Five must-see events at this year’s Vancouver Writers Festival

You know that book you’ve been putting off starting? You know, the memoir about your Newfie childhood or the dystopian YA novel that’s going to be a trilogy (in book form – but it will actually be four movies)? Well, here’s one more reason to put it off for another week or two – the Vancouver Writers Festival, on this year from Oct 17 – 23 on Granville Island.

Here are five events that are conceivably more fun than trying to start the book that’s going to chase James Patterson off the top of the bestsellers list.

Dystopian Dreams (Tues, Oct. 18, 8:30 p.m., Waterfront Theatre, 1412 Cartwright St.) – In case you didn’t get the memo, dystopias are hot right now, perhaps because we’re living in one (according to some politicians) or on the brink (say every other writer of young adult fiction). The Writers Fest celebrates a world gone awry in this panel discussion with four authors who should know. Anna Smaill is a New Zealand writer whose Chimes is a Booker Prize long-lister from 2015. It posits a scenario in which “chimes are played across London morning and night to mute memory and keep people trapped in ignorance.” M.G. Vassanji’s latest is Nostalgia, “about a future where eternal life is possible and identities can be chosen.” Australian author Charlotte Wood’s The Natural Way of Things isn’t necessarily set in the future, but it presents a nightmarish world where women are captured and imprisoned for – well, we don’t want to give too much away. Michael Helm’s After James – about “a neuroscientist who intends to blow the whistle on a pharmaceutical company and its creativity drug gone wrong” – doesn’t sound dystopian but what the hey.

An Intimate Evening with Emma Donoghue (Oct. 18, 6-7:15 p.m., Waterfront Theatre) – Hey! Did you know that the author of the novel Room, which became a hit movie last year starring Brie Larson, is Canadian? Well, sort of – Emma Donoghue is originally from Ireland but now lives in London, Ontario. She’s at the Writers Fest to talk about her latest book, The Wonder.

Dispatches from the Danger Zone (Wed., Oct. 19, 10-11:30 a.m., Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright St.) – One of the great things about the Writers Fest is that – if you’re a morning person, and if you don’t have a real job – it gives you the chance to check out writers while having your second cup of the day. This discussion features Sarah Glidden, a cartoonist whose graphic novel Rolling Blackouts is based on her time in Iraq. She will be talking about her experiences, as will Kevin Patterson, who served for nine years in the Canadian Army, at least part of that time in Afghanistan.

Wit Craft (Oct. 19, 6-7:15 p.m., Performance Works) – Four lady writers chat about writing funny books. One of the writers is Seattle’s Maria Semple, whose 2012 book Where’d You Go Bernadette was a hit. Her latest, Today is Going to Be Different, is receiving positive reviews too. She’s joined by Marni Jackson, Amy Jones and Lisa Moore. The CBC’s Lisa Christiansen, a witty person in her own right (check out her podcast Pop This), tries to keep things under control.

The Underground Railroad (Fri., Oct. 21, 6-7:15 p.m., Waterfront Theatre) – One of the year’s most acclaimed novels, The Underground Railroad asks, “What if the ‘underground railroad’ that helped escaped slaves was a real railroad?” Author Colson Whitehead will talk about his book.

For tickets and complete schedule, visit writersfest.bc.ca