Ottawa International Writers Festival

02/26/2026

When we announced our second event of 2026 in our newsletter, tickets sold out fast.

This morning, we added an additional hundred seats, and they are already half sold.

Michael Ondaatje's new book, The Distance of a Shout, is an autobiography in poems. A one-of-a-kind collection gathering fifty years of poetry by one of our most cherished authors.

Don't miss Michael Ondaatje in conversation with Elizabeth Hay 7pm on March 3rd at Knox Presbyterian (120 Lisgar Street.

This is your last chance to get tickets!

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01/14/2026

Our sincerest thanks to and for such a beautiful and powerful kickoff to our 52nd Festival Season.

Special thanks to the brilliant artist .buwalda for capturing the evening’s power, energy, and enthusiasm. Check out more of her work on her Instagram page.

11/21/2025

Don’t miss Terry O’Reilly at 7:00 pm on Thursday, 27th at Knox Presbyterian.

He's the bestselling author and host of CBC Radio’s Under the Influence as he returns to the Festival stage with his latest, Against the Grain: Defiant Giants Who Changed the World.

In Terry’s bestseller, My Best Mistake, he uncovers the surprising power of screwing up. Now, he turns his incredible eye to the mavericks who go “against the grain” in their work to see what makes them tick and to explore what lessons we can learn from them.

7:00pm, Thursday Nov 27 at Knox Presbyterian in Ottawa — "Packed with valuable advice, personal anecdotes, and humour, O’Reilly tells readers why creativity is their greatest asset and that analyzing their strategy can transform their business." - Dolce

11/17/2025

Join us on November 25th at 7:00 p.m for a special evening with Alan Doyle that's not to be missed.

https://writersfestival.org/events/fall-2025/the-smiling-land

CBC Radio’s Alan Neal hosts an evening celebrating Newfoundland’s storied past and its ever-vibrant present with musician, actor and writer Alan Doyle.

In his new book, The Smiling Land: All Around the Circle in My Newfoundland and Labrador, Alan reprises his tour-guiding role to welcome the rest of Canada to his home and take readers on an adventure: a freewheeling road trip through Newfoundland, its history, and its culture.

7:00pm, Tuesday Nov 25 at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa — "Doyle's effortless storytelling will have you on his side from the first page. He writes like he sings: with a sincerity and a love of life that is infectious." - Mark Critch

11/17/2025

Last week, we had the honour of hosting .doucet and her fabulous new book, The Finest Hotel in Kabul. Thanks to Robyn Bresnahan for some excellent hosting! It was a powerful evening, somehow both crucially serious and lighthearted.

11/12/2025

Last night’s Poetry Cabaret was an incomperable showcase of some of the greatest poetic talents in the country. We’d like to express our profound gratitude and appreciation Canisia Lubrin, Billy Ray Belcourt, and katherena vermette for making the journey through snow and sleet. Thank you to Ottawa’s English Poet Laureatte David O’Meara for guiding us through poetry and poetics!

11/09/2025

On Wednesday, November 19th, at Library and Archives Canada, join TSN’s Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead, for a hard-hitting and powerful look at hockey's moment of reckoning in Canada and the ways in which a game that is so universally loved has been rocked in recent years by court cases involving sexual assault and startling incidents of hazing and abuse throughout junior hockey.

Stefan O. Keyes will host this important conversation about the state of Hockey in Canada. In his book, Rick Westhead offers hope for hockey's future, profiling those individuals and organizations who are committed to educating players around issues of consent, putting an end to hazing and redefining what it means to be a man on and off the ice.

7:00pm, Wednesday Nov 19 at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa — "On May 26, 2022, TSN investigative reporter Rick Westhead broke the story surrounding the Team Canada junior players and Hockey Canada's handling of the case, immediately sending shock waves throughout all levels of the hockey wo...

11/09/2025

Lyse Doucet and The Finest Hotel in Kabul.
November 12th 7:00pm Knox Presbyterian -120 Lisgar Street

The story of a hotel. The story of a nation. CBC’s Robyn Bresnehan hosts the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet, on her new book.

https://writersfestival.org/events/fall-2025/the-finest-hotel-in-kabul-a-peoples-history-of-afghanistan

Canada's largest independent literary celebration, featuring spring and fall festivals, plus year-round events. From politics to poetry, science to music, history to thrillers, we celebrate the full diversity of the word and the gifted writers who guide us in our exploration of the world.

11/07/2025

On November 12th at 7:00 p.m at Knox Presbyterian, Robyn Bresnehan hosts the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet, on her new book, The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People's History of Afghanistan.

https://writersfestival.org/events/fall-2025/the-finest-hotel-in-kabul-a-peoples-history-of-afghanistan

When the Inter-Continental Kabul opened in 1969, Afghanistan’s first luxury hotel symbolised a dream of a modernising country connected to the world. More than fifty years on, the Inter-Continental is still standing. It has endured Soviet occupation, multiple coups, a grievous civil war, a US invasion and the rise, fall and rise of the Taliban. History lives within its scarred windows and walls. The story of a hotel. The story of a nation.

7:00pm, Wednesday Nov 12 at Knox Presbyterian in Ottawa — "The Finest Hotel in Kabul plays to all Lyse Doucet’s strengths. Clarity, empathy, depth of knowledge and innate grasp of fine detail. Her subject is not just a hotel, but a hotel that tells the story of four decades of Afghanistan's prou...

11/05/2025

We are delighted to present our Poetry Cabaret on November 10th 7:00 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist • 154 Somerset Street West.

Featuring Billy Ray Belcourt, Canisia Lubrin and katherena vermette with your host, Ottawa English Poet Laureate David O'Meara.

We can't wait to welcome you there!

7:00pm, Monday Nov 10 at St. John the Evangelist in Ottawa — "How incandescent the language is, each line emitting light through the membrane of time and anticipated grief. The work has a rigorousness, the poet pushing through the ache of experience from the first to the last word." - Dionne Brand...

10/30/2025

We were honoured to have Chris Hadfield join us to discuss his new novel, Final Orbit! We appreciated the walkabout and chat. Thanks to Alan Neil for the great hosting.