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Vendor Application & Guide

For questions about this program, contact program lead Andy Verboom at communications@writers.ns.ca.

There is no cost or WFNS membership requirement to apply or participate as a Booktoberfest vendor.

Vendor eligibility for Booktoberfest 2026:

Applicants will be offered table space, in the order in which their applications are received, if they meet the eligibility requirements and table space remains.

  • Eligible authors are those who currently live in Nova Scotia and have published (or will publish) a book or chapbook of creative writing between October 1, 2025, and the date of Booktoberfest 2026 (October 3, 2026). The book or chapbook may be indie-/self-, hybrid-/partner-, or traditionally published.
  • Eligible publishers (i.e., presses, publishing houses, & literary magazines) are those partially or entirely based in Nova Scotia that have published (or will publish) one or more books, chapbooks, or issues of creative writing between October 1, 2026, and the date of Booktoberfest 2026 (October 11, 2026). Any authors accompanying a publisher (e.g., to sign books) should also currently live in Nova Scotia.

Because Booktoberfest’s focus is creative writing, eligibility cannot be satisfied by stationary or by reference materials, such as reference books, calendars, notebooks, or journals.

We cannot provide vendor space to authors who currently reside outside of Nova Scotia, regardless of the strength of their connection to the province. We recommend reaching out to other Nova Scotian literary festivals, most of which welcome visiting authors.

Table space:

  • Author-vendor space (limited to 48 vendors) will be 3 linear feet + one chair. Any collaborating authors will need to share the available chair or to register separately and request adjacent seating through a follow-up email.
  • Publisher-vendor space (limited to between 7 and 14 vendors) will be 4 linear feet + one chair. Publisher-vendors accompanied by one or more of their authors will be given 8 linear feet + three chairs. Any teams of press reps or authors accompanying presses will need to share the assigned table space and chair(s).

Author-vendor opportunities:

Expressions-of-interest (EoIs) for these opportunities are accepted only via the author-vendor application form. We cannot accept EoIs from applying publishers or from authors uninterested in vending, nor can we accept later EoIs by email or phone call. Please apply once and apply well!

  • Creative writing workshops: During Booktoberfest, several attending authors will lead free-to-attend creative writing workshops in another room at the venue. Applying authors may express their interest via the vendor application form. Selected author-vendors will be compensated $125 to prepare and lead a 45-minute workshop, which should focus on lecture-style presentation, light discussion, and takeaway exercises. Selections will be made by WFNS’s staff.
  • Author readings and panels: During Booktoberfest, several attending authors will participate in free-to-attend readings and author panels in another room at the venue. Applying authors may express their interest via the vendor application form. Selected author-vendors will be compensated $150 for a shared reading / panel participation or $300 for a solo reading. Selections will be made by WFNS’s staff and Programs Committee.

Vendor applications accepted starting in June, 2026

For Booktoberfest 2026, to be held Saturday, October 3, 2026 (11am – 3pm)

Applications will remain open until all vendor spaces have been filled and a short waitlist has formed

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Vendor Application Form

When the below form is successfully submitted, it will be replaced with a confirmation message.

Additional fields will appear upon selection of your vendor type.
Must include city/town, province, and postal code.

Where to be

Booktoberfest 2026 will be held at Halifax Central Library (5540 Spring Garden Rd, Halifax).

On weekends, nearby street parking is free. From Queen Street, you can find (1) open-air paid parking directly south of the library and (2) the entrance to underground paid parking within the library, parking for which will be a maximum of $12. An elevator leads from the underground lot to the library’s main floor.

The greenroom adjoining Paul O’Regan Hall will be for vendor use only. You may store food and personal items here (left at your own risk) and use its fridge and lavatories.

When to be there

Booktoberfest 2026 will be held on Saturday, October 3 (11am – 3pm), 2026.

Vendors should arrive between 30 to 60 minutes before opening to begin table set up.

Vendors will need to complete table teardown within an hour of closing.

WFNS staff and volunteers will be available to help you find, set up, and tear down your table as well as bring books and other materials from a nearby vehicle into Paul O’Regan Hall. (If planning to park farther away, please consider unloading at Halifax Central Library’s Queen Street entrance.)

Booktoberfest 2024 table map final
Click table map to expand

What’s provided

  • Promotional images:
    • See the main Booktoberfest page and the Google folder linked above for regularly updated, social media-ready images
  • Table space:
    • For author vendors, 3 linear feet and 1 chair
    • For publisher vendors, 4 linear feet and 1 chair
    • For publisher vendors accompanied by one or more authors, 8 linear feet and 3 chairs
  • Basic tabletop signage, name tag(s), and Booktoberfest programme, including details of upcoming WFNS program deadlines
  • Assistance from WFNS staff and volunteers in finding, setting up, and tearing down your assigned table space
  • Bottled water and snacks (available in the vendors-only greenroom)

What to bring

  • Copies of your title(s) published in the eligibility time frame (Oct 2025 to Oct 2026)
  • Copies of any other titles and literary items for sale or giveaway (e.g., anthologies you’ve contributed to, chapbooks, broadsides, bookmarks, press swag, other writerly and readerly goods)
    • Non-literary crafts and artworks are also welcome, but literary items should be the focus of your table
  • Tablecloth or other decorative covering that fits (or can be folded to fit) your assigned table space
  • Tabletop book displays and additional tabletop signage that fits your assigned table space
  • A smartphone or other device (if accepting payment by card or e-transfer) and a change float (if accepting payment in cash)
  • Two or more pens (for book-signing)
  • Lunch (which may be consumed at your table or in the vendors-only greenroom)

Statement of Inclusion

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia strives to offer inclusive physical and virtual spaces where all feel welcome. To this end, we require that all participants of WFNS events (1) refrain from speaking or behaving in racist, xenophobic, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, or other discriminatory ways and (2) provide reasonable advanced warning before describing violent or traumatic subject matter, which always has the potential to distress others.

If any event participant violates this statement of inclusion, WFNS staff and volunteers have the right to ask that participant to leave. WFNS’s full Code of Conduct is available from WFNS staff upon request.

Each year, the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) invites other organizers (authors, presses, etc.) to plan literary events within two days of Booktoberfest and to register their event details with us. Registered events receive priority promotion on the WFNS website, in our member newsletter, and on our social media channels—above and beyond our usual promotion of NS literary events.

To be eligible for co-promotion alongside Booktoberfest 2026, an event must be

  • literary in focus;
  • open to the public and free to attend; and
  • held anywhere in Nova Scotia on October 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, 2026.

There is no cost (nor any WFNS membership requirement) to register an event for co-promotion. Instead, we ask that you mention Booktoberfest (and writers.ns.ca/booktoberfest) while promoting your event.

WFNS cannot provide logistical or hosting support for co-promoted events, but we can provide free event space in Halifax (at the Cultural Federations of Nova Scotia, 1113 Marginal Rd) for any literary event organized by or including a current General Member of WFNS. This event space is subject to availability and should be booked early.

Co-promoted event registration opens in summer, 2026

For Booktoberfest 2026, to be held Saturday, October 3, 2026 (11am – 3pm)

Registration will remain open until September 2, 2026

Co-promoted Event Registration Form

When the below form is successfully submitted, it will be replaced with a confirmation message.

For internal use only.
Enter the venue name, street address, and city/town.
You may include a link where potential attendees can find more information about the event, speaker(s), or performer(s).
Please include a contact email if potential attendees must email to register/RSVP.
Drag & Drop Files, Choose Files to Upload
• The image must be in .jpeg, .jpg, or .png format and must not exceed 2MB.
• Resize images easily and for free at photoresizer.com
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Subscribe for Booktoberfest notifications below. You may unsubscribe from either notification list through a link at the bottom of any email.

FOR READERS: news about participating authors & publishers, workshops, readings, and other events at each year's Booktoberfest.
FOR AUTHORS & PUBLISHERS: notice when vendor applications open for each year's Booktoberfest.
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Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) uses the following terms to describe writers’ experience levels:

  • New writers: those with less than two years’ creative writing experience and/or no short-form publications (e.g., short stories, personal essays, or poems in literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks).
  • Emerging writers: those with more than two years’ creative writing experience and/or numerous short-form publications.
  • Early-career authors: those with 1 or 2 book-length publications or the equivalent in book-length and short-form publications.
  • Established authors: those with 3 or 4 book-length publications.
  • Professional authors: those with 5 or more book-length publications.

Please keep in mind that each form of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for children, writing for young adults, and others) provides you with a unique set of experiences and skills, so you might consider yourself an ‘established author’ in one form but a ‘new writer’ in another.

Occasionally, WFNS uses the phrase “emerging and established writers/authors” to mean ‘writers and authors of all experience levels.’

The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the above definitions. A workshop’s participants should usually have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with info, strategies, and skills that suit their experience. 

For “intensive” and “masterclass” workshops, which provide more opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback, the recommended experience level should be followed closely.

For all other workshops, the recommended experience level is just that—a recommendation—and we encourage potential participants to follow their own judgment when registering.

If uncertain about your experience level with respect to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca