THE VICTORIA FESTIVAL OF AUTHORS
Where: Langham Court Theatre (805 Langham Ct.) and W̱MÍYEŦEN Nature Sanctuary (1772 Millstream Rd.)
When: Oct. 11–Oct. 15
Tickets: victoriafestivalofauthors.ca
The Victoria Festival of Authors is nothing if not fan-friendly.
To make the festival both successful and accessible, longtime producer Laura Trunkey made several programming and organizational decisions this year that were aimed at the widest possible audience.
The event, now in its eighth year, has run the gamut with regard to its social distancing policies, and while public concern over the pandemic has ebbed, Trunkey honoured those who might be at risk by making the Victoria Festival of Authors a hybrid event for the second consecutive year.
“It’s nice to have that option for those who are not able to attend,” she said.
Online-only events via Zoom will be mixed with in-person gatherings at Langham Court Theatre and the former Mary Lake Sanctuary, now known as W̱MÍYEŦEN Nature Sanctuary. The festival has adopted a sliding-scale admission model, with free tickets also an option. This new model applies to all events, further expanding the festivalgoer footprint.
The goal is to get the authors in front of as many book fans as possible, Trunkey said.
“Last year, when we did our exit survey, we asked people watching our livestream event why they picked that over an in-person event, and a number of people said it was the cost. I figured if we could get rid of that barrier, we would have a livelier event with more people in the theatre.”
Trunkey also put an emphasis on unpredictability in 2023. She turned over the event to a cast of 13 moderators, who each booked their respective guests. That led to some inspired selections, from an Oct. 14 summit on banned books led by Danny Ramadan and featuring Christy Jordan-Fenton, Robin Stevenson and Kathy Stinson, to an Oct. 15 conversation between moderator Jack Knox (of the Times Colonist) and Leacock Medal winners Ian and Will Ferguson.
Other themed sessions, which include Advocacy Through Story (Oct. 12), Dark Woods and Open Water (Oct. 15), and Diversity and Importance (Oct. 15), feature everyone from Butler Book Prize finalist Katłįà Lafferty and Governor General’s Literary Award winner Darrel J. McLeod to Giller Prize finalist Alissa York. Though the five-day event is focused on authors primarily born or based in B.C., Trunkey expanded that radius to include writers from elsewhere who have written books about the province.
“There are so many festivals doing virtual events, with authors from everywhere. It was nice to have a unified mandate, in terms of that local focus.”
