Local Poetry Reading Series
Brave Voices: A reading series in Port Moody with an open mic held at Brave Brewing, 2617 Murray Street, Port Moody.
Dead Poets Reading Series: Four readers present the work of a deceased poet from 3-5 PM on the second Sunday of every odd-numbered month (i.e. January, March, May, July, September, November).
Death Rides a Unicorn: This literary and spoken word non-profit showcases poets and spoken word performers through lively local events such as Famous Last Words, Liars of Orpheus, The 17 Syllable Slam, and other events.
Enabling Arts: a multi-disciplinary arts space in Gastown at 343 Railway Street, #104 that fosters wellness through the arts hosts readings, book launches, and open mic nights.
Off the Shelf Reading Series: Held at the Belzberg library at SFU Harbour Centre. Run by Poetry in Canada, which also hosts the annual Phyllis Webb Memorial Reading at SFU in downtown Vancouver.
On Edge Reading Series: Seeks to enrich literary and writing communities both inside and outside of Emily Carr University. Through Emily Carr Writing Centre. Open to faculty, students and crated by Mercedes Eng and Vance Wright.
Pandora’s Collective’s Poetic Pairings (pairings of diverse poets) plus Art & Poetry in the Gallery (poets respond with original work inspired by the art exhibit, with an open mic time) Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery, Jewish Community Centre (Gallery Room)
Poets Corner Reading Series: On hiatus due to funding cuts. A monthly reading series (hybrid live/online) with an open mic, plus a YouTube channel to listen to past featured readers, plus recordings by published poets reading one minute poems.
Poetic Justice: a poetry reading series that showcases emerging and established poets. Held at the Heritage Grill New Westminster every Sunday with the exception of holiday weekends. Includes featured poets and Open Mic. Admission is free but donations are welcomed.
Real Vancouver Writers Series: There are four literary events per year featuring emerging and established writers from Vancouver and across Canada.
Royal City Literary Arts Society (New Westminster) Events include poetry in the park every summer and regular readings with an open mic.
SFU Lunch Poems: Third Wednesday of every month from 12-1 pm (except the summer) featuring 2 published authors.
Surrey Muse: Each gathering features an author, a poet and an artist/performer at varying levels of artistic development, followed by an open mic session. Recordings of the online readings available.
Twisted Poets Literary Salon meets once every two months on a Wednesday night (January, March, May, July, September and November). It features three writers and six open mic spots at each event. See Pandora’s Collective above.
Unbound Literary Series: a series that highlights black writers of poetry, fiction and nonfiction, coordinated by Hope Lauterbach. @unboundreadingseries
Vancouver Poetry House: see their website to learn about the Van Slam, Mashed Poetics, the Verses Festival of Words, with resources for teachers and much more.
Wax Poetic: Every Wednesday, hosts RC Weslowski, Lucia Misch, Kevin Spenst, Zofia Rose and others interview a spoken word artist, poet laureate, poet with a new book, or a poetry slammer on Vancouver Co-op Radio, CFRO 100.5 FM at 2-2:30 pm.
Whole Cloth Reading Series, organized by Elee Kraljii Gardiner and Bronwen Tate. A poet reads an entire book of poems from start to finish. Hosted by Green College at UBC in Vancouver.
Writers Showcase at the VPL: Local published and unpublished authors showcase their works. If interested, send an email to programs@vpl.ca.
Literary Festivals
Jewish Book Festival: Holds an annual festival with readings in various genres to showcase Jewish writers or non-Jewish writers with Jewish interest subject matter.
LiterAsian: Holds an annual festival with readings in various genres in May during Asian Heritage Month.
North Shore Writers Festival annually presented in partnership with the North Vancouver City Library, North Vancouver District Public Library, and West Vancouver Memorial Library.
Vancouver Writers Fest: holds an annual festival every autumn of international and Canadian authors plus other wonderful events throughout the year.
Verses Festival of Words is an annual spoken word festival featuring a diverse range of performances, workshops, Hullabaloo for youth, and the Canadian Individual P Canadian Individual Slam Championship (CIPS).
Word Vancouver: An annual free public festival in the autumn, featuring readings, panels and workshops, with other events through the year.
See the ReadLocal site for more information about literary events and festivals in BC!
Workshops, Mentorships, Writing Consultations & Courses
BC Writers Federation: A variety of online workshops and panels throughout the year.
Event Magazine’s Reading Service for Writers: Provides 700-1000 word feedback from Event’s editors on poetry (up to 10 pages) and prose (up to 5000 words) for a fee.
Historic Joy Kogawa House: Varied workshops and readings of prose and poetry, and hosts writers-in-residence. See their website for more info.
Langara Continuing Studies: Offers non-credit courses in a variety of genres (drama, short story and more).
Learn Writing Essentials: A creative writing studio offering One-off “creative calls” to help creatives work through one specific writing practice barrier; The Forever Writers Club Community for tools and tips to learn writing practices and habits to make writing a permanent and sustainable part of daily life; and the one-on-one Thrive Coaching Program to build a healthy writing process and solid plan for a writing/creative project.
Pandora’s Collective: Offers Book Talks, Word Whip sessions (writing sessions responding to writing prompts held at Britannia Library), readings and more in Vancouver, North Vancouver and White Rock.
SFU Continuing Studies: A wide variety of non-credit courses in creative writing, including poetry and nonfiction. Free manuscript consultations via phone or video for up to 7 pages of work can be booked with The Writer’s Studio during certain times of the year. Mini-manuscript consultations for a fee for up to 15 pages of poetry with Evelyn Lau (consultations available with other authors also for up to 20 pages). There’s an affordable Liberal Arts and 55+ Program which includes writing courses. I co-teach Poetry Series for the Weekend Student with Evelyn Lau (offered in the spring and fall terms).
Spark Your Story: Nicole Breit provides a supportive online creative writing program focused on nonfiction and hybrid forms, covering form, the elements of craft, revision, getting past writer’s block, publication and more.
Surrey International Writers’ Conference: An intensive 3 day event held annually in October with master classes, lectures, blue-pencil editing sessions and much more.
The Writers Studio (SFU) program: A one-year, part-time program in nonfiction, fiction, speculative fiction/young adult fiction, and poetry and lyric prose. Group workshops, cross-genre explorations, consultations with a mentor, and more.
UBC Creative Writing: Undergraduate Program, Master of Fine Arts Program and Continuing Studies.
Upstart & Crow: Poetry workshops, poetry micro-grants, poet-in-residence program, readings, translation discussions, and climate solutions programming.
Vancouver Community College (VCC): Offers some affordable beginner creative writing classes.
Vancouver Manuscript Intensive: Offers an intensive 6-month, in-depth, one-to-one mentorship program that pairs writers with a professional author to develop a manuscript, as well as one-on-one mentorships, plus online workshops.
Vancouver Public Library’s Writer-in-Residence: From September to December every year, there is a writer-in-residence at the VPL Central Branch who offers workshops, runs writing events and holds writing consultations.
Publication Information
Guide to Canadian literary magazines and journals (Source: CBC Books, 2017)
Guide to Canadian Chapbook Publishers (Source: League of Canadian Poets, prepared by rob mclennan for National Poetry Month 2018)
Canadian Magazine Writing Contests (Source: National Magazine Awards, 2019) and Poetry Contests, Prizes &Awards across Canada (Source: League of Canadian Poets)
Publishers in Canada Book Publishers (Source: Literary Press Group Canada)
Getting Published (Source: The Writers Union of Canada)
How to put together a poetry manuscript (Source: Bob Holman & Margery Snyder)
Artists Legal Outreach (a free legal clinic for questions about copyright and more for low income artists and writers)
Other resources for Poets (Source: League of Canadian Poets)
Self-Publishing (Source: The Writers Union of Canada)