The Ottawa International Writers Festival has announced its spring 2026 lineup, and it's the kind of program that makes you proud to live in a city that takes literature seriously.
The Program
Running April 23–27 at multiple venues (primarily Library and Archives Canada, Arts Court, and the new central library), the spring festival features 40 events with 60 authors from Canada and internationally. Ticket prices are kept deliberately accessible, most events are $15–$20, and several programs are free.
The headliners include a two-time Giller Prize winner making a rare Ottawa appearance, a Governor General's Award-winning poet, and two international novelists whose recent translations have become word-of-mouth sensations in literary circles.
Ottawa and Canadian Voices
The festival has always prioritized Canadian and Ottawa voices alongside international guests, and this year is no exception. A full evening is dedicated to Ottawa-area writers across genres, featuring both established and emerging voices. An afternoon panel looks at how Ottawa's identity, government town, bilingual city, military capital, multicultural gateway, shapes the literature produced here.
Programming for Young Readers
The festival's school programming reaches 3,000–4,000 Ottawa students annually through author visits and classroom workshops. For families, there are free weekend events at the new central library aimed at readers aged 8–14.
Where and How
Most paid events are at Library and Archives Canada (395 Wellington Street) and Arts Court (2 Daly Avenue). The full program is at writersfestival.org, where tickets are available now. A festival pass covering up to 10 events at a discount is a good option for avid readers.
Ottawa's literary life is quiet but deep, the Writers Festival is the best week of the year to see it in full.
Source: Ottawa Life Magazine / RSS
