St. Alberts STARFest to welcome major authors

  • 2023-10-11
The St. Albert Readers Festival returns this month, bringing some of Canada’s biggest authors to speak on their works and the act of writing.

Headlining the festival is best-selling author Waubgeshig Rice, who will be promoting and reading from his new novel Moon of the Turning Leaves. Other authors appearing include Sharon Butala, Emi Sasagawa, and Bianca Marais. The festival will also include a one-woman show by Melanie Gall, which is a special tribute to Winnipeg-born 1930s Hollywood star Deanna Durbin, as well as the legendary Judy Garland. Each author will be paired with a local author or personality to create a lively conversation.

STARFest launched in 2011 and has since become an award-winning annual festival, with past guests including Esi Edugyan, Lawrence Hill, and Mary Walsh. Literary festivals such as this often use tools such as brochure printing and panel discussions to connect attendees the local communities of writers.

STARFest also holds “STARFest events” with authors throughout the year. This year will also include the STARFest Conversations series, free talks at the Downtown Library in St. Albert that are designed to create intimate conversations.

The 2023 St. Albert Dance Festival runs on select nights throughout October, with Waubgeshig Rice’s talk closing out the festival on November 1. Most events will take place at the St. Albert Public Library.