Publicity can be a challenge for writers, especially when creating publicity materials. This hands-on workshop makes use of the library's brand new Makerspace, where participants will design and print their very own promotional bookmarks. Come with your book cover, logo, or artwork, and you'll walk away with 50 bookmarks to use as a giveaway at your next book event!

If you are an indie author who is struggling to prepare your children’s book for publishing on sites like Ingram Spark, Amazon, Smash Words, CreateSpace, etc., then this is the workshop for you! Getting illustrations right the first time is a challenge and Chrissy Hobbs, owner and lead formatter at Indie Publishing Group, will offer many tips during this workshop. She’ll cover topics such as trim size, fonts to use, eBook options for fixed and reflowable, types of Illustrations and children’s books.

The library is more than just a place for sharing great literature; it is also where you can create it! As part of the Stratford Writers Festival, librarian Stephanie Park will lead a workshop on how to use the Stratford Public Library’s new and free online tools: PressBooks and Self-E. Join us for this free and informative event!

In honour of the Stratford Chefs School's 35th anniversary, this year's Season Opener launches Farm to Table, a cookbook that pairs 25 Stratford Chefs School alumni chefs with their favourite food producers and farmers for a culinary adventure through Perth and Huron Counties. Come to the Stratford Chefs School Kitchens to meet author Andrew Coppolino and get a signed copy of the book!

Celebrate the start of a new school year and a NEW Stratford Chefs School cookbook, Farm to Table! Meet the students and faculty, learn about exciting upcoming events and dinner series, and explore Stratford Chefs School's outstanding facilities. An opportunity to meet and mingle in a casual and festive atmosphere. Complimentary canapés. Wine and beer will be available.

Publicity can be a challenge for writers, especially when creating publicity materials. This hands-on workshop makes use of the library's brand new Makerspace, where participants will design and print their very own promotional bookmarks. Come with your book cover, logo, or artwork, and you'll walk away with 50 bookmarks to use as a giveaway at your next book event!

The Stratford Writers Festival has partnered with the Rotary Club of Stratford to support emerging writers, indie authors, and literacy in an annual Short Story Contest. Now, the results are in! Join us at this FREE Stratford Writers Festival event to announce the winners and celebrate all participants. The Rotary Club of Stratford will present cash prizes to the winners, followed by photos and refreshments. Come by to celebrate with the writers and get a first look at up-and-coming Canadian literary talent!

In today's society, women are under more pressure than ever to meet certain expectations. While they take very different approaches, three books being featured at this year's Stratford Writers Festival examine the ways women see themselves and are seen by others. In Emily Anglin’s darkly humorous collection of stories, characters refashion themselves to fit a new competitive milieu. Andrea Bain's nonfiction Single Girl Problems details how modern single women continue to be perceived as problematic and attempts to change that narrative. And Sarah Selecky's debut novel Radiant Shimmering Light looks at female friendship, the face we show the world online, and letting your own light shine.

Have you ever wondered what Canada was like in years gone by? Join us as we take a trip back in time at the Stratford Writers Festival! Lynne Golding writes about Brampton, Ontario, in the early 1900s in The Innocent, while Joanna Goodman focuses on 1950s Quebec in The Home for Unwanted Girls. Both of these authors base their novels in fact, and seek to guide their readers through a familiar Canadian place, albeit in a historical setting with which many readers may not be familiar. Join them as they discuss their approaches—Lynne spent years interviewing her great aunt in order to do her story justice, while Joanna's tale is based on her mother's experiences—and styles in this uniquely Canadian historical fiction panel discussion.

In their entire careers, few authors experience the kind of recognition that Governor General Award-winning author Cherie Dimaline has garnered over the past year for her latest novel, The Marrow Thieves. In an intimate conversation with award-winning comedian and broadcaster Candy Palmater, Dimaline will discuss a variety of subjects including the present-day universal resonance of her Indigenous dystopian YA novel, the responsibilities and opportunities one faces when writing for young people, and what it’s like to suddenly have so much success—after over a decade as a published author.

Young people can change the world. Instagram poet and inspirational speaker and author Najwa Zebian has been referred to as Canada’s next Rupi Kaur. Her poems transcend the screen and page, speaking to young women all over the world with their themes of love, friendship, honesty, and identity. Accompanied by artistic visual representation, Najwa will read from her new book, The Nectar of Pain, speak about the thematic flow of her poems, and discuss how redefining the poetry scene makes it relevant to a fresh generation of new, discerning readers.