoir, The Woo-Woo, documents a stranger-than-fiction childhood surrounded by dysfunctional, profanity-loving adults. The Wong family story intensifies with each turn of the page and was rejected by many publishers for not being “relatable” enough. Read the full CBC review here: Kathy Page Hurrah! Finally, the well-known Salt Spring Island author, … Read more
This year the Readers & Writers Festival offers four dynamite workshops for those who want a little extra excitement in their lives! Workshops have a maximum of 10 participants and last 3 hours, so they enable personal contact with an author not possible in a Solo Reading or Main Stage session. Whether it’s hot fiction … Read more
Words matter. So do titles …. We are the “Denman Island Readers and Writers Festival”. I’ve looked at the names of similar book-related events across the country, and no other festival has this combination of “readers and writers” in the title. There’s only one – the Medway Readers Festival in Nova Scotia which has the … Read more
I’m Right and You’re an Idiot by James Hoggan Come and listen to James Hoggan, a PR expert and David Suzuki Foundation Chairperson, talk about the toxic state of our public discourse and how to change it. This contemporary and highly relevant book represents years of research that included interviewing some of the world’s deepest … Read more