STARFest is bringing a bevy of books and their bestselling authors to the city for its eighth edition this fall.
When the St. Albert Readers’ Festival launches on Friday, Sept. 14, it’s doing so as a bit of a homecoming. Ellen Keith graduated from Bellerose High more than a decade ago and has since gone on to become a major author. She recently released The Dutch Wife, a World War II novel with multiple main characters crossing different continents. It won the 2016 HarperCollinsPublishersLtd/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction and was at the #1 spot for Canadian fiction on the Globe and Mail bestseller list and #2 for fiction overall with international publishing rights about to make it even bigger too.
And she’s just the first act of what will end up with 14 events before the festival ends eight weeks later, with Eden Robinson who is making up for her cancellation during last year’s STARFest.
STARFest director Heather Dolman is thrilled that the lineup will bring in such a strong and diverse crowd of authors for local audiences.
“Once again I feel like we have something to suit all tastes,” she said. “Whether people like to read about personal stories and perspectives or whether they love to lose themselves in fiction, our STARFest authors fit the bill.”
Joining Keith and Robinson on the slate of stars are authors Elinor Florence, Esi Edugyan, Katherine Ashenburg, Sharon Bala, The Right Honourable David Johnston, Emma Hooper, Maureen Jennings, Patrick DeWitt, Cait Flanders, and Tom Wilson.
There are also some special features. A new partnership with Eek Fest will see gaming writer and novelist Patrick Weekes talking about his 2018 alien adventure Feeder and how to create characters for novels and video games. Just in time for Halloween, STARFest Gets Spooky will offer a panel of paranormal and speculative writers including E.C. Bell, Rhonda Parrish and Chadwick Ginther.
“I love the added dimension this year of partnering with Eek Fest which is being held in St. Albert Place for the first time, and of marking Halloween with our panel of spooky writers,” Dolman said.
To keep all of those writers talking, the festival has witty and engaging hosts including Barry Bailey, Diana Davidson, Laurel Deedrick-Mayne, Marina Endicott, Michael Hingston, Jesse Lipscombe, Janice MacDonald, Zach Polis, Matthew Stepanic, Dr. David Turpin, Richard Van Camp and SG Wong.
“This literary festival is such a great opportunity for people to gather and share their love of reading. STARFest has some traction now and our visiting authors from previous years are spreading the word among the writing community, so that when we reach out to writers they already know about St. Albert’s literary festival,” said library CEO Peter Bailey. “It really helps that our audiences are so appreciative and welcoming to our visiting authors which means they leave with very positive feelings about this city. I am looking forward to welcoming the 2018 lineup to St. Albert this fall.”
Tickets will be $7 for events at the library and $15 for events at the Arden Theatre. They will go on sale on Monday, July 9 at the main desk at the library or by calling 780-459-1530. For more information, visit www.starfest.ca.
