Events
Write-in for August (AWG)
Presented by the AWG, come write for 20- or 30-minutes followed by 5-10 minutes of break for the duration of the event. This is a drop-in event, so you are welcome to join and leave at whatever time suits you.
Outdoor Write-in for August (AWG)
Presented by the AWG, come write for 20- or 30-minutes followed by 5-10 minutes of break for the duration of the event. This is a drop-in event, so you are welcome to join and leave at whatever time suits you.
Write-in for August (AWG)
Presented by the AWG, come write for 20- or 30-minutes followed by 5-10 minutes of break for the duration of the event. This is a drop-in event, so you are welcome to join and leave at whatever time suits you.
Local Lit - writers & poets OPEN MIC
We’re super excited to welcome everyone back again for another OPEN MIC — from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at another new summer location! This time we’ll gather at Bridge Masters Brewing Company in Perth! Come on out for a night of local stories, performances, and poetry in the comfortable community room, and enjoy the patio and some delicious food and drinks!
Write-in for July (AWG)
Presented by the AWG, come write for 20- or 30-minutes followed by 5-10 minutes of break for the duration of the event. This is a drop-in event, so you are welcome to join and leave at whatever time suits you.
Outdoor Write-in for July (AWG)
Presented by the AWG, come write for 20- or 30-minutes followed by 5-10 minutes of break for the duration of the event. This is a drop-in event, so you are welcome to join and leave at whatever time suits you.
Local Lit - writers & poets OPEN MIC
We’re super excited to welcome everyone back again for another OPEN MIC — from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at a new summer location! This time we’ll gather at Jazzy’s Brewhaus in Perth! Come on out for a night of local stories, performances, and poetry in Jazzy’s unique outdoor courtyard!
Write-in for June (AWG)
Presented by the AWG, come write for 20- or 30-minutes followed by 5-10 minutes of break for the duration of the event. This is a drop-in event, so you are welcome to join and leave at whatever time suits you.
delve - In close conversation with Amanda West Lewis & Tim Wynne-Jones
Admission: Pay-what-you-can, in advance via Tickets Please or at the door
Almonte Readers & Writers is pleased to invite you to delve ~ In close conversation with writers, as part of the 2025 Lanark Lit Festival of Writing.
ARW’s June delve event presents a conversation between Amanda West Lewis & Tim Wynne-Jones, about anything and everything, from reading to writing to the kitchen sink. For fifty years, Amanda and Tim have navigated careers as artists while negotiating a life filled with children, books, music, theatre and art. It’s been fifty years filled with successes and failures and always, thankfully, a lot of love. In this open and intimate presentation, they will share stories and insights about their lives as writers and how they have continued to inspire, support and encourage each other — and make dinner, too.
The evening will have plenty of opportunity for audience participation. The writers will take turns asking each other questions about their work and relationship with writing, and will answer questions from those attending. Each will also share their writing with the audience, reading select pieces. We look forward to welcoming you to this event.
About delve events:
Hosted in café settings, delve events are intended to be less formal and more intimate than traditional guest author interviews. Premised as a conversation between two writers that have something in common, delve events offer a chance for writers to get-to-know each other and explore their similarities and differences, while giving audiences the opportunity to engage with writers whose work they may, or may not, already be familiar with.
About the writers:
Amanda West Lewis is a writer, theatre artist, and calligrapher. She is the author of ten books, most recently including the poetry collection A Planet is a Poem, and the semi-autobiographical novels Focus Click Wind, and These Are Not the Words. Her books have been recognized with a wide range of awards and nominations including: EUREKA! 2024 Excellence in Children’s Non-Fiction Award; California Reading Association Honor Book; NCTE Notable Poetry Book; Cybils Award nominee 2024; 2024 School Library Journal Best Poetry Books; 2024 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young Adults; 2022 American League of Poets recommended novel in verse; Silver Birch Award; Red Cedar Award; and Violet Downey IODE Award.
Amanda has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has acted, directed, produced, and written for theatre, as well as founded the Ottawa Children’s Theatre. She teaches writing, drama, and calligraphy to young people and adults, often combining these disciplines together. www.amandawestlewis.com
Tim Wynne-Jones has written three adult, three middle-grade and nine young adult novels, four short story collections and a whole lot of picture books. His collection of short stories Some of the Kinder Planets won the Governor General's Award as well as the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. The Maestro won Tim his second Governor General's Award and was short-listed for the Guardian Prize in the UK. The Boy in the Burning House won the Edgar Award and the Arthur Ellis Award and was short-listed for the Guardian Prize, as well. Blink & Caution won another “Arthur” as well as Tim’s second Horn Book Award. The Emperor of Any Place, received seven starred book reviews and was short-listed for the Governor General’s Award. And The Starlight Claim won the John Spray Award of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. His work has been published in Japanese, Korean, Danish, Dutch, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Catalan and Hebrew.
Tim was named as the Canadian representative for the 2012 Hans Christian Andersen Award of the International Board on Books for Young People. On September 28th, of that same year, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
This delve - In close conversation with writers event is funded in part by The Writers’ Union of Canada.
The 2025 Lanark Lit Festival of Writing is presented by Almonte Readers & Writers thanks to the generous funding support of Lanark County, the Municipality of Mississippi Mills, the Perth & District Community Foundation, and the Elizabeth Kelly Library Foundation, with community partnership from the Mississippi Mills Public Library, the Perth & District Public Library, Mill Street Books, Almonte Writers Guild, and with the community support of Equator Coffee, OVC Almonte, Jazzy’s Brewhaus and other local partners
Write-in for June (AWG)
Presented by the AWG, come write for 20- or 30-minutes followed by 5-10 minutes of break for the duration of the event. This is a drop-in event, so you are welcome to join and leave at whatever time suits you.
Write-in for May (AWG)
Presented by the AWG, come write for 20- or 30-minutes followed by 5-10 minutes of break for the duration of the event. This is a drop-in event, so you are welcome to join and leave at whatever time suits you.
delve - In close conversation with Amelinda Bérubé, interviewed by Elysia Rourke
Admission: In advance via Tickets Please or pay-what-you-can at the door
Almonte Readers & Writers is pleased to invite you to delve ~ In close conversation with writers, as part of the 2025 Lanark Lit Festival of Writing.
ARW’s May delve event presents a conversation between Amelinda Bérubé and Elysia Rourke, two writers who share a passion for literature for young people and the things that go bump in the night. Amelinda and Elysia will discuss the world of horror writing and allow us a glimpse of what it takes to become a writer for children and teens, the varying paths to get there, and how they use stories to capture the attention of youth seeking to find their place within their families, communities, and the world.
The evening will have plenty of opportunity for audience participation. The writers will take turns asking each other questions about their work and relationship with writing, and will answer questions from those attending. Each will also share their writing with the audience, reading select pieces. We look forward to welcoming you to this event.
About delve events:
Hosted in café settings, delve events are intended to be less formal and more intimate than traditional guest author interviews. Premised as a conversation between two writers that have something in common, delve events offer a chance for writers to get-to-know each other and explore their similarities and differences, while giving audiences the opportunity to engage with writers whose work they may, or may not, already be familiar with.
About the writers:
Amelinda Bérubé writes books for young adults about things that go bump in the night. She is the author of The Ones Who Come Back Hungry, Bram Stoker Award finalist Here There Are Monsters, and The Dark Beneath the Ice. Local readers might find her settings familiar, since they're all drawn from the Ottawa area--including the swampy woods near Corkery where she spent her teen years. After a dozen years as a writer and editor in the federal public service, Amelinda is living the freelance dream, incubating side projects like reading tarot, developmental editing, and coaching young writers.
She herds a couple of kids and an assortment of animals in west-end Ottawa, where she lives in a perpetual whirlwind of unfinished craft projects, cat hair, and dog toys. Visit her at www.metuiteme.com.
Elysia Rourke is a middle grade author and stay-at-home mom. Her debut novel, Whale Fall, is slated for publication with Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books in 2026.
Elysia is the founder of the Almonte Writers Guild and fiction editor for The LAM, a literary arts magazine for Lanark County. She lives in Almonte, Ontario with her husband, two sons, and dog.
Her writing can be found at www.elysiarourke.com.
The 2025 Lanark Lit Festival of Writing is presented by Almonte Readers & Writers thanks to the generous funding support of Lanark County, the Municipality of Mississippi Mills, the Perth & District Community Foundation, and the Elizabeth Kelly Library Foundation, with community partnership from the Mississippi Mills Public Library, the Perth & District Public Library, Mill Street Books, Almonte Writers Guild, and with the community support of Equator Coffee, OVC Almonte, Jazzy’s Brewhaus and other local partners
Local Lit - writers & poets OPEN MIC
We’re super excited to welcome everyone back again for another OPEN MIC — from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at OVC Almonte. Come on out for a night of local stories, performances, and poetry!