Entry into all events and masterclasses apart of the festival.

Offered at a discounted rate for students/fixed income.

Entry into all events and masterclasses apart of the festival.

For students/fixed income only.

Entry to all events apart of the festival NOT including masterclasses.

Offered at a discounted rate for students/fixed income.

Tips on how to feel comfortable reading in public:

Get ready to take the stage. Award-winning spoken word performer, playwright and musician Charlie Petch is the founder of Hot Damn It’s a Queer Slam and a longtime mentor and workshop facilitator. Timed just before our Annual Wordstock Sudbury Poetry Slam, this hands-on masterclass will help competitors and curious writers prepare their work for an audience, manage nerves, develop stage presence and deliver a stronger reading. Bring a short piece to practice. All experience levels are welcome.

Tips on how to feel comfortable reading in public:

Get ready to take the stage. Award-winning spoken word performer, playwright and musician Charlie Petch is the founder of Hot Damn It’s a Queer Slam and a longtime mentor and workshop facilitator. Timed just before our Annual Wordstock Sudbury Poetry Slam, this hands-on masterclass will help competitors and curious writers prepare their work for an audience, manage nerves, develop stage presence and deliver a stronger reading. Bring a short piece to practice. All experience levels are welcome.

To build a compelling narrative, the star of your story needs depth, complexity, and a reason for being. In this masterclass, Lauren Carter will share a few unique techniques to help you discover your character’s layers and bring them more fully to life on the page. Come prepared with a pen, a notebook, and for your protagonist to surprise you!

To build a compelling narrative, the star of your story needs depth, complexity, and a reason for being. In this masterclass, Lauren Carter will share a few unique techniques to help you discover your character’s layers and bring them more fully to life on the page. Come prepared with a pen, a notebook, and for your protagonist to surprise you!

Where does a play begin? Sudbury playwright, novelist and creative writing instructor Matthew Heiti introduces the essential building blocks of playwriting, including character, conflict, dialogue and structure. Through short writing exercises, participants will generate ideas, develop distinct voices and begin writing a scene of their own. Perfect for beginners and writers curious about exploring a new form. No previous playwriting experience is required.

Where does a play begin? Sudbury playwright, novelist and creative writing instructor Matthew Heiti introduces the essential building blocks of playwriting, including character, conflict, dialogue and structure. Through short writing exercises, participants will generate ideas, develop distinct voices and begin writing a scene of their own. Perfect for beginners and writers curious about exploring a new form. No previous playwriting experience is required.

Maggie Helwig is a writer, activist and Anglican priest whose books include the award-winning Encampment and the newly released Instructions for the End of the World.

How do we care for one another when the systems meant to support us fall short? Maggie Helwig joins CBC Sudbury journalist Jessica Pope for a conversation about housing, resistance, faith and community. Together, they’ll explore the role of storytelling in listening to lived experience, making inequities visible and asking what solidarity can look like in practice.

Maggie Helwig is a writer, activist and Anglican priest whose books include the award-winning Encampment and the newly released Instructions for the End of the World.

How do we care for one another when the systems meant to support us fall short? Maggie Helwig joins CBC Sudbury journalist Jessica Pope for a conversation about housing, resistance, faith and community.Together, they’ll explore the role of storytelling in listening to lived experience, making inequities visible and asking what solidarity can look like in practice.

PWYC

Wordstock Sudbury’s highly anticipated Annual Poetry Slam returns for an incredible night of spoken word and friendly competition. Hosted by local spoken word artist Lindsay Mayhew,  with a feature from award-winning slam poet Charlie Petch!

Poets perform original work in timed rounds, with no props, costumes or musical accompaniment, with the chance to win a cash prize.

PWYC

Wordstock Sudbury’s highly anticipated Annual Poetry Slam returns for an incredible night of spoken word and friendly competition. Hosted by local spoken word artist Lindsay Mayhew,  with a feature from award-winning slam poet Charlie Petch!

Poets perform original work in timed rounds, with no props, costumes or musical accompaniment, with the chance to win a cash prize.

Take a mid-morning break with coffee, pastries and a little romantic tension. Authors Uzma Jalaluddin and Jessica Cunsolo talk about meet-cutes, messy characters, and favourite tropes with House of Fae's Victoria Brock! Romance lovers and romance-curious readers are all welcome here. 

Take a mid-morning break with coffee, pastries and a little romantic tension. Authors Uzma Jalaluddin and Jessica Cunsolo talk about meet-cutes, messy characters, and favourite tropes with House of Fae's Victoria Brock! Romance lovers and romance-curious readers are all welcome here. 

Whether you’re looking to add more books to the pile on your nightstand or connect with storytellers rooted in the local soil, this is the session where you’ll hear Northern voices come alive. Meet the talented writers who call this region home—emerging and established voices who reflect the spirit of the North.  Featured authors: Adam Mardero, Mat Del Papa,Tamsin Sheridan, Blaine Thorton, Holly Gutwillinger. Moderated by Scott Overton

Whether you’re looking to add more books to the pile on your nightstand or connect with storytellers rooted in the local soil, this is the session where you’ll hear Northern voices come alive. Meet the talented writers who call this region home—emerging and established voices who reflect the spirit of the North.  Featured authors: Adam Mardero, Mat Del Papa,Tamsin Sheridan, Blaine Thorton, Holly Gutwillinger. Moderated by Scott Overton

From Northern Ontario back roads and the shores of Lake Huron to a close-knit Toronto neighbourhood, these stories find danger in familiar places. Authors John Degen, Elizabeth Urso , Uzma Jalaluddin and Matthew Heiti join Liisa Kovala to discuss writing small-town crimes, amateur sleuths, haunted histories and family secrets in their latest mystery and suspense novels.

From Northern Ontario back roads and the shores of Lake Huron to a close-knit Toronto neighbourhood, these stories find danger in familiar places. Authors John Degen, Elizabeth Urso , Uzma Jalaluddin and Matthew Heiti join Liisa Kovala to discuss writing small-town crimes, amateur sleuths, haunted histories and family secrets in their latest mystery and suspense novels.

What can stories offer us in uncertain times? Maggie Helwig, Lauren Carter, and Kim Echlin join moderator Kim Fahner for a conversation about writing through change and finding possibility in the world around us. Across their work, they explore climate crisis, grief, community, and our relationships with one another.