Join picture book author Derek Mascarenhas (The Mango Monster, 100 Chapatis) for a morning of stories and art making at the Hamilton Farmers’ Market. Young ones and their families will delight in delicious tales, followed by creative fun inspired by Derek’s books.

This event is made possible by the support of the incite Foundation for the Arts. 

Free | Registration not required

In beautifully crafted essays, Chantal Braganza (Story of Your Mother) and Margaret Nowaczyk (Marrow Memory: Essays of Discovery) look inward, exploring themes of identity, family history, and memory. In this conversation with Erin Pepler, they’ll explore the unique power of essays to share intimate, through-provoking narratives that invite readers to marvel in the unexpected beauty of human experience. 

$12 | Included in Weekend Pass

What stories can images tell? What words do colour, shapes and forms suggest? What can visual art teach writers? In this walk- and write-around the Art Gallery of Hamilton, participants will discover the thousand words in pictures and, guided by award-winning novelist, poet, visual and multimedia artist Gary Barwin, create new writing inspired by what they see.

$30 | Includes Admission to the Art Gallery of Hamilton

This event is made possible by the support of the incite Foundation for the Arts.

In this intro to speculative poetry workshop by Terese Mason Pierre, participants will learn: the basics of defining, writing and identifying speculative poetry; how to use literary devices to enhance the speculative elements in their poems; and how to use poetic types to bridge speculative content and form. Time will also be allotted for writing exercises and sharing resources.

$25 | Limited Spaces Available

In 1913, Hoi Wing Woo’s dreams of an education are shattered when he is sent to work in a Chinese laundry. Decades later, Irena Marianowska’s dreams of attending art school in Paris are crushed when the Nazis invade Poland. Sit down with authors Edward Y.C. Lee (The Laundryman’s Boy) and Kath Jonathan (The Resistance Painter) for a conversation about coming of age, human resilience, and bringing the past to life through fiction. 

Hosted by Ann Y.K. Choi | $12 | Included in Weekend Pass

Drawing on the advice and experiences of writers dead and alive, world-famous and niche, award-winning author and coordinator of Humber Polytechnic’s Bachelor of Creative and Professional Writing Meaghan Strimas offers attendees an insider look at how published authors manage common obstacles like writer’s block, imposter syndrome, and rejections, through intentional writing practices, expectation management, and the building of critical relationships with writers and other creative professionals.

$25 | Limited Spaces Available

Folklore, cultural stories, magical realism, and the alike are brought to life by authors K.J. Aiello (The Monster and the Mirror), Terese Mason Pierre (Myth), and Liz Worth (Inside Every Dream, a Raging Sea). How does folklore interact with their life, how do they see folklore in their work, and what role do authors play in creating mythologies from the artifacts they make art with?

This event is presented by our Next Chapter Committee.

$12 | Included in Weekend Pass

What is plot and how is it related to character? How do writers create stimulating storylines and generate characters that spring to life on the page? What steps are necessary to formulate a plot that makes a book “unputdownable?” In this workshop, Edward Y. C. Lee, the author of The Laundryman’s Boy, will lead a discussion about plot creation and character development. He will talk about various methods used to generate plot, the classical three-act structure, brainstorming, backstory, limit-setting, and how strong characters can drive plotlines. The workshop will also explore how character needs and desires can fuel action and suspense. Examples will be drawn from published works and the workshop participants themselves.

$25 | Limited Spots Available

Join Anuja Varghese as she sits down with Farzana Doctor (The Beauty of Us), Rosena Fung (Age 16), and Sarah Raughley (The Queen’s Spade) for a lively chat about what makes a GREAT main character! Panelists will discuss the importance of capturing and reflecting complex young women characters on the page and what “main character energy” means in each of their books — and maybe their real lives too! Tackling revenge, rebellion, racism, and much more — these authors have crafted diverse and compelling characters that you’ll be talking about long after the conversation on stage ends. 

Hosted by Anuja Varghese | $12 | Included in Weekend Pass

In this workshop, author K.J. Aiello discusses the challenges, barriers, and strategies of safely writing trauma. Topics covered will include self-assessments, use of imagery, caring for yourself and your readers, and how to write about difficult people. Writing exercises (either in-workshop or take-home) will be provided.

$25 | Limited Spaces Available

gritLIT challenges Hamilton’s new or emerging authors to put their speed-writing skills to the test! You will be given a prompt and one or two required elements. Can you incorporate them into a 500-word-or-less story in one hour? The winner, decided by local author Nicola Winstanley, will receive a $50 gift certificate from Epic Books and have their story published on the gritLIT website.

$5 | Interactive Event

In her dazzling new novel, Hamilton’s Amanda Leduc (Wild Life) blurs the line between human and animal, as two walking, talking hyenas interact with humans over decades. Weaving between real and imaginary worlds, Terese Mason Pierre's debut collection of poetry, Myth, unearths the unsettling, exploring our jaded and joyful relationships to land, ancestry, trauma, self, and future. In conversation with Farzana Doctor, Amanda and Terese will explore the power of storytelling to challenge how we view the world around us.

Hosted by Farzana Doctor | $12 | Included in Weekend Pass

In their three chilling new books, Cheryl Isaacs (The Unfinished), Pasha Malla (All You Can Kill), and A.G.A. Wilmot (Withered) bring haunting narratives to life, each pulling readers into an unnerving psychological tale of suspense, mystery, and the unsettling feeling that something could be lurking around every corner.

Hosted by Jessica Peter | $12 | Included in Weekend Pass