Afterwords Literary Festival returns to Halifax in November

We get all the details on the upcoming Afterwords Literary Festival, happening next month in Halifax.

The seventh annual Afterwords Literary Festival returns to Halifax in November. Readers and writers of all ages will unite to discuss their love of all things literary for nine days at venues throughout the city.

Stephanie Domet is the writer who started the festival with her friend Ryan Turner. She said Afterwords began when the Halifax International Literary Festival ended, around 2008.

“He and I got together right away to start complaining about the lack of a literary festival,” Domet said. “We did that for about a decade.”

In 2019 they turned those complaints into action.

“We pulled off our first little festival,” Domet said. “It worked and so we thought, ‘Let’s just do that again.’”

Afterwords has grown since it began. The programming has expanded to accommodate different genres and literary traditions. Chad Lucas is a Halifax-based writer who is speaking at the festival’s children’s day.

“Kids love to read books as well,” Lucas said. He also runs a writing workshop with youth during the festival that has grown into a bigger event at the Halifax Central Library.

“Hundreds of families show up,” Lucas said. “There’s a bunch of authors and it’s just kind of a literary free-for-all for kids.”

Domet said they programmed the festival because they love listening to writers talk about the process and purpose behind their work and to examine what happens after the writing is done and the book is released. She said she is excited for the selection of poets who will be reading and speaking at the festival this year, including a conversation between Sue Goyette and local poets releasing new collections. There is also a panel for local artists to talk about their graphic novels with Gabrielle Drolet, whose work is featured in The New Yorker.

“It’s a very conversation-focused festival but with lots of workshops for writers at all levels,” Domet said. For young readers she said it’s a chance to see that it’s possible to make a life from writing or to meet somebody who has at events all around the city.

“We just wanted to make this kind of festival that makes Halifax also a character in the story,” Domet said.

Lucas said Afterwords is a great opportunity to spend time with other writers and people who are excited about reading.

“Anytime you can hang out at a library full of people who love books and love writing is a great time.”

The Afterwords Literary Festival will visit venues around Halifax from Nov. 1 to 9.

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