Opening Night and Keynotes

Join us to celebrate the launch of the 2025 Fraser Valley Writers Festival! This event will feature keynote addresses from acclaimed authors Charles Demers and Evelyn Lau. At this event, we will also be introducing UFV's 2026 Writer-in-Residence!​

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Date: Friday, November 7th, 2025

 

Time: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

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Venue: UFV Abbotsford, Building B, Room 101 (33844 King Rd)​

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Tickets: 2025keynotes.eventbrite.com

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About Charles Demers

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Charles “Charlie” Demers is a Juno-nominated stand-up comedian, BC Book Prize-nominated author, political speechwriter & communications consultant, and co-star of two Emmy-winning Netflix animated series, Beat Bugs and The Last Kids on Earth. One of the stars of CBC Radio’s long-running comedy smash-hit The Debaters, he has also written jokes & speeches for leaders in politics, academia, & organized labour. He provides the voice of ‘Poutine’ on Will Arnett’s patriotic superhero send-up Super Team Canada on Crave.

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About Evelyn Lau

 

Evelyn Lau is the Vancouver author of fifteen books, including ten volumes of poetry. Her first book, Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid (HarperCollins, 1989) was published when she was eighteen; it was made into a CBC movie starring Sandra Oh in her first major role. Her poetry has received the Milton Acorn Award, the Pat Lowther Award, a National Magazine Award, and nominations for the BC Book Prize and the Governor General’s Award. Her poems have been chosen for inclusion in both the Best Canadian Poetry and Best American Poetry anthologies. From 2011-2014, Evelyn served as Poet Laureate for the City of Vancouver. Her previous collection is Cactus Gardens (Anvil, 2022), which was included in CBC’s Top 20 Poetry Books of 2022, shortlisted for the City of Vancouver Book Award, and received the Fred Cogswell Award. Parade of Storms is her tenth collection of poetry.