Festival
WordFest supports vibrant and healthy communities by providing accessible and engaging programming that shares the power of story. WordFest is a not-for-profit organization that brings readers and writers together through the power of story.
WordFest hosts year-round literary events in Calgary, Banff and Bow Valley featuring the world’s best writers. Over 700 writers have been presented at these events over the past 17 years, including Margaret Atwood, Douglas Coupland, John Irving, Chuck Palahniuk, Richard Ford, Alexander McCall Smith and David Suzuki.
The Festival: October 9-14, 2012
WordFest’s main event is a six-day literary festival that features upwards of 70 writers from the local, national and international stage. The Festival has approximately 60 separate events and attracts an audience of over 14,000. Some events also offer programming in multiple languages such as French and Spanish. Festival events take place across Calgary and in Banff through founding production partner, The Banff Centre.
Year-Round Events
In addition to the annual Festival, WordFest hosts various events throughout the year. They include poetry and spoken word performances, current event panels, publishing industry workshops, youth and multilingual programming and marquee showcases that feature the biggest and brightest stars of the book scene. They often include music, visuals and technology.
Book Rapport: October 9-12, 2012
First Calgary Financial Book Rapport is a popular youth and education program that brings students together with authors to stimulate literacy and encourage a love of reading and writing. As part of its commitment to youth literacy, WordFest also created the Book Buddies program, which subsidizes literary events for high-needs and at-risk youth. WordFest supports accessibility and engagement for readers of all ages.
Festival des mots: October 9-14, 2012
Festival des mots is a French-language program that hosts emerging and award-winning writers from across Canada and other French-speaking countries to participate in literary and cultural exchanges with Alberta’s Francophone and francophile communities.
Festival des mots, un programme littéraire de langue française, accueille écrivains émergents et lauréats connus du Canada et d’autres pays francophones afin de participer à des échanges culturels et littéraires avec les communautés francophones et francophiles de l’Alberta.
Future Festival Date
- 2013 – October 14 – 20
- 2014 – October 14 – 19
- 2015 – October 13 – 18