The Whistler Writers Festival, October 30 to November 2, 2025, celebrates creativity, music, ideas and books in a welcoming, intimate and cozy setting. It’s the perfect excuse to curl up indoors with an enthralling story while connecting with authors and book lovers. Don’t miss your chance to hear from the best Canadian and local authors writing today.
Here are nine reasons not to miss this year’s Whistler Writers Festival.
1. Sharing Stories Together
“The arts have always played a key part of resistance against injustice and oppression,” says Rebecca Wood Barret, the festival’s Artistic Director, in the opening pages of the 2025 program. “Art speaks truth to power. And the literary and storytelling arts have the ability to bring us together. To build community. Create joy and hope. Further, there is power in keeping a positive spirit in challenging circumstances.
For these reasons, our theme this year is Joyful Resistance. Reading and listening and learning, and empathizing are all acts of resistance. We invite you to explore the program, engage in the wide variety of carefully curated events, delight in conversations, and join our joyful, welcoming, inclusive community of readers and writers.”
The Whistler Writers Festival is in its 24th year, and is one of the events the Whistler Writing Society puts on over the year to further the exchange of ideas via reading and writing. They also run the Authors in Schools, Writer in Residence and One Day Writing Retreat programs. As a charitable organization, they rely on grants and donations to continue their work. During the festival, the volunteer board members will be selling raffle tickets. Please consider purchasing some if you can!
2. Halloween at the Writers Festival!
On Friday, Oct. 31, just in time for Halloween, the festival presents All Hallows’ Eve: Murder and Mayhem with Laugh Out LIVE!, and authors Susan Juby and Liann Zhang. Juby’s latest book, Contemplation of a Crime, features a Buddhist butler sleuth and Zhang’s diabolical debut thriller Julie Chan is Dead delves into the darker sides of social media.
This panel is moderated by popular thriller writer Amber Cowie. There is a seasonal cocktail too: Spirit’s Kiss, and we’re extending the fun with an All Hallows’ Eve photo booth. Don’t miss it — it’s from 8 to 10 PM at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler.
3. Be Bewitched
The magic continues with The Bewitching, A Night of Spellcraft and Suspense: In Conversation with Silvia Moreno-Garcia on November 1 from 8 to 9:30 PM. Moreno-Garcia, whose novel Mexican Gothic was both a New York Times bestseller and a viral hit on Instagram and TikTok, discusses her latest work, The Bewitching.
Moreno-Garcia, whose book, Mexican Gothic, was a massive hit on Instagram and TikTok and on the New York Times bestseller list, talks about her latest work, The Bewitching.
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In this new novel, three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multi-generational gothic horror saga. She sits down with moderator Jeanette Bruce to talk fantasy, horror, noir, and historical fiction at the Fairmont.
For those looking for something adventurous and spicy, we’ve got Spilling the Tea: Dragons, Thieves and Romantasy with New York Times bestselling author Karina Hale from 1:30 to 2:45 PM on November 1, at the Fairmont. From spicy rom com to gothic horror, Hale knows how to keep readers on the edge of their seats (there will also be red velvet cupcakes!).
In her newest book, Realm of Thieves, two thieves put their lives and hearts on the line while attempting to control the illegal dragon egg trade. Join Hale from 1:30 to 2:45 PM on November 1 at the Fairmont (where there will also be red velvet cupcakes).
4. We Love Readers
Even though the festival is called the Whistler Writers Festival, it’s about READERS too! There are 14 varied reading events happening over the four days.
On Friday late afternoon, listen to Julian Brave NoiseCat, writer, champion powwow dancer, director of the Oscar®-nominated documentary, Sugarcane, student of Salish art and history, as he discusses his debut memoir, We Survived the Night. It weaves oral history with hard-hitting journalism and a deeply personal father-son journey into a searing portrait of Indigenous survival, love, and resurgence.
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Following this event is Canada’s Best Indies 2025, where the festival shines a spotlight on some of Canada’s best independently published authors. You can also meet the 2025 finalists for the Whistler Independent Book Awards (WIBA) and hear them read from works nominated in children’s literature, fiction and non-fiction categories.
On Saturday, there are two conversation events, one with fiction writers and the other with non-fiction authors. Fiction writers Eddy Boudel Tan, Clea Young and Antonio Michael Downing discuss the theme of camouflage and connection, whereas Ardra Shephard, Veronica Woodruff and the WIBA Winner discuss how non-fiction writers take facts and wrap them with emotion.
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These are just four of the 14 reading events on offer this fall, so check out the full schedule and discover your next favourite author.
5. Build Writing Skills and Learn More About Publishing
One of the things that makes the Whistler Writers Festival unique is workshops for writers of any level. There are nine workshops this year, including two online sessions focused on the current decision makers in the Canadian literature scene, with the chance to ask them questions and even pitch your book idea.
On the other end of the publishing spectrum, learn more about self-publishing in the two-part Publish Like A Pro session and then round out your knowledge with The Self-Publishers Guide to Marketing (online).
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There are workshops on writing from objects with Chelene Knight, micro-memoir making in comic format with Sarah Leavitt, how to create your own crime fighter with Susan Juby, and then a one-on-one editing session with Katherine Fawcett for all those ideas!
6. It’s Not Just About Books
Books are always the star, but they never hog the spotlight at the Whistler Writers Festival. This year’s event kicks off with Connecting Cultures: Legends, Language and the Land with Tsawaysia Dominique Nahanee and P̓áq̓emúl Shelby Dan. These guests present myths and legends in the oral tradition, and talk about their communities’ vital connections to the land.
Also on the festival’s opening day, the festival rolls in visual art with a landmark book launch happening at the Audain Art Museum, celebrating the extraordinary career of renowned Haida artist and Hereditary Chief, 7IDANsuu James Hart. And on Sunday, why not take a walk through the forest while listening to two poets and a Cultural Ambassador from the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre.
There’s even a launch party for the third edition of the Lupine Review, a Sea to Sky literary magazine showcasing local writers and artists.
7. Breakfast. Who Doesn’t Love Breakfast?
The Sunday BookTalk and Breakfast event usually draws a crowd. While event goers enjoy a continental breakfast, moderator Rachel Bergquist engages three award-winning Canadian authors — Antonio Michael Downing (Black Cherokee), Evelyn Lau (Parade of Storms), and Sarah Leavitt (Something, Not Nothing)—in a conversation about their astonishing new works.
Their books are meditations on race, identity, environmental upheaval, navigating grief and loss, and reconciling shadows of the past.
8. Bulk Out Your “To Be Read” List
If you love books, literary festivals are the best place on earth because books are abundant. Armchair Books will be back to provide a very full table of books for sale. Find a new favourite read and get it signed by a festival guest author.
Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, go on a Mystery Date with a book. The festival has wrapped dozens of past titles, and you can take one home for you, sight unseen, with a $10 donation to support the fest. The festival won’t judge your expanding to-be-read list.
9. Events for Kids and Teens
Kiddos can join Kristen Pendreigh, the author of What Fish Are Saying: Strange Sounds in the Ocean, for an upbeat dive under the water. This event is free and being held at the Whistler Public Library, but you do need to register ahead of time.
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For youth 18 and under, local author, Rebecca Wood Barrett (My Summer Camp Has Mega Sloths), will be looking into some of the most memorable imagined creatures and brainstorming how to create one. Another free, library-based event, make sure you RSVP to save your kid’s spot.
Youth are free at The Honest Voice: Writing Youth Characters That Feel Real, a reading event that digs into how writers create characters that are curious, bold and action-oriented with four YA authors: Whitney Gardner (Free Piano (Not Haunted)), Mahtab Narsimshan (Ghost Queen), Léa Taranto (A Drop In The Ocean) and the 2025 Whistler Independent Book Awards winner for children’s fiction.
Take a look at the full schedule and book your tickets on the Whistler Writers Festival site.
Stay 3+ Nights and Receive a Free $100 Whistler Dining Voucher
The 24th annual Whistler Writers Festival runs from October 30 to November 2. Tickets are available online now, and early birds automatically get 10% off their tickets until October 10 at midnight.
Secure your lodging for the Whistler Writers Festival with rooms starting at $125 CAD per night*. Extend your stay to 3+ nights and receive a free $100 Dining Voucher.
