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Nova Scotia Literary Festivals

Information in this database was initially gathered in 2021. Please consult individual websites for festival dates and schedules.

To submit or update a listing, please contact communications@writers.ns.ca with all required information and the subject line “Nova Scotia Literary Festivals.” 

Festival NameLocationWebsiteAudienceTypical Dates
AfterWords Literary FestivalHalifaxafterwordsliterary
festival.com		Generallate September / early October
Cabot Trail Writers FestivalSt. Ann’scabottrail
writersfestival.com		Generallate September / early October
East Bound: Talking Atlantic BooksHalifaxatlanticpublishers.ca/
eastbound		Generalmid May
Lunenburg Lit FestivalLunenburglunenburglit
festival.ca		Generallate September
Port Medway Readers' FestivalPort Medwayportmedwayreaders
festival.com		Generalsummer
Read by the SeaRiver Johnreadbythesea.caGeneralearly July
Word On The StreetHalifaxthewordonthestreet.ca/
halifax/festival		Generalmid September
Funny PagesHalifaxfunnypages.caChildren's bookslate April
Hackmatack Festival of ReadingHalifaxhackmatack.ca/
2021-festival-of-reading		Children's bookslate May
Read by the Sea – WordPlayRiver Johnreadbythesea.ca/
wordplay		Children's booksearly July
Hal-ConHalifaxhal-con.comScience fiction & fantasylate October

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Halifax, NS B3H 4P7

902 423 8116

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Operational Investors

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia is based in Kjipuktuk, in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship,” which Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) Peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1725. The treaties do not deal with surrender of lands and resources but in fact recognize Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) title and establish the rules for an ongoing relationship between nations.

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Recommended Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) recommends that each workshop’s participants share a level or range of writing / publication experience. This is to ensure that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with information, strategies, and skills that suit their current writing priorities.

To this end, the “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the following definitions developed by WFNS:

  • New writers: those with no professional publications (yet!) or a few short professional publications (i.e., poems, stories, or essays in literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks).
  • Emerging writers: those with numerous professional publications and/or one book-length publication.
  • Established writers/authors: those with two book-length publications or the equivalent in book-length and short publications.
  • Professional authors: those with more than two book-length publications.

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

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