Author Margaret Atwood will be at a kick-off event this Sunday at the Isabel Bader Centre.
Kingston WritersFest is back for a 17th year, but it almost never came to be.
Back in January, the festival was under a deficit that Merilyn Simonds, one of the members of the festival committee, believed would have put the event "on the brink of extinction."
This year's festival will be run by volunteers and Simonds says they will be watching to see how it will go.
This year's Kingston WritersFest will take place Sept. 18-21 at the Marriott on King St. E.
Simonds recalls going to book festivals across Canada and wonders why there wasn't one in Kingston.
There will be 12 author on-stage events, and a writer's studio. New this year is the reader's salon and Poetry-2-Go.
Several award-winning authors will be appearing at the festival including: Maria Reva, Madeleine Thien, Canisia Lubrin, Carol Off, and local authors Sarah Yi-Mei Tsiang, Otoniya J. Okot Bitek.
Simonds says the festival is designed in a way where readers can interact with authors.
There is a special kick-off event taking place this Sunday at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts with special guest Margaret Atwood.
Simonds says having the world-renowned Canadian author and writer will be a huge boost.
For more information and to get tickets, go to the Kingston WritersFest website.
Story by Ken Hashizume
