ALL EVENTS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Attendance is free to all visitors
In person only - sorry no ZOOM
Participants for Market Hall and Blue Pencil Sessions - see below to register.
Program At-A-Glance
JB Young
Room
2nd Floor
9:45 - 10 am
Opening & Welcome
10 - 10:45 am
​
JB Young
2nd Floor
The History of Tri-City Wordsmiths – 10 years of Writers Meeting Writers in the Tri-Cities
Mabbett
1st Floor Room
10 am Opens
Open to 4 PM
Book Fair & Market Hall. Live Readings, Arts and Writing Activities for children, youth and adults.
JB Young
2nd Floor
​
11 - 11:45 am
​
The Writer-Narrator-Main Character Split: How to make this concept work for your memoir project with JJ Lee
Wilson Lounge
1st Floor
1 - 2 pm
​
It is Never too Late to Start Writing! For seniors with Gisela Woldenga
JB Young
2nd Floor
1 - 1:45 pm
​
Poetry Reading and Panel hosted by Rob Taylor, with Jude Neale, Dr. Bonnie Nish and Winston Lê
Laking
2nd Floor
Room
1 - 4 pm
​
Blue Pencil Sessions – ½ hour professional sessions to review a piece of writing, with Rhea Rose, John Mavin, and Margie Taylor. Requires pre-registration
JB Young
2nd Floor​
2 - 2:45 pm
​
The Road to Publication with Colleen Van Niekirk, Farida Somjee, and Bill Arnott
3 - 3:45 pm
​
JB Young
2nd Floor
News writing is a career choice with Angela Sterritt and Richard Dal Monte
Wilson Lounge
1st Floor
3 - 4 pm
​
Slam poetry workshop and telling our truths For youth with Izzy Hébert
JB Young
2nd Floor
​
4 - 4:45 pm
​
Discussion of her newest novel, To Track a Traitor, a brief reading, and audience Q&A with mystery writer Iona Whishaw
Program Details
JB Young
Room
2nd Floor
9:45 - 10 am
Opening & Welcome
10 - 10:45 am
​
JB Young
2nd Floor
The History of Tri-City Wordsmiths – 10 years of Writers Meeting Writers in the Tri-Cities
Did you know that Tri-City Wordsmiths has met in Port Coquitlam for ten years? Founding member Pandora Ballard and Co-President Erik D’Souza will have a lively discussion highlighting the importance of local arts groups and programs in our communities while showcasing the successes and milestones of the group and its members.
Mabbett
1st Floor Room
10 am Opens
Open to 4 PM
Book Fair & Market Hall. Live Readings, Arts and Writing Activities for children, youth and adults.
Join us once or twice or all day for a lively Book Fair and Market Hall. Meet local writers and explore their books, play writing games, participate in a short workshop or two, cozy up for story time, discover a new poet or local history writer, read at the Open Mic. Have fun, play with words, find a new story ( or three ) to take home with you.
JB Young
2nd Floor
​
11 - 11:45 am
​
The Writer-Narrator-Main Character Split: How to make this concept work for your memoir project with JJ Lee
One of the most powerful concepts when embarking on a memoir is understanding the difference between the writer, the narrator, and the main character. With this workshop, you will learn to have a greater capacity to interweave scenes from the past and the present and to engage the reflective voice.
Wilson Lounge
1st Floor
1 - 2 pm
​
It is Never too Late to Start Writing! For seniors with Gisela Woldenga
Meet with members of the Wilson Lounge and other Seniors from the community to explore the stories we have to tell, no matter how old we are. Beginning with her own story of starting to write and publish children’s mystery novels after retirement and then moving on to some writing exercises in fiction and memoir, Gisela will encourage participants to embrace the idea that everyone has something important to share with the world.
JB Young
2nd Floor
1 - 1:45 pm
​
Poetry Reading and Panel hosted by Rob Taylor, with Jude Neale, Dr. Bonnie Nish and Winston Lê
Panel discussion about poetry as a writing form and career. What is poetry, what makes a good poem, where could you possibly study poetry, and how did the panellists become poets? How do poets get published and make money, perhaps even get famous?
Laking
2nd Floor
Room
1 - 4 pm
​
Blue Pencil Sessions – ½ hour professional sessions to review a piece of writing, with Rhea Rose, John Mavin, and Margie Taylor. Requires pre-registration
Blue Pencil Sessions are an opportunity for you to have your work reviewed by a professional writer. See details below in the participants' section.
JB Young
2nd Floor​
2 - 2:45 pm
​
The Road to Publication with Colleen van Niekirk, Farida Somjee, and Bill Arnott
How do you get from the spark of a story to a completed manuscript? There are so many options for writers today, and it can be confusing to find a way to bring your book into the world to find its readers. Local writers Farida Somjee, Collen van Niekirk, and Bill Arnott will speak about their chosen paths to publication, what influenced them in the past and what will inform their current projects. In the end, does it matter how a book is published? Do readers even care, or are they just happy to spend time with the story they are immersed in?
3 - 3:45 pm
​
JB Young
2nd Floor
News writing is a career choice with Angela Sterritt and Richard Dal Monte
Long-time Tri-Cities journalist Richard Dal Monte and CBC Radio/TV correspondent Angela Sterritt discuss how to get started, schools, and how the speakers got where they are today. The ups and downs of journalistic life and the differences between writing news articles and writing a book; the challenges traversing different writing methods for books and daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly publications. The crucial role of journalists in informing us about our neighbourhoods and cities in thoughtful and compelling ways.
Wilson Lounge
1st Floor
3 - 4 pm
​
Slam poetry workshop and telling our truths For youth with Izzy Hébert
Poet Izzy Hébert (Vancouver Poetry Slam, Tri-City’s Poetry) will lead local youth in a workshop exploring Poetry Slam as a way to write our way into speaking our truths. Working with writing prompts, everyone will be encouraged to write and perhaps perform their pieces. Izzy will also explore the culture of Slam and how to create and build an exciting, inclusive and welcoming Slam community where we live.
Mabbett
1st Floor Room
Closes at 4 PM
Book Fair & Market Hall. Live Readings, Arts and Writing Activities for children, youth and adults.
JB Young
2nd Floor
​
4 - 4:45 pm
​
Discussion of her newest novel, To Track a Traitor, a brief reading, and audience Q&A with mystery writer Iona Whishaw
Iona Whishaw grew up in Canada, Arizona and Mexico. With an MFA from UBC, she’s published short fiction, poetry, and children’s literature and is the winner of the 2021 Bony Blythe Light Mystery Award and was shortlisted for the Duthie book prize in 2022 and the Lefty Award in 2019 & 2023. A passion for history and her family’s WW2 intelligence work inform the spirit of her period novels.
5 pm
Close
​
End of Port Coquitlam May Days
Readers and Writers Festival
A Tri-City Wordsmiths Event
Participants
Participate in Blue Pencil or Book Fair/Market Hall:
