Being a writer is a whole gig. The writing part is hard enough, but add to that the pressure of getting your book seen and sold? Yikes. Luckily there are places you can go to commiserate and gain new skills and networks top help you out. If you’re in Ontario (ON), these are the writing festivals you should know about if you’re serious about your craft.
15+ writers festivals in ON
*in alphabetical order*
Bookapalooza
Website: https://www.haliburtonarts.on.ca/bookapalooza
Where: Haliburton
When: 2025 TBD
What can I expect? From the awesome buffet dinner where you’ll be able to talk to local authors and artists to the inspirational programming during the daytime events, you’ll come away from this festival with a renewed sense of purpose. This is a fundraising event for the Arts Council and operates with the community in mind from the bottom up. Enjoy shaking it up this year at Bookapalooza!
BurlLITfest
Website: https://www.bpl.on.ca/BurlLitFest
Where: Burlington
When: November TBD, 2025
What can I expect? The Burlington Literary Festival, through the Burlington Public Library, offers loads of programming for writers of all ages. Attend authors talks, writing workshops, and other speaker events all day long and network in-between. Children have their own sessions to attend, so you can make it a fun time for the whole family. And don’t forget: the library has resources available year-round for writers!
Eden Mills Writers’ Festival
Website: https://edenmillswritersfestival.ca/
Where: Eden Mills
When: Sept 6-8, 2024; 2025 TBD
What can I expect? An outdoor event with lots of display tents for authors and their books, various market items, and other event merchandise. It’s a very engaging place, acting as an old-time mall. Children under 13 get in for free to this event, so keep your eyes peeled for those kid-friendly spaces. Authors, writers, and artists of all types will find an inspiring community here, as well as programming to skill build from. Don’t forget about the Fringe Literary Contest that happens during the weekend!
GritLIT
Website: https://www.gritlit.ca/
Where: Hamilton
When: April 23-27, 2025
What can I expect? Known as an intimate festival, gritLIT offers unparalleled access and collaboration opportunities with established authors and literary voices. It’s a wonderful event with writing workshops (limited space), readings, panels, and interviews. Deepen your writing community with this event!
Lakefield Literary Festival
Website: https://lakefieldliteraryfestival.com/
Where: Lakefield
When: July 18+19, 2025
What can I expect? This is a joyous festival that contains a solid children’s literature component. You’ll find panels by authors showcasing their books alongside writing craft presentations to help you along your writing journey. Additionally, there’s an author meet-and-greet component that does well and allows you some face time with experienced writers so you can ask your questions.
NOWW LitFest
Website: https://www.nowwwriters.ca/
Where: Thunder Bay
When: May 10+11, 2024; TBD 2025
What can I expect? Northwestern Writers Workshop does a great job networking writers in a more remote area with this annual festival, as well as their ongoing programming throughout the year, like their Wednesday Word. It’s no surprise their commitment to excellence extends to the workshops, seminars, and other offerings present at this event. Check out their bookshop, food options, and other entertainment as well! NOWW also runs an annual writing contest, which closes February 28th this year. Info on their website.
Ottawa Writers Festival
Website: https://writersfestival.org/
Where: Ottawa
When: Spring May 1-4 and Fall October 22-26, 2025
What can I expect? Started in 1997, this Ottawa-based festival has added a separate event for Perth County because it has grown so much. Known as a festival of ideas, this event brings together creatives of all styles to workshop stories, craft, and more — twice a year! They also provide ongoing supports in the form of podcasts and other materials beyond the festival.
Salon du livre du Grand Sudbury
Website: https://lesalondulivre.ca/
Where: Sudbury
When: May 8-11, 2025
What can I expect? A wonderfully French event! Si vous parlez francais… this one’s for you! With a tailored program including writing workshops, author seminars, and meet-and-greets designed to support the French community. They also work with Wordstock to provide bilingual programming throughout the year.
Telling Tales Festival
Website: https://tellingtales.org/
Where: Royal Botanical Gardens at Hendrie Park
When: September 21+22, 2024; TBD 2025
What can I expect? Canada’s leading children’s literature festival (since 2009). This event will keep you current on book trends, provides workshops and seminars, plus you’ll be able to network with some really keen writers. There are performers, interactive walks, and more to entertain and inspire you. Telling Tales offers programming beyond their yearly festival, so make sure to take advantage of the resources available.
The Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD)
Website: https://thefoldcanada.org/
Where: Brampton and virtually
When: April 27-May 4, 2025
What can I expect? A festival that leads in diversity in both content and people, FOLD is a national event with international draw. You’ll find speaker sessions, panels, interactive experiences, and networking at FOLD. From slam poetry to Pitch Perfect (an opportunity to pitch your WIP), it’s a don’t-miss event for the whole family. Outside of the festival, FOLD provides year-round support in terms of webinars, reading challenges, and more.
The Word on the Street
Website: https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/
Where: Queen’s Park Circle, Toronto
When: September 27+28, 2025
What can I expect? You will find a well-run, established, and inspiring event here that is worth the cost of attending. This is Canada’s longest-running event! WOTS has been helping authors since 1990. With that track record, it’s no wonder the event draws big names and provides high-quality programming. This programming runs the gamut from spicy and engaged panels to bespoke presentations by industry-leading voices, and it is free. That’s right. This amazing festival is free, and there is year-round help available. Genuinely a wonderful resource for all kinds of writers.
Toronto Indie Author Con
Website: https://torontoindieauthorcon.com/event/toronto-indie-author-con-2025/
Where: Toronto Public Library
When: April 26+27, 2025
What can I expect? A conference directed at helping authors get publication and platforms, this new event was started by Starlit Publishing and contains programming focused on writer craft, marketing, publishing, and mentorship. Gain a quick level-up over these two days and extended your involvement through author meet-ups and other events thrown regularly throughout the year.
Toronto International Festival of Authors
Website: https://festivalofauthors.ca/
Where: Toronto
When: September 19-29, 2024; TBD 2025
What can I expect? This is one of Canada’s largest author events. They draw attendees from over 100 countries and offer programming that transcends the weekend, catering to “readers, writers and story-makers.” From special panels to workshops to live readings, you’ll find a session for your professional development here. After the festival, you can still get help from the organization through efforts like free book launches. Seriously, you should check them out. The speakers they get are superb.
Wordstock
Website: https://wordstocksudbury.ca/
Where: Sudbury
When: November 7-9, 2025
What can I expect? Started in 2013 with the mandate to support and promote the love of reading and writing in Northern Ontario, this festival is an incredible opportunity to vibe with your fellow writers. Poets, authors, and language explorers attend writing workshops, seminars, and networking events designed to bring writers closer together. There is a writing contest, open mic events, and more to tickle your fancy. They also offer events and resources beyond their annual festival.
Words Aloud
Website: https://wordsaloud.ca/
Where: The Owen Sound Library
When: TBD 2025; every other year
What can I expect? A quaint yet exceptional literary festival directly supporting local artists. This event has poetry readings, writing workshops, and meet-and-greets meant to build strong networks and support systems. The Tom Thompson Art Gallery is a bespoke addition to the festival, thanks to its venue. When the festival ends, the library and organizers keep year-round support going through various events like poetry readings, music, and more.
Is it writers festival or writer’s festival or writers’ festival?
Ah, an editorial note. Surprise! (Borrowed from my OG article on this for BC.)
What’s correct, writers festival or writer’s festival or writers’ festival? You’re going to love the answer. It depends! It depends on your preference, and what way you wish to stress the phrase. Is it a group of writers getting together, a festival for writers, a festival by writers, something all of the above? And since it comes down to usage, really, I took a look at Google Ngrams to see which form took precedence.
Writers festival is seeing a strong uptick in recent years, which is no surprise when you consider the wider linguistic trend of “less-is-more” punctuation. For example, CMOS recently changed the rule for a comma before the word “too” (such as used above in this very article). That said, writers’ festival still outshines the other two spellings. As such, I’ll provide one more argument to why writers festival is gaining traction and is perhaps the more correct usage these days: Merriam-Webster’s entry for farmers market. It is the preferred spelling for the event, over farmer’s market and farmers’ market.
Which do you use?
Right Your Writing 