The Whistler Writers Festival is set to welcome writers and readers back indoors at full capacity from Oct. 13 to 16 for the first time since 2019.
But it turns out the online element that allowed it to carry on through the pandemic was worth hanging onto.
“We’re attempting a full hybrid festival this year,” says Rebecca Wood Barrett, artistic and executive director of the festival. “The idea is all the authors come in person, but we’re also livestreaming, adding the technical side onto the in-person side. It definitely adds another half a festival—maybe more than half.”
It appears that most festivalgoers are keen to connect face-to-face again, Wood Barrett adds. “I think 80 to 90 per cent of the audiences will come in-person,” she says.
Most of the workshops and reading events will have tickets available at the door, with at least one exception.
“The Literary Cabaret is taking off,” Wood Barrett says. “I would love to see that one sell out. Geeta Das, the musical director, is going to shift back to a more improvisational approach in terms of the band and how she styles the music.”
For the uninitiated: that event—taking place Friday, Oct. 14—will feature eight authors reading excerpts from their books while a band improvises accompanying music.
“That event is always so exciting. There’s a little bit of riskiness when you’re not sure whether you can pull something off—like live theatre. You’re on the edge of your seat. Many of the authors have never done anything like this before either. I’ve heard them say they never want to give a reading without a full band again,” Wood Barrett says, with a laugh.
The festival also added a handful of brand new events this year. On Thursday, Oct. 13, Sharing Traditions: An Evening of Oral Storytelling with Tsawaysia Spukwus from the Squamish Nation and Tanina Williams from the Lil’wat Nation will also include eight local storytellers sharing their oral stories.
“We did a storytelling workshop with Tanina in September,” Wood Barrett says. “People had a chance to get a feel for what an oral story might be like, but we wanted people to bring their own ideas.”
Pique’s own Brandon Barrett is also hosting a new event to close out the festival on Oct. 16. Page to Stage: Using Improvisation to Generate Character blends acting and writing to help craft three-dimensional characters and scenes.
“We like to dabble in genres that aren’t necessarily on the page, but still considered literary,” Wood Barrett adds. “The hard part, from an operational side, is so many of the events are bespoke. [It’s] not just one big festival, it’s 25 unique events that all need their own care and thought and championing in the media. Operationally, it’s tricky.”
But many tried-and-true popular events are also returning this year, including the Saturday Night Gala and workshops that cover genres from memoir to crime writing and poetry.
On top of that, a fundraising event on Saturday will help kick off the festival’s new Literary Arts Legacy Fund endowment campaign. The Whistler Writing Society recently opened the fund with the Whistler Community Foundation to help create a long-term investment for the festival.
An unnamed donor has already kicked in $5,000 to start, and “we’re hoping to match that at the festival,” Wood Barrett says. “If we can do that, we can apply for additional matching funds from Canadian Heritage. The matching can really add up.”
For more, or to purchase tickets to any of the events, head to whistlerwritersfest.com.
