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Nova Scotia Literary Festivals, Book Fairs, & Reading Series

Information in this index is updated as organizers contact us. Please consult individual websites for dates, schedules, and names of featured authors.

To submit or update a listing, email contact@writers.ns.ca with all required information (including a website or social media account) and the subject line “Nova Scotia Festivals, Fairs, & Series.”

Festival or fairLocation(s)DurationSpecialtiesFrequency
AfterWords Literary FestivalHalifaxMulti-dayAnnual
(Oct/Nov)
Atlantic Book Awards FestivalHalifaxMulti-dayAnnual
(May/June)
BooktoberfestHalifaxOne-dayNova Scotian authors
(trad, hybrid, self/indie)
& presses		Annual
(Oct)
Cabot Trail Writers FestivalSt. Ann’sMulti-dayAnnual
(Sept/Oct)
Dartmouth Comic Arts FestivalDartmouthOne-dayComics & cartooningAnnual
(Aug)
Fantastic Grown-Up Book FairVariesOne-dayEast Coast authors
(trad, hybrid, self/indie)
& small presses		Biennial (month varies)
Funny PagesHalifax & Queens CountyMulti-dayChildren's booksAnnual
(Apr)
Hackmatack Festival of ReadingHalifaxMulti-dayChildren's booksAnnual
(May)
Hal-ConHalifaxMulti-dayScience fiction & fantasyAnnual
(Oct/Nov)
Lunenburg Literary FestivalLunenburgMulti-dayAnnual
(Oct/Nov)
Port Medway Readers' FestivalPort MedwayMulti-dayAnnual
(July/Aug)
Read by the SeaRiver JohnMulti-dayAnnual
(July)
Trident Conference for Speculative FictionHalifaxMulti-daySpeculative fictionAnnual
(May)
SeriesFormatSpecialtiesLocationDates & times
dARTspeak: A Writers' Open MicOpen micDartmouth
(The Dart Gallery)		first Thursday of each month (7pm - 9pm)
Latte Lit Open Mic
(info via Open Book on Instagram)		Open micHalifax
(Open Book Coffee)		first Friday of each month (6:30pm - 8:30pm)
Off the PageFour to six featured readers (selected by invitation or application)Emerging writersHalifax
(Wonder’neath Art Society)		second Thursday of each month (7pm - 8:30pm) in spring and fall
Saint Mary's (SMU) Reading SeriesOne to three feature readers (selected by invitation); reflective introductions by the organizers; and moderated Q&AFiction, nonfiction, poetry, & spoken wordHalifax
(Atrium building, room 101, Saint Mary's University)		variable dates September through March (evenings)
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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 and 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.

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 information, strategies, and skills that suit their career stage. 

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 you’re uncertain of your experience level with regard to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca