The Sidney and Peninsula Literary Society celebrates the written word. We showcase established and emerging authors and provide regular opportunities for readers and writers to connect. We organize readings throughout the year and sponsor a biennial literary festival. Anyone who enjoys the written word is invited to become a member of the Society.
Please join us for a spectacular event in February!
Saturday February 8th
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
At Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse
2487 Mt. Saint Michael Road, Saanichton
Maia Caron
Maia Caron is a Vancouver Island-based Indigenous writer and author of Song of Batoche, a historical novel that was a CBC must-read book for 2018. The Toronto Star described the novel as a “tale of love, betrayal and obsession,” and Shelagh Rogers of The Last Chapter said it was an “ambitious, broad, sweeping, historical mystery.”
Lorna Crozier
An Officer of the Order of Canada, Lorna Crozier has been acknowledged for her contributions to Canadian literature, her teaching and her mentoring with five honourary doctorates, most recently from McGill and Simon Fraser Universities. Her books have received numerous national awards, including the Governor-General’s Award for Poetry. The Globe and Mail declared The Book of Marvels: A Compendium of Everyday Things one of its Top 100 Books of the Year, and Amazon chose her memoir as one of the 100 books you should read in your lifetime. A Professor Emerita at the University of Victoria, she has performed for Queen Elizabeth II and has read her poetry, which has been translated into several languages, on every continent except Antarctica. Her book, What the Soul Doesn’t Want, was nominated for the 2017 Governor General’s Award for Poetry. In 2018, Lorna Crozier received the George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award. Steven Price called Through the Garden: A Love Story (with Cats), her latest nonfiction book, “one of the great love stories of our time.” After That is her most recent collection of poetry. Lorna Crozier lives on Vancouver Island.
Chelsea Wakelyn
Chelsea Wakelyn is a writer and musician from Vancouver Island. She was born in Campbell River, but spent most of her life in Victoria. She has worked in Mental Health and Substance Use for twenty years, most recently leading clinical initiatives to address the toxic drug crisis on the island. Her debut novel, What Remains of Elsie Jane, explores the complicated grief of a young mother following loss of her partner to toxic drugs, and is based on her own experience of grieving in the shadow of stigma. Chelsea currently lives and writes in Snuneymuxw territory (colonially Nanaimo) where she lives with her children. She is of Irish and Scottish settler and Red River Métis descent.
Our Host for the Event
Deborah Rogers
A childhood spent reading, and an English Literature degree, set Deborah up for a career with the written word at its heart. Now a communications professional, for over ten years Deborah was also part of the Seaside Magazine team. As a writer, temporary Editor-in-Chief, and as Editorial Director, she helped shape the stories that share the special qualities of our community. As host of the popular Seaside Magazine Book Club Deborah connected with passionate and engaged readers across the Peninsula, led lively discussions and explored new writers and genres. Still a voracious reader, she remains in awe of anyone with the discipline to see the spark of an idea all the way through to publication and loves the Sidney Literary Society author events for the insights and glimpse behind-the-scenes that they give us.
Tickets available at Tanner’s Books
or online at Eventbrite.ca
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Our festival is supported by granting agencies, local businesses, other arts organizations and individual donors. A special thanks to Tanner’s Books, for their continued support and generous sponsorship. Thanks also to our dedicated team of volunteers without whom we couldn’t hold the festival.
We respectfully acknowledge that the Sidney LitFest and our other events are held on the ancestral, traditional and unceded territories of the SET,TINES – WSÁNEĆ people.