The 2019 Eden Mills Writers’ Festival will begin this weekend, and the University of Guelph’s College of Arts will host the opening night.

Featuring bestselling Canadian authors Guy Gavriel Kay and Marina Endicott, the opening event will take place Friday, Sept. 6, at the U of G Arboretum. Kay and Endicott will discuss their craft and the role of the past in their respective novels.

Writer Garry Thomas Morse will also read from his most recent collection of “high octane poems,” Safety Sand. He will be accompanied by Juno award-winning cellist Matt Brubeck, who will give an improvised performance. The event is supported by U fo G’s International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation.

The event will include a Q&A session and a book signing.

On Sunday, six University of Guelph/Humber Creative Writing MFA students will offer readings, including student Christine Ottoni, who will read from her debut short story collection, Cracker Jacks for Misfits, set to be published this fall.

The Eden Mills Writers’ Festival began in 1989 to showcase the best of established and emerging Canadian writing.

The annual, three-day festival aims to nurture the next generation of writers through workshops, literary and poetry writing contests, and readings for yet-to-be published writers and poets.

More than 50 established and emerging writers will take part Sunday in open-air readings and discussions in the village of Eden Mills.

A free shuttle bus between Eden Mills and Guelph will stop at the University of Guelph and the Sleeman Centre in downtown Guelph. More information here.

Tickets for the opening night are $20 for adults, $15 for students. Tickets can be purchased here.