Event Rundown

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th

Prologue: The Strangers Come

Opening Ceremony | 6:30PM

Chapter 1) Wayne’s World 

Wayne Johnston in conversation with Rod Carley. | 7:00PM - 8:15PM

Sponsored by Peter Hulme Heggie

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6th

Chapter 2) Life is a Humour Highway

Humour panel featuring Rod Carley, Terry Fallis, Ali Hassan, & Drew Hayden Taylor. Moderated by Carolyn Bennett. | 10:00AM - 11:30AM

Sponsored by KEYS Job Centre Gananoque

Chapter 3) A Poem by Any Other Name

Poetry panel featuring Gary Barwin, Hollay Ghadery, & Stuart Ross. Moderated by Lois Lorimer. | 12:00PM - 1:15PM

Sponsored by Burnbrae Farms

Chapter 4) Barc-ling up the Write Tree

 Linwood Barclay in conversation with Terry Fallis. | 3:00PM - 4:00PM

Sponsored by Rotary Club of Brockville

Chapter 5) Who Said Life was Easy?

Contemporary Fiction panel featuring Amy Jones, Heidi Reimer, Anuja Varghese, & Heidi von Palleske. Moderated by Ronald Zajac. | 4:30PM - 5:30PM

Sponsored by Shout Sister Choir - Brockville Chapter

Chapter 6) The Last Hanging

A reading of Paul Van Dyck’s new play, The Last Hanging at Redbridge.

Featuring Rod Carley, Phina Pipia, and Paul Van Dyck. | 7:30PM - 8:30PM

Chapter 7) Does This Taste Funny?

A performance by Ali Hassan! | 9:30PM - 10:30PM

Sponsored by 1000 Islands Brewing Co.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7th

Chapter 8) The Kids are All Write

Young Adult panel featuring Barbara Radecki, Dennis Stein, & Brent van Staalduinen. Moderated by Heidi von Palleske. | 11:00AM

Sponsored by Dennis Stein

Chapter 9) ‘Cause this is Thriller

Mystery/Thriller panel featuring Brenda Chapman, John Delacourt, & Katie Tallo. Moderated by Don Butler. | 1:00PM - 2:00PM

Sponsored by Book Trader

Chapter 10) The Seaway Valley’s Queen of Crime

Mystery/Thriller event with Maggie Wheeler! | 2:30PM - 3:30PM

Sponsored by Brockville Winter Classic

Epilogue: Strangers No More. 

Closing ceremony. | 3:45PM

Add-on Events

Nightmare on the Narrows | Friday, September 5th, 9:00PM - 11:00PM

Board the "General Brock" cruise boat at Blockhouse Island by 8:45PM and set sail on a Horror Fiction Cruise along the St. Lawrence River, complete with hors d'oeuvres and scary surprises! Featuring Drew Hayden Taylor, Andrew Sullivan, Rene F Tyo, and Emily Weedon. Moderated by Rod Carley.

Sponsored by 1000 Islands Toyota

For Writers Sake | Saturday, September 6th & Sunday, September 7th

Are you looking to get published? Engage in an exciting one-on-one manuscript consultation with Randall Perry at 65 King St. E!

Randall Perry is a writer and editor. He is currently consulting editor at Latitude 46 Publishing and served as administrative judge and anthology editor for the final three years of the Carter V. Cooper Short Fiction Competition. He has moderated publishing industry panels at both Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival and Librissimi Toronto Italian Book Festival. He served as fiction advisor/editor for Exile Literary Quarterly and edited several books published by Exile Editions, Latitude 46 Publishing, and Guernica Editions.

Only six manuscripts will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. The manuscript word limit is 5,000 words. Manuscripts must be submitted by August 15th, 2025. Submission information will be provided upon ticket purchase, with consultation time to follow!

As Graphic As You Please | Medium Effort (162 King St. W) | Saturday, September 6th, 11:00AM - 1:00PM

Join graphic novelists Colton Fox and Jeff McIntyre, along with a possible surprise guest author, for an exciting 2-hour workshop where creators of all experience levels can explore visual storytelling and create their own comic zine! Whether you're a complete beginner or have some drawing experience, our published authors will guide you through character design, storytelling, and zine creation in a supportive environment. You'll hear about the authors' creative journeys, then dive into hands-on exercises tailored to your skill level. By workshop's end, you'll have an original zine to take home, expanded knowledge of visual storytelling, and personalized advice from professional creators on your next steps in comics and independent publishing.

Write 'Em Up | Brockville Arts Centre | Saturday, September 6th, 7:30PM

Todd Van Allen hosts a night of comedy, writing, and roasting at the historic Brockville Arts Centre at 235 King St. W. Comedians perform, while a team of writers write roast jokes about everything the comedian does. After the comedian is dismissed, Van Allen collects the roasts and reads them to the audience. Verbatim!