Support Us
Who We Are
On November 5-7, The Fraser Valley Writers Festival will bring together hundreds of readers and writers of all ages and backgrounds to share fun and formative experiences with each other and acclaimed Canadian authors for a celebration of storytelling, dialogue and community building on the UFV Abbotsford campus.
The FVWF is 100% volunteer run by UFV students, faculty, and staff, and our venues and equipment are generously donated by the University of the Fraser Valley.
For 20 years, our festival has been a showcase for the profound power of the written and spoken word, bringing a unique artistic experience to the Fraser Valley. But we don’t just celebrate Canadian writing, we contribute to it!
On top of promoting our guests’ published work, we ensure that the festival is responsible for growing the Canadian literary landscape by commissioning each author to create an entirely new piece, which they debut live at their discussion panels on November 7.
This provides attendees with an exclusive experience unique to the FVWF that others may also enjoy when the new pieces are published in the Festival Magazine here, alongside previous years’ works.
Profiles of this year’s keynote speakers, panelists and workshop facilitators can be found on our website.
“A community of passionate writers fosters inspiration, brings out the best in each member, and garners some much needed empathy, that we’re not truly alone in our work, but all striving together to create unique, inspiring short-stories, essays, poems, and literature.”
– Brandon Reid (Heiltsuk First Nation novelist, 2023 FVWF author)
Cultivating Creativity
Because of the generous support of UFV and our donors, attendance to the festival is free to all. The keynote speeches, panel discussions, and writing workshops only require online registration. We understand the impact that interacting with professional writers can have on budding readers and writers, both within the University and the wider community. That is why accessibility is one of our highest priorities.
The festival fosters new generations of writers from the Fraser Valley. Yarrow’s Bradley Peters, a former UFV student and Writers Festival audience member returned in 2023 as a panelist and was nominated for a Governor General’s Award in 2024. Chilliwack’s Heather Ramsay and Port Coquitlam’s Christina Myers, both 2025 panelists, point to attending the FVWF in previous years as an inspiration for their own writing careers. Abbotsford’s Loghan Paylor appeared at our 2024 festival promoting their debut novel, The Cure for Drowning, which recently won CBC’s 2026 Canada Reads competition.
Connecting the people of the Fraser Valley to professional Canadian writers is integral in making and sustaining a vibrant artistic community and that’s why we need your help!
“Watching books change hands, hearing authors read, listening to exchanges between author and audience… these things remind me that the book is a living organism, and that our collective love (and need) for books is real.” – Nick Thran (Fredericton poet and 2025 FVWF author)
You Can Help!
Join us in ensuring that the FVWF continues to provide valuable interactions for Fraser Valley readers and writers. No donation is too small, or too big! All help ease the costs of organizing and operating the festival and help ensure our full accessibility for all who wish to participate.
“I was impressed by its commitment to providing a high-quality literary festival for both readers and writers in the Fraser Valley and beyond.” – Ali Blythe (Victoria poet, 2023 FVWF author)
Where Your Donation Goes
Your donation will fund the Fraser Valley Writers Festival’s core work, helping cover author appearance fees, author travel expenses and the commissioning fees for new work written exclusively for the festival.
By covering expenses for author appearances, our donors both support local artists and ensure that we can continue to offer high-quality programming free of charge to our attendees, many of whom would otherwise not be able to afford to attend.
Additional funding through donation or sponsorship will help expand the festival in the future, allowing us to invite more authors, book more venues, run more workshops, and accommodate more aspiring writers and book lovers from local communities!
Help Keep Writing Vibrant in the Valley!
