Vancouver Writers Fest Returns With Over 90 Events
The 2026 Vancouver Writers Fest runs October 18 to 25, with 150+ authors across 90+ events in its 39th edition. Events take place on Granville Island and at other Vancouver venues, and most are ticketed individually.
What the festival offers
Organizers describe the lineup as 150+ local and international authors in more than 90 events. Granville Island is the main hub, and the Waterfront Theatre, a 224-seat venue at 1412 Cartwright Street, is one of the festival rooms. Other venues around the city are also used, and some events can be joined online.
The programme page also lists a few fall and winter special events held outside the festival dates. Those are separate from the October 18-25 run, so check the date on each listing before you plan around it.
How to choose an event
You do not need to read 90 event descriptions. The programme page lets you filter by date or genre, with options such as fiction, nonfiction, poetry and youth. Pick a night, pick a genre, and choose one event.
Picture someone whose unread books now hold up a wall, a load-bearing shelf with a bibliography. That person still needs more recommendations. A festival is the one place where the pile gets a structural review and then, inevitably, an extension.
There is also the matter of meeting an author. The nerves make little sense, since they are about to learn exactly how many pages of their book you have finished. The only thing they can do with that number is nod politely.
Bring a friend
If you bring company, choose one talk you both care about and compare views afterward. Nobody has to pretend to have read every book.
Find your next outing
This event has ended. Find a current outing and build a date around something you can still attend.
Explore date ideasJoin the discussion
Would you go? Tell us what appeals to you, or what would make you choose somewhere else.
