Ticket sales open 8:30 am PT June 1, 2026 – details here
Writers confirmed to date
Betty Baxter
BETTY BAXTER was born in 1952 in Brooks, Alberta. Prior to turning thirty, she played Olympic volleyball and was one of the rare women to coach the sport internationally. She was a member of the National Advisory Council on Fitness and Amateur Sport (1977–79), a founder of Canadian Women & Sport (1981), and initiated the National Coaching School for Women (1987). Following her expulsion as Canada’s national coach in 1982, she became an outspoken activist for LGBTQ+ community and human rights. In 1993, she was the first open lesbian to seek federal office in Vancouver Centre, and in 2011 she was elected to her local school board, serving two terms. Her essay “Homophobia, Hypocrisy and Power Abuse” appeared in Playing It Forward 50 Years of Women and Sport in Canada, and she has published short non-fiction in online journals, Canadian Horse Journal and the anthology Potato Soup Journal: Best of 2022.
She is grateful to live in xwésám (Roberts Creek, BC) on the unceded territories of the shíshálh people. She published her first book, the memoir Outspoken: A Journey from Olympic Athlete to Activist, in 2026.
Billy-Ray Belcourt
BILLY-RAY BELCOURT (he/him) is from the Driftpile Cree Nation in northwest Alberta. He won the Griffin Poetry Prize for his debut collection This Wound is a World. He has twice been nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award—once in poetry for the debut and in non-fiction for his memoir, A History of My Brief Body. Both his works of fiction, A Minor Chorus and Coexistence, were national bestsellers. He is an Associate Professor in the School of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.
BTU (Bentall Taylor Ulrich)
Individually, BTU—Barney Bentall, Tom Taylor, and Shari Ulrich—are accomplished, acclaimed, award-winning musicians. Together, they become a powerhouse trio of talent whose music melds folk, roots and acoustic singer songwriter traditions into something warm, intimate and deeply human. Their blend of acoustic guitars, mandolin, fiddle and swoon worthy three part harmonies—along with a palpable love of playing together—offers an inspiring musical close to this year’s Festival.
BARNEY BENTALL and his band The Legendary Hearts recorded and toured extensively in Canada through the late ’80s and ’90s. In 2000 Barney traded in his rock and roll life for that of a cattle rancher in the Cariboo, deciding that he would only write songs when they wouldn’t leave him alone. “It was an interesting and challenging time that I wouldn’t trade for the world but ultimately the call of music ruled the day.” In 2006, Bentall headed into the studio with long-time friend Jim Cuddy producing and began work on what would become Bentall’s first solo record Gift Horse. Those songs renewed Barney’s love of performing, both in the form of solo acoustic shows and of the Cariboo Express, (which included his son Dustin, Ridley Bent, Geoffrey Kelly and many others). Barney has released five solo albums (post Legendary Hearts) including the latest Cosmic Dreamer, and recently released Ranch Writers, an inspiring instrumental collaboration with Geoffrey Kelly and others. He continues his wonderful partnership with Shari and Tom, as BTU.
TOM TAYLOR is best known for his role in the Vancouver cult band She Stole My Beer, where he spent years touring and recording two albums. After the band took a hiatus, Tom embarked on a solo journey, recording two albums, King of July and Running Late, with acclaimed producer Steve Dawson. In 2013, he released Pull Over Here, produced by his longtime friend and fellow Canadian music legend, Barney Bentall. In addition to his solo work, and releases with BTU, Tom’s new band, The Southern Residents, will release their debut album Folk Signals, co-produced with multi-instrumentalist and Juno Award winner Adrian Dolan. The project showcases their unique interpretation of folk and bluegrass. Tom is also an active member of the Vancouver roots rock band The Radio Grande, known for their album Town and Country and their recent EP Wrapped in Plastic. His wide-ranging collaborations and projects continue to highlight his distinctive voice and songwriting style.
SHARI ULRICH’s finesse on violin, mandolin, flute, piano, sax and dulcimer was first heard in the early ’70s with the Pied Pumkin. Her work with the Hometown Band paved the way for her solo career as a touring songwriter. Shari’s work has earned a couple of Junos wins and several nominations, including “Songwriter of the Year” at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, and a membership in the BC Music Hall of Fame. She has released 26 albums including her work with the Pumkin, UHF, BTU, and The High Bar Gang (a bluegrass band with Barney – also a 2x Juno nominee and CFMA a winner for Vocal Group of the Year). As well, Shari has also hosted and produced the long running (28 years) SongBird North songwriter series in Vancouver and performs with Hilary Grist and Jeanne Tolmie in The Luckies. Her skills as a multi-instrumentalist and harmony singer and love of accompanying other artists has led to collaborations that have brought a delightful dimension to her 50 years in music, and BTU is certainly a testament to that.
Janie Chang
JANIE CHANG is a Globe and Mail bestselling author of historical fiction. Born in Taiwan, Chang has lived in the Philippines, Iran, Thailand, New Zealand, and Canada. Her novels often draw from family history and ancestral stories. She has a degree in computer science and is a graduate of the Writer’s Studio Program at Simon Fraser University. She is the author of Three Souls, Dragon Springs Road, The Library of Legends, and The Porcelain Moon; and co-author of the USA Today bestseller The Phoenix Crown, with Kate Quinn. Her latest book is The Fourth Princess.
Charles Demers
CHARLES DEMERS is a stand-up comedian, author, playwright, speechwriter, and voice actor. With over sixty appearances as a writer-performer on CBC radio’s The Debaters, he is a touring headliner whose first stand-up album Fatherland, from 604 Records, was nominated for the 2018 Juno for Best Comedy Album. He is the author of three plays and seven books, including the crime satire Property Values, which was optioned by Pioneer Pictures of Los Angeles and for which he co-wrote the screen adaptation. He is a former lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia, and the editor-curator of Robin’s Egg Books. He has opened for Sarah Silverman, Bob Odenkirk, and Marc Maron, also appearing as a featured guest on the latter’s popular podcast WTF. He also provides the voice of “Poutine” on Will Arnett’s patriotic superhero send-up Super Team Canada. Demers lives in East Vancouver with his wife, their two children, and a dog. HIs most recent book is The Eh Team.
Antonio Michael Downing
ANTONIO MICHAEL DOWNING is the author of the acclaimed memoir Saga Boy and children’s book, Stars in My Crown. Antonio Michael is the current host of the CBC Radio program The Next Chapter where he discusses books with authors and columnists. He spends his time writing books, singing songs, and trying to make his grandma proud. Black Cherokee is his debut novel.
Terry Fallis
TERRY FALLIS grew up in Toronto and earned an engineering degree from McMaster University. Drawn to politics at an early age, he worked for cabinet ministers in Ottawa and at Queen’s Park. His first novel, The Best Laid Plans, began as a podcast, then was self-published, won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, was re-published by McClelland & Stewart to great reviews, was crowned the 2011 winner of CBC’s Canada Reads as “the essential Canadian novel of the decade,” and was adapted as a CBC Television series and a stage musical. His next two novels, The High Road and Up and Down, were finalists for the Leacock Medal, and in 2015, he won the prize a second time, for his fourth book, No Relation. His other novels, Poles Apart (a Leacock Medal finalist), One Brother Shy, Albatross, Operation Angus, A New Season, and The Marionette, were all national bestsellers. A skilled public speaker, he lives in Toronto with his wife, and blogs at terryfallis.com. Follow @TerryFallis on Twitter and subscribe to his newsletter at terryfallis.substack.com.
Elee Kraljii Gardiner
ELEE KRALJII GARDINER is a frequent collaborator with choreographers, musicians, sound and visual artists. She is the author of the poetry books sometimes, forest, Trauma Head, and serpentine loop and editor of the anthologies Against Death: 35 Essays on Living and V6A: Writing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (with John Asfour) as well as nine anthologies from Thursdays Writing Collective, a program she founded with Downtown Eastside writers in 2008. Elee holds an MA in Hispanic Literature from University of British Columbia and an MFA in Poetry from Institute of American Indian Arts and is the recipient of the Cogswell Award for Literary Excellence, Lina Chartrand Award for Social Justice and the Pandora’s Collective BC Writer Mentor Award. Her writing has been a finalist for the Souster Award, Kroetsch Award, bpNichol Chapbook Award, Best of the Net, City of Vancouver Book Award and in the US for the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize and Montaigne Medal. Elee co-hosts the Whole Cloth reading series at University of British Columbia’s Green College with Dr. Bronwen Tate and also directs Vancouver Manuscript Intensive, an online international program pairing authors with mentors. She is the seventh Poet Laureate of Vancouver.
Christopher Gaze
CHRISTOPHER GAZE is best known as the Founder and Artistic Director of Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, which celebrates its thirty-seventh season in 2026. He hosts the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s popular Tea & Trumpets series and also their annual Traditional Christmas concerts. Christopher plays a leading role in British Columbia as an advocate for the arts in general, and his passionate dedication to Bard on the Beach has fuelled its growth into one of the largest professional theatre companies in Canada, drawing a total of well over two million patrons since 1990. His many honours include Canada’s Meritorious Service Medal, Honorary Doctorates from UBC & SFU, the Mayor’s Arts Award for Theatre, the Order of British Columbia, and most recently, the King Charles III Coronation Medal. His memoir, The Road to Bard, will be released in 2026.
Michelle Good
MICHELLE GOOD is a Cree writer and a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. After working for Indigenous organizations for twenty-five years, she obtained a law degree as a 43-year-old single mom and advocated for residential school survivors for over fourteen years. In 2014 Good earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia while still practising law and managing her own law firm. Her poems, short stories, and essays have been published in magazines and anthologies across Canada, and her poetry was included on two lists of the best Canadian poetry. Five Little Indians, her first novel, won the HarperCollins/UBC Best New Fiction Prize, the Amazon First Novel Award, the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Award, the Evergreen Award, the City of Vancouver Book Award, and Canada Reads 2022. It was also longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and was a finalist for the Writer’s Trust Award. Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous life in Canada was released in 2023 and was shortlisted for the Writers Trust Balsillie Prize for Public Policy, the Saskatchewan Book Awards and an Indigenous Voices Award, and was the winner of the High Plains Book Award. Good was inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2025. Her highly anticipated new novel, to be released August 2026, is Eliza Sunshine.
Genevieve Graham
GENEVIEVE GRAHAM is the USA TODAY and #1 bestselling author of thirteen novels, including On Isabella Street, The Secret Keeper, The Forgotten Home Child, Letters Across the Sea, Bluebird, and The Chambermaid’s Key. She is passionate about breathing life back into history through tales of love and adventure. She lives in Alberta. Visit her at GenevieveGraham.com or on X and Instagram @GenGrahamAuthor.
Monique Gray Smith
MONIQUE GRAY SMITH is an award-winning, bestselling author of books for children and adults, as well as an accomplished international speaker and consultant. Of Cree and Scottish descent, she has been sober and on her healing journey for more than thirty-four years. Her debut novel, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience, won the 2014 Burt Award for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Literature. Monique Gray Smith and her family are blessed to live on the traditional territory of the WSÁNEĆ people near Victoria, British Columbia. Her new book, an instant #1 Canadian bestseller, is called Sharing the Light.
Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho
WILEY WEI-CHIUN HO has published short stories and personal essays in PRISM international, Ricepaper Magazine, River Teeth, Room and several anthologies, and was a finalist for the 2021 Jim Wong-Chu Award for Emerging Writers (presented by the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop). She lives in North Vancouver, BC, with her family. The Astronaut Children of Dunbar Street is her first book.
Dr. Alika Lafontaine
ALIKA LAFONTAINE, MD is an award-winning physician, innovator, public speaker, and one of Canada’s leading advocates for social change. He is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta and a rural anesthesiologist. Named Maclean’s top Health Care Innovator of 2023, Dr. Lafontaine was the first Indigenous doctor and the youngest physician to lead the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) in its 156-year history.
With a mixed Indigenous ancestry of Metis, Oji-Cree and Pacific Islander, Dr. Lafontaine is a Canada’s Top 40 under 40 recipient, former host of the podcast, The Healthcare Divide, and Chairs the board of the Downie Wenjack Fund, a national charity focused on reconciliation.
Robert Moor
Hailed by The Wall Street Journal as a “philosopher on foot,” ROBERT MOOR is the bestselling author of On Trails and In Trees. Translated into more than a dozen languages, On Trails garnered the National Outdoor Book Award, the Pacific Northwest Book Award, and the William Saroyan International Prize. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s, New York magazine, Outside, Emergence, and n+1, among other publications. He lives in Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia.
Donna Morrissey
DONNA MORRISSEY is the author of the nationally bestselling memoir Pluck, which was a finalist for the Atlantic Book Awards’ Non-Fiction Award, and of seven acclaimed and bestselling novels, including the national bestseller Rage the Night. She won the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Fiction for The Fortunate Brother; Sylvanus Now was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize; and The Deception of Livvy Higgs was a One Read pick for Nova Scotia in 2017. Her fiction has also won awards in the US and the UK, and has been translated into several languages. Born and raised in Newfoundland, she lives in Halifax.
bronwyn preece
bronwyn preece is honoured to have the privilege of living on the unceded traditional territories of the L̓il̓wat7úl and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw Peoples in Whistler, BC. This awareness brings with it many levels of responsibility, humbleness, transparency and collaborative possibilities. She is a site-sensitive poetic-renegade and multi-disciplinary, community-engaged arts practitioner. She holds a PhD in Performance, along with a MA and BFA in Applied Theatre. She has taught and performed internationally. Her publications range from place-based children’s books, articles to artistic academic chapters. She is the author of hiking beyond: poems from the trail; knee deep in high water: riding the Muskwa-Kechika, expedition poems; Sea to Sky Alphabet; Gulf Islands Alphabet; and the forthcoming Olive and Jasper, Canadian Rockies Alphabet and My Happy Hiking Trails, all with Simply Read Books. All of her artistic and educational work aims towards cultivating place-based awarenesses and small acts of reconciliatory repair. bronwyn is an avid, solo, backcountry backpacker and hiker who writes on the trail. She has the word ‘gratitude’ tattooed on her arm.
Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson
ALEXIS STEFANOVICH-THOMSON is a writer living in Toronto. His novella, The Man Who Went Down Under, won the Black Orchid Novella Award and the Crime Writers of Canada Best Novella Award. His first novel, The Road to Heaven, was nominated for an Edgar Award and a Shamus Award. The second book in the Patrick Bird Mystery Series, Opposite Sully’s Gym, was published in March 2026.
Georgia Toews
GEORGIA TOEWS is the author of the critically acclaimed debut novel Hey, Good Luck Out There. She is also a writer for film and television. Born and raised in Winnipeg, she now lives in Toronto.
Iryn Tushabe
IRYN TUSHABE is a Ugandan Canadian writer and journalist living on Treaty 4 territory in Regina, Saskatchewan. Most recently her nonfiction has appeared in Literary Hub, The Walrus and in the trace press anthology river in an ocean: essays on translation. Her short fiction has been anthologized in The Journey Prize Stories volumes 30 and 33. She was a finalist for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2021 and is a 2023 winner of the Writers’ Trust McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize. Everything is Fine Here is her debut novel.
Mary Walsh
MARY WALSH created and starred in This Hour Has 22 Minutes, CBC’s wildly popular take on current affairs. The series earned her many of her numerous Gemini awards and showcased her dynamic range of characters, including the flagrantly outspoken ‘Marg Delahunty.’
Walsh wrote, produced and starred in the Gemini award winning series Hatching, Matching and Dispatching, which returned to CBC in 2017 as a feature length presentation called A Christmas Fury, with Walsh and the original cast reprising their roles. In 2017 she released her debut novel, a Canadian bestseller, Crying For The Moon, and in 2026 she released Brassy Bit of Aging Crumpet: A Memoir in Pieces. She currently writes, directs and stars in The Missus Downstairs, for which she has been nominated for multiple Canadian Screen Awards.
Among her many awards and doctorates, Mary is the recipient of the Order of Canada, the Governor General’s Lifetime Achievement Award in the Performing Arts, and the CSA’s Earle Grey Award for lifetime achievement in television acting.
Sam Wiebe
SAM WIEBE is the author of the bestselling Ocean Drive as well as the Wakeland novels, one of the most authentic and acclaimed detective series in Canada, including Sunset and Jericho and The Last Exile. Guns Across the River is the latest in the series. His work has won the Crime Writers of Canada award, the Kobo Emerging Writers prize, and a silver medal from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and been shortlisted for the Edgar, Hammett, Shamus and City of Vancouver book prizes. The Last Exile is a finalist for the 2026 BC and Yukon Book Prizes’ Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Wiebe lives in New Westminster, BC. Visit samwiebe.com.