APRIL 24 | 11:30am-1:30pm

THE FIGHT FOR HISTORY: 75 Years of Forgetting, Remembering, And Remaking Canada’s Second World War.

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Lunch buffet and presentation complete with audiovisual enrichment with military historian Tim Cook, Great War historian of the Canadian War Museum.

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LOCATION: Gananoque Royal Canadian Legion, 55 King Street East, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 9:30am-11:00am

Great Expectations: How to Grab a Reader
Join Heather Smith as she shares her journey as a reluctant reader turned author and talks about beginnings, both in literature and in life. In this workshop, Heather will explore great opening lines in literature and shares tips on how to start a story with a bang! Participants are encouraged to put pen to paper and create their own great beginnings.  With sparks of inspiration flying, Heather will share tips on how to develop the storyline, create unforgettable characters, and most of all, have fun along the way.

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LOCATION: Gananoque Public Library,

100 Park Street, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 9:45am-10:45am

BAD IDEAS: What could go wrong with a plan to launch a rocket-car across the St. Lawrence River? This is a story of hard edges and humanity, told with humour and a big heart. With her characteristic wit, warmth, and humour, Marston explores the lives of people slowly drowning, those who didn’t manage to escape the confines of their tiny towns and whose dreams, perhaps small to begin with, are still bigger than their ability to realize them.

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Missy is the author of two novels, Bad Ideas and The Love Monster, which was the winner of the 2013 Ottawa Book Award, a finalist for the CBC Bookie Awards and the Scotiabank Giller Prize Readers’ Choice. She lives in Ottawa, Ontario.

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LOCATION: 230 South Street, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 9:45am-10:45am

SKINNAMARINK: Sharon has been singing her way into the hearts of families and fighting for the health of Canadian women for more than forty years.  As a member of Canada's much-loved trio of family entertainers Sharon, Lois & Bram, she’s entertained families across North America, winning multiple awards for their recordings and their critically acclaimed television series The Elephant Show and Skinnamarink TV. When Lois stepped away from performing in 2000, Sharon & Bram carried on as a duo. Following Bram’s retirement and with his encouragement, Sharon, along with her daughter Randi are continuing to share the music of Sharon, Lois and Bram with fans and friends, old and new.

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LOCATION: Bulloch House,

199 Pine Street, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 11:15am-12:15pm

FROM THE ASHES: Jesse Thistle brings us his extraordinary and inspiring debut memoir From the Ashes. Once a high school dropout and now a rising Indigenous scholar, Jesse Thistle chronicles his life on the streets, overcoming trauma and addiction to discover the truth about who he is.  Jesse is Métis-Cree, from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and an assistant professor in Métis Studies at York University in Toronto. He won a Governor General’s Academic Medal in 2016, and is a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar and a Vanier Scholar. He lives in Toronto.

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LOCATION: Firehall Theatre,

185 South Street, Gananoque 

APRIL 25 | 2:30pm-3:30pm

TBA

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LOCATION: Gananoque,

Inn 550 Stone Street South, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 2:45pm-3:45pm

Every day, the stories of our lives are being shaped by millions of small moments—the little details, the sparks in between, the tiny fragments that, when they are ready, begin to connect and to change who we are and how we see the world and our place in it. Genevieve Georget, with her raw truth, walks us through the tiny details of the year in her life that cracked her open, pierced through the curated walls that were built around her, and, in so doing, brought her to a place of surrender and a true understanding of hope. Her stories and experiences are a picture of the beautiful truth that, in your struggle, in your pain, in your triumph and joys, you are not alone.

Solace: A Journal of Human Experience is about how comfort, consolation, and community can heal broken hearts, mend deep wounds, and restore hearts toward love. It’s a book that invites you into the exquisite dance of it all.

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LOCATION: Magnolia Flowers,

66 King Street East, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 7:30pm-9:30pm

The Pritneers in the ‘Feels like Family’ Radio Hour

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Tune in to the ‘Feels like Family’ Radio Hour -- it’s a variety show, a live action radio play, and a loving tribute to some of this century’s finest country/folk personas. Playing multiple characters, and offering fresh takes on classic radio tropes, ‘The Pritneers’ never stop moving!

A combination of musical performance and sketch comedy, the show features iconic songs from the 1960s and 1970s, by Johnny Cash, Roger Miller, Patsy Cline, and many more, as well as nods to local celebrities and politics, and original music and characters. The Pritneers are Jesse MacMillan, Anna Sudac and David Archibald.

Location: Firehall Theatre,

185 South Street, Gananoque

APRIL 26 | 11:00am-12:00pm

It’s October in Montreal, 2002, and winter is coming on fast. Prepare to get your soul scrubbed down and wrung out. This novel from Quebec captures the food service and music industry worlds with vividly painted scenes from the trenches of a barely-functional kitchen during a rush. Dizzying late-night get togethers create a compelling portrait of the strength we can find from art and our allies.  The Dishwasher plunges us into a world in which everyone depends on each other—for better and for worse - gritty, loud, and compassionate.

LOCATION: Seaway Manor,

465 Stone Street South, Gananoque   

APRIL 26 | 10:45am-11:45am

Picture the Sky, Inspiring Imaginations

Educators, parents, grandparents and artists will be inspired by a conversation with Barbara Reid, award-winning Canadian author and illustrator and the Honourary Chair of Family Literacy Day since 2016.

Barbara Reid is one of Canada’s most gifted and popular illustrators, with over twenty children’s books to her credit. She is best-known for her whimsical illustrations that are created using plasticine. She has received numerous accolades and awards including the Ezra Jack Keats Award, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, The Governor General’s Award for Illustration and the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award. Barbara is a member of the Order of Canada.

LOCATION:  Sleepy Hollow B&B, 95 King Street West, Gananoque

APRIL 26 | 2:00pm-3:00pm

This event is perfect for the whole family! Come on down to the Firehall Theatre and enjoy Sharon and Randi performing your favourite songs from The Elephant Show. Sing along, dance and enjoy the timeless music of Sharon, Lois & Bram. 
For more than forty years, Sharon Hampson, a member of Canada's much-loved trio of family entertainers Sharon, Lois & Bram, has entertained families across North America. When Lois stepped away from performing in 2000, Sharon & Bram carried on as a duo. Through their touring, their gold, platinum and multi-platinum recordings, their critically acclaimed television series The Elephant Show and Skinnamarink TV, they have sung their way into the hearts and homes of young and old alike.
Following Bram’s retirement and with his encouragement, Sharon, along with her daughter Randi are are excited to be singing the songs of Sharon, Lois & Bram with a new generation of musical friends. 
A Sharon and Randi show is a sing-along concert for the entire family, featuring such well-loved favourites as “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain", “Five Little Monkeys", “One Elephant", “Tingalayo", and, of course, “Skinnamarink" as well as exciting new songs released this past year.

Come say hello to Sharon and Randi after the show for a picture, hug or have them sign your copy of their Book Skinnamarink or your favourite CD/DVD/LP.
LOCATION: Firehall Theatre,

185 South St., Gananoque

Adult: $10; Kids FREE (4 per adult)   
 

APRIL 24 | 2:30pm-4:00pm

Truth or fiction? Are your family stories fodder for fiction?  

Award-winning journalist and historical mystery author Ann Shortell will give you strategies and tips to find the truth in your family’s stories, and turn your research and relatives into narrative.

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LOCATION: Gananoque Royal Canadian Legion 55 King Street East, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 9:30am-10:30am

Join two-time Leacock Medal winner Terry Fallis when he talks about his 7th novel, Albatross, a story about destiny and what it means to forge your own path. Heartwarming and funny, sweeping and entertaining, Terry Fallis' new book takes readers on a journey of self-discovery. Terry always likes to talk about golf, and now he’s written about it too.

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LOCATION: Sleepy Hollow B&B,

95 King Street West, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 9:45am-10:45am

JOHN CARDINAL MYSTERIES: Luckily, Forty Words for Sorrow was turned down by fifteen publishers in the U.S., keeping it available for publisher Anne Collins at Random House Canada who was looking for a “high-end, literary, Canadian crime thriller” at exactly the moment Giles’ manuscript landed on her desk.

Since then, Giles has gone on to write eight more books and the screenwriting for the hit CTV show Cardinal, featuring his character John Cardinal.

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LOCATION:  Turtle Island B&B,

415 Stone Street South, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 11:15am-12:15pm

THE LOST SISTER: With fascinating history and a page-turning mystery partially inspired by the real-life experiences of a former resident of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children, The Lost Sister bravely explores the topics of child abuse, neglect, and abduction against a complex interplay of gender, race, and class dynamics.

Andrea is the author of novel, The Lost Sister (which Margaret Cannon called ‘superb’ in her Globe and Mail mystery column!) as well as The Sudden Disappearance of Seetha (Knopf Canada). She is also a contributing essayist to the collection Subdivided: City-Building in an Age of Hyper-Diversity (Coach House Books). She lives in Toronto and, beyond writing, she’s passionate about communications, public education, and accessible technology for social change. Andrea works at the Canadian Women's Foundation.

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LOCATION: 230 Stone Street,

Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 11:15am-12:15pm

CROW: Amy’s recent novel Crow is witty, energetic, and crackling with sharp Cape Breton humour, a story of big twists, big personalities, big drama, and even bigger heart.

Amy was born and raised on Cape Breton, where, at the age of 11, she landed her first writing and performing gigs with CBC Radio. She has worked as a communications consultant, editor, speech-writer, and performer. Her writing has appeared in Today's Parent, the Toronto Star, Babble, and Elephant Journal. She lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

LOCATION: Gananoque Inn,

550 Stone Street, Gananoque  

APRIL 25 | 2:00pm-4:00pm

TBA

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LOCATION:  Firehall Theatre, 

185 South Street, Gananoque 

APRIL 25 | 4:00pm-5:00pm

AN ILLUSTRATED LIFE: Visit with Barbara Reid and Heather Haynes, explore their art and look forward to a conversation about the capacity of art to open new doors and make a meaningful impact on the world, for the artist and the art lover.

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LOCATION: Heather Haynes Gallery, 27 King Street, Gananoque 

APRIL 26 | 9:30am-10:30am

JESSE THISTLE, ANDREA GUNRAJ, MICHAEL CHRISTIE

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LOCATION: Firehall Theatre,

185 South Street, Gananoque 

APRIL 26 | 11:00am-12:00pm

With Heather Smith, Amy Spurway and Missy Marston

Taking your life in your hands: how to write about where you come from without writing about where you come from. These three award-winning creative writers will take you home and introduce you to their relatives – are you up for it?

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LOCATION: Firehall Theatre,

185 South Street, Gananoque  

APRIL 26 | 2:00pm-4:00pm

TEA AND HISTORY ON THE RIVER with Ann Shortell, Missy Marston and Brian “the Captain” Johnston. On the menu: tea sandwiches and treats. Join us on the St. Lawrence River to enjoy tall tales and true tales from the 1860s to the 1970s.

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Enjoy readings and lively conversation with Ann Shortell, Missy Marston and Brian “the Captain” Johnston.

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LOCATION: 1000 Islands History Museum,

125 Water St. 

APRIL 24 | 7:30pm-9:30pm

Stories & Music with host Terry Fallis & Guests

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Join us as we kick off the 2020 Thousand Islands Writers Festival where we continue to push boundaries, creating unexpected and unforgettable conversation, music and art. You’ll meet emerging talents and fresh voices, established veterans and award-winners along with our own home-grown music heroes and storytellers at this multi-faceted festival-opening extravaganza. Come out and experience fresh live music and storytelling as only these extraordinary talents can present.

LOCATION: Firehall Theatre,

185 South Street, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 9:45am-10:45am

THE FIGHT FOR HISTORY: Tim is a multi-award-winning author and the Great War historian at the Canadian War Museum. In 2013, Cook received the Pierre Berton Award for popularizing Canadian history. Since then he’s never stopped writing and will launch his 12th book at our festival. The Fight for History is about the efforts to restore a more balanced portrait of Canada's contribution in the global conflict. This is the story of how Canada has talked about the war in the past, how we tried to bury it, and how it was restored. This is the history of a constellation of changing ideas, with many historical twists and turns, and a series of fascinating actors and events.

LOCATION: Firehall Theatre,

185 South Street, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 9:45am-10:45am

A MIND SPREAD OUT ON THE GROUND: 

Alicia Elliott’s urgent and visceral work asks essential questions about the treatment of Indigenous people in North America while drawing on intimate details of her own life and experience with intergenerational trauma. With deep consideration and searing prose, Elliott offers indispensable insight to the ongoing legacy of colonialism, extending far beyond her own understandings to provide a candid look at our past, an illuminating portrait of our present and a powerful tool for a better future

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LOCATION: Gananoque Inn,

550 Stone Street, South, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 11:15am-12:15pm

MISSING MILLIONAIRE: A century ago, a 53-year-old man named Ambrose Small initiated a long-running Toronto mystery by disappearing. One day he was at his desk, busy looking after the affairs of his many Toronto theatres, and the next he was gone. Suddenly everyone who knew him was being interviewed by the police or newspaper reporters.

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KATIE DAUBS is a reporter at the Toronto Star. She won a National Newspaper Award in 2012, with three additional nominations, and in 2016 she won a William Southam Journalism Fellowship. Born in Forest, Ontario, and a graduate of Carleton University, she lives in Toronto. The Missing Millionaire is her first book.

LOCATION: Seaway Manor, 465 Stone Street South, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 12:30pm-2:00pm

CANADIANS KILLING IT: Giles Blunt and Michael Christie in conversation with Terry Fallis

Bestselling literary mystery authors discuss why their writing is so identifiably Canadian - iconic settings, language and mood – and how that impacts their audiences.

Buffet Luncheon event, pre-registration required.

Doors open at 12:30; conversation at 1:00.

Book signings to follow.

LOCATION: Watermark Restaurant, Gananoque Inn, 550 Stone Street South, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 2:30pm-3:30pm

Location, Location, Location! with Andrea Gunraj and Katie Daubs

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Whether the setting is the contemporary urban home of millions, the glamourous world of the early 20th century Toronto entertainment district or ‘the woods’, creating a distinct and vivid setting requires research and passion. Novelist Andrea Gunraj and journalist Katie Daubs talk about their how they built the settings of their books, a key to developing a memorable narrative.

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LOCATION: Sleepy Hollow B&B,

95 King Street West, Gananoque

APRIL 25 | 4:00pm-5:00pm

THE DISHWASHER: This session will be in FRENCH

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Stéphane Larue was born in Longueuil in 1983. He received a master’s in comparative literature at Université de Montréal and has worked in the restaurant industry for the past fifteen years. He lives in Montréal. The Dishwasher is his first book.

LOCATION: Seaway Manor,

465 Stone Street South, Gananoque

APRIL 26 | 10:00am-11:30am

Contrary to popular belief, writers of humour are not just born comedians. Great authors work hard to create the specific comedic moments that give their stories both universal resonance and emotional depth. In this master class, two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour Terry Fallis offers tips on finding your inner comic voice and explains why nobody should be afraid of writing funny!

LOCATION:  Gananoque Public Library,

100 Park Street, Gananoque

APRIL 26 | 10:45am-11:45am

MICHAEL CHRISTIE brings us a magnificent novel of inheritance, sacrifice, nature and love that takes its structure from the nested growth rings of a tree. Greenwood spans generations to tell the story of a family living and dying in the shadows cast by its own secrets. With this breathtaking feat of storytelling, Michael Christie masterfully reveals the tangled knot of lies, omissions and half-truths that exists at the root of every family’s origin story. Greenwood was long-listed for the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

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LOCATION: Firehall Theatre,

185 South Street, Gananoque

APRIL 26 | 12:00pm-1:30pm

A Taste of Syria: Join us to be inspired by the words and music of Syrian writers Jamal Saeed and Rufaida al Khabbaz and musician Fahd Abou Zainedin. Enjoy delicious nibbles from Lina and Fares, poetry and a pint.

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LOCATION: Gananoque Brewing Company,

9 King Street E., Gananoque