{"data":{"id":"161470d8-b69d-4921-8f17-1e81c967a020","originKind":"SYNDICATED","title":"Will Ferguson hits Edmonton as LitFest and STARFest puts words in spotlight","summary":"For 30 years, Will Ferguson has travelled the world, sending back dispatches from destinations near and far while documenting his for magazines and newspapers, from ELLE Canada to Alberta Views and the CBC.\n\nFerguson will be in Edmonton next week to talk about his travels and his new book collecting some of his most popular pieces, as well as the career he made while publishing that work, at LitFest. From discussions with authors talking about their new books to book launches and themed panels with authors, it’s one of the biggest nonfiction literary festivals in the country, launching Oct. 14 and running for five days at various downtown spots.\n\nFerguson will be talking new collection, Meanwhile, Back in Nokomis: Tales from Canada and Elsewhere, a collection of his travel writing, his musings on Canadian identity and his dispatches from both within Canada and abroad. It’s a dying art, according to Ferguson, the work he does as a travel writer, writing travel memoirs of a place that he’s visit\n\n“You know, it used to be a very viable career as a writer. You know, you could make a good living just travelling to places, writing about it. Uh, writing books and memoirs and that. From a writer’s point of view it’s kind of collapsed,” says Ferguson.\n\nThat’s in contrast to the amount of travel writing and content that is being created on the internet, through social media and sites like YouTube. The travel content is out there but it’s changed, with fewer deep-dives from authors such as Paul Theroux or Eric Newby. It’s that impression of a place, that feeling a writer gets when visiting a place, that Ferguson wants to capture.\n\n“If you and I both went to Rosebud, Alberta, on the same day, went to the same place, we would write totally different essays about it. And that’s what I like about travel memoir is it’s a place seen through someone’s point of view,” says Ferguson.\n\nFerguson will be talking about his new book with local author Natasha Deen, one of more almost 30 events planned for the five-day LitFest. The opening features Trina Moyles talking about her book, Black Bear, a personal story of loss and her experience in the province’s boreal forest. The multitalented author, artist and musician Vivek Shraya will join Kai Cheng Thom to talk about their new books, The Hystericals and The Shapeshifter’s Guide to Gym Class.\n\nThere’s also a considerable number of poets at the nonfiction festival. Alice Major, the city’s first poet laureate, will bring her big new book, Triangularity, about how big ideas and how things fit together. There’s also a double book launch for Nisha Patel and Kathryn Lennon. Lennon’s collection, Duckweed, examines her roots and wayfinding, while Patel’s book For the Record is a book-length poem, one word for each Albertan who died from COVID-19, more than 7,000 as of January. They all fit nicely with the themes Ellen Kartz, LitFest Executive Director, was looking to pull together.\n\n“I noticed that there was a lot of work that was being done around the idea of identity and what it is that, that, the ways that we create our own individual identities, whether it’s me as a writer, as a festival director, as an Edmontonian, Albertan, Canadian,” says Kartz. “When you look at, like, Nisha’s book, it’s so interesting because it’s reflective of what it was like in Alberta through COVID.”\n\nKartz has been in her role for two years now, at the head country’s biggest non-fiction festival as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. With so many books published every year, her job can be one of saying no, of turning down authors as she tries to manage a five-day festival.\n\nBut there’s also that opportunity to be a creator, to bring people together and make something. She’s learned things in the past few years at the head of the festival, about the community, about writers in this city, about local gems.\n\n“LitFest can become a bit of connective tissue for different organizations around this city; it’s quite an honour, you know, and it feels pretty great to be able to do that because I love that, I love bringing organizations of people together,” says Kartz.\n\nSTARFest focuses on readers Across town, another literary festival kicks off in mid October, though with a slightly different focus. The St. Albert Readers Festival, known as STARFest, draws inspiration from its audience, with a focus on readers rather than authors. Julie Ruel, STARFest Director and Programs Librarian with the St. Albert Library, is looking to her audience to guide her in bringing in authors to talk about their books.\n\n“Sometimes, uh, I’m lucky to have authors fall in my lap where they happen to be coming through, and the stars align and that works out,” says Ruel. “Other times, I reach out to authors of books that I really love personally and sometimes it’s authors, I reach out to you that I, I keep hearing from the community that they love, their books are really popular at the library and they’re interested in having come in. So, I try and have a wide variety of people and authors and experiences at each festival.”\n\nThat variety this year translates to seven authors making their way to St. Albert in the second half of October. Tara Gereaux is talking about her book Wild People Quiet about a Metis woman living in mid-century Saskatchewan. Edmonton-born Jane Park will get to talk about her new book, Inheritance, inspired by her experience growing up on the prairies.\n\nThe festival is rounded out by Loghan Paylor, Maria Reva, Patrick Dewitt, Angelique Lalonde and Zak Jones. Each author will be joined on stage by a local author or writer, from Conor Kerr to Danielle Paradis and David Berry.\n\n“Sometimes, it’s just based on vibes, like, who, who I think will have a good connection or if I can find commonalities in their work, like Zach Jones and Connor Kerr. I saw a lot of commonalities in their work, so I thought they would be a good pairing,” says Ruel. “Availability also plays a factor for sure. Paula Simmons is one of the audience’s favourite interviewers, so I always try and bring her back, but with her senator schedule,it really depends a bit on where she can work out.”\n\nRelated NorthwestFEARfest celebrates five horror-dripping years with joyful-disgusting lineup\n\nConcert news: Simple Plan Jan. 29 and Staind April 1 at Rogers Place\n\nLitFest When: Oct. 14 to 18\n\nWhere: Various locations, mostly at the Stanley A. Milner Library, 7 Sir Winston Churchill Sq., and The Citadel Theatre, 9828 101A Ave.\n\nTickets: Check litfestalberta.org for ticket prices.\n\nSTARFest When: Oct. 16 to 29\n\nWhere: Forsyth Hall, St. Albert Public Library, 5 St. Anne St., St. Albert\n\nTickets: $10, available at starfest.ca","url":"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/edmonton-litfest-starfest-will-ferguson","imageUrl":"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/dsc_4054_289335090.jpg","publishedAt":"2026-10-09T11:00:03.000Z","sourceLabel":"Edmonton Journal Music","tags":["Books","Entertainment","Local Arts"],"authorName":"Justin Bell","contentHtml":"\"Will

For 30 years, Will Ferguson has travelled the world, sending back dispatches from destinations near and far while documenting his for magazines and newspapers, from ELLE Canada to Alberta Views and the CBC.

Ferguson will be in Edmonton next week to talk about his travels and his new book collecting some of his most popular pieces, as well as the career he made while publishing that work, at LitFest . From discussions with authors talking about their new books to book launches and themed panels with authors, it’s one of the biggest nonfiction literary festivals in the country, launching Oct. 14 and running for five days at various downtown spots.

Ferguson will be talking new collection, Meanwhile, Back in Nokomis: Tales from Canada and Elsewhere, a collection of his travel writing, his musings on Canadian identity and his dispatches from both within Canada and abroad. It’s a dying art, according to Ferguson, the work he does as a travel writer, writing travel memoirs of a place that he’s visit

“You know, it used to be a very viable career as a writer. You know, you could make a good living just travelling to places, writing about it. Uh, writing books and memoirs and that. From a writer’s point of view it’s kind of collapsed,” says Ferguson.

That’s in contrast to the amount of travel writing and content that is being created on the internet, through social media and sites like YouTube. The travel content is out there but it’s changed, with fewer deep-dives from authors such as Paul Theroux or Eric Newby. It’s that impression of a place, that feeling a writer gets when visiting a place, that Ferguson wants to capture.

“If you and I both went to Rosebud, Alberta, on the same day, went to the same place, we would write totally different essays about it. And that’s what I like about travel memoir is it’s a place seen through someone’s point of view,” says Ferguson.

\"

Ferguson will be talking about his new book with local author Natasha Deen, one of more almost 30 events planned for the five-day LitFest. The opening features Trina Moyles talking about her book, Black Bear, a personal story of loss and her experience in the province’s boreal forest. The multitalented author, artist and musician Vivek Shraya will join Kai Cheng Thom to talk about their new books, The Hystericals and The Shapeshifter’s Guide to Gym Class.

There’s also a considerable number of poets at the nonfiction festival. Alice Major, the city’s first poet laureate, will bring her big new book, Triangularity, about how big ideas and how things fit together. There’s also a double book launch for Nisha Patel and Kathryn Lennon. Lennon’s collection, Duckweed, examines her roots and wayfinding, while Patel’s book For the Record is a book-length poem, one word for each Albertan who died from COVID-19, more than 7,000 as of January. They all fit nicely with the themes Ellen Kartz, LitFest Executive Director, was looking to pull together.

“I noticed that there was a lot of work that was being done around the idea of identity and what it is that, that, the ways that we create our own individual identities, whether it’s me as a writer, as a festival director, as an Edmontonian, Albertan, Canadian,” says Kartz. “When you look at, like, Nisha’s book, it’s so interesting because it’s reflective of what it was like in Alberta through COVID.”

Kartz has been in her role for two years now, at the head country’s biggest non-fiction festival as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. With so many books published every year, her job can be one of saying no, of turning down authors as she tries to manage a five-day festival.

But there’s also that opportunity to be a creator, to bring people together and make something. She’s learned things in the past few years at the head of the festival, about the community, about writers in this city, about local gems.

“LitFest can become a bit of connective tissue for different organizations around this city; it’s quite an honour, you know, and it feels pretty great to be able to do that because I love that, I love bringing organizations of people together,” says Kartz.

STARFest focuses on readers

Across town, another literary festival kicks off in mid October, though with a slightly different focus. The St. Albert Readers Festival, known as STARFest , draws inspiration from its audience, with a focus on readers rather than authors. Julie Ruel, STARFest Director and Programs Librarian with the St. Albert Library, is looking to her audience to guide her in bringing in authors to talk about their books.

“Sometimes, uh, I’m lucky to have authors fall in my lap where they happen to be coming through, and the stars align and that works out,” says Ruel. “Other times, I reach out to authors of books that I really love personally and sometimes it’s authors, I reach out to you that I, I keep hearing from the community that they love, their books are really popular at the library and they’re interested in having come in. So, I try and have a wide variety of people and authors and experiences at each festival.”

\"

That variety this year translates to seven authors making their way to St. Albert in the second half of October. Tara Gereaux is talking about her book Wild People Quiet about a Metis woman living in mid-century Saskatchewan. Edmonton-born Jane Park will get to talk about her new book, Inheritance, inspired by her experience growing up on the prairies.

The festival is rounded out by Loghan Paylor, Maria Reva, Patrick Dewitt, Angelique Lalonde and Zak Jones. Each author will be joined on stage by a local author or writer, from Conor Kerr to Danielle Paradis and David Berry.

“Sometimes, it’s just based on vibes, like, who, who I think will have a good connection or if I can find commonalities in their work, like Zach Jones and Connor Kerr. I saw a lot of commonalities in their work, so I thought they would be a good pairing,” says Ruel. “Availability also plays a factor for sure. Paula Simmons is one of the audience’s favourite interviewers, so I always try and bring her back, but with her senator schedule,it really depends a bit on where she can work out.”

Related

LitFest

When: Oct. 14 to 18

Where: Various locations, mostly at the Stanley A. Milner Library, 7 Sir Winston Churchill Sq., and The Citadel Theatre, 9828 101A Ave.

Tickets: Check litfestalberta.org for ticket prices.

STARFest

When: Oct. 16 to 29

Where: Forsyth Hall, St. Albert Public Library, 5 St. Anne St., St. Albert

Tickets: $10, available at starfest.ca

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