With the approach of the quiet season and the threat of frost in the air, it’s time to stock up your pile of “to-be-read” books for the winter — and what better to fill it with than books by local authors telling stories about the region?
On Saturday, October 26th, the Kawartha Lakes Writers are hosting the third annual Kawartha Lakes Book Festival in partnership with the public library, offering writers and readers the opportunity to connect with and learn from published writers in the region. Taking place at both the Bobcaygeon and Lindsay branches, the festival will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with book sales, author readings and Q&As, and a workshop for writers.
“It’s always great to see the readers interacting with writers and going from table to table checking out books,” says organizer Sara Walker-Howe. “That’s always been one of my favourite hobbies, so being able to give that experience to people is always fun to do.”
A Lindsay-based nonfiction and urban fantasy writer, Walker-Howe is the founder of Kawartha Lakes Writers, a detailed online directory created in 2013 to celebrate and promote local writers and their publications.
“I thought this was something that I not only wanted to know for myself, but thought that other people might want to know,” she says. “I started the Kawartha Lakes Writers website as a way of keeping track of the writers that were out there, and helping to promote and get their name known, but also to record it for the community.”
While getting to know other writers in the region, Walker-Howe found there was a consensus that the area didn’t have enough local events wherein they could sell and talk to people about their books.
“I was getting tired of always travelling to outside areas to find these opportunities so I contacted the library about starting something up, and here we are in our third year.”
Largely from the Kawartha Lakes with a few from elsewhere in Ontario, the writers in attendance will range from kid-lit authors to writers of both non-fiction and fiction. While all will be selling books, many of the authors will additionally be offering presentations and readings of their work.
Walker-Howe herself will be at the Lindsay public library on October 26 selling copies of her non-fiction book Historic Citizens of Kawartha Lakes, which won the 2023 Kawartha Lakes Osprey Heritage Award for Publication and Research.
The book profiles 20 “fascinating” individuals who originated from the municipality, including the first female doctor to establish a practice in Lindsay, a woman from Verulam Township who became a spy and ran a trading post in Siberia during the Russian Revolution, and a Bobcaygeon man who swindled millions of dollars from people around the world in the 1920s.
“These are all people throughout history that I hadn’t heard of but when I came across their names and their stories, I felt that other people might want to hear about them, too,” says Walker-Howe.
Similarly celebrating the region’s history, Reflections on Old Victoria County: In Tribute to R.B. Fleming, co-edited by Ian McKechnie and Tom Mohr, is a compilation of tales and anecdotes about the region in honour of the late local historian and writer.
The duo will be doing a presentation about their book at 11:15 a.m. on October 26 at the Bobcaygeon public library.
Other authors coming from outside Kawartha Lakes include Rhonda Gossen, a former Canadian diplomat and Canadian International Development Agency manager. Her recent release, The Twelfth of February: Canadian Aid for Gender Equality during the Rise of Violent Extremism in Pakistan, covers the world of Canadian diplomacy and aid work for women’s rights based on her experiences in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Gossen will be doing a presentation at the Bobcaygeon public library at noon.
Others presenting in Bobcaygeon include Colleen Subasic, J. Stephen Thompson, and Matt Kydd, while Cathy Walker will be in attendance selling her books.
Authors at the Lindsay branch will include Emma Couette, Sandy O’Shea, Chro Zand, Erica Richmond, Susan Wadds, and Gwen Tuinman, while Altaire Gural, S. A. McCormick, R. S. Prinzo, Lori Jean Rowsell, and Val Tobin will be selling their books.
“I very much believe that as writers, we’re not in competition with each other,” Walker-Howe says. “It’s definitely a rising-tide-lifts-all-boats situation, because at these sorts of events you can find readers that like the same kind of books.”
“It takes a long time to write books, so having other writers that readers can turn to while waiting for someone else to publish something is good too. I think networking with other writers is always a good thing.”
For emerging or established writers looking to develop their craft, the festival is hosting a free “Write the Senses” workshop at 10:30 a.m. on October 26 in Bobcaygeon.
Led by the award-winning Colleen Subasic, who has had nine plays produced across Canada, the workshop will teach writers acting sense-memory techniques to help them write more engaging prose, regardless of the genre.
“She is tapping into her acting training to help inspire writers,” says Walker-Howe, adding that it’s a useful workshop for writers of all experience and skill-levels. “When I take a workshop, I go into it sometimes feeling like I might not need this, but I always come out having learned something or been reminded of something. Just getting a unique perspective on something is always good.”
As the event heads into its third year, Walker-Howe notes that is has only continued to grow each year and build up a community of local writers, just as she intended with the founding of the Kawartha Lakes Writers.
“We’ve been lucky to branch out from being at one location to now being at two,” she acknowledges. “I always like hearing what people like to read, so it’s always a lot of fun.”
For more information on the Kawartha Lakes Book Festival and to sign up for Subasic’s workshop, visit kawarthalakeswriters.com.
