The Victoria Festival of Authors returns for its ninth year
Graphic by the Martlet.
The Victoria Festival of Authors (VFA) will be back for its ninth year in late October. Authors from all around Canada are set to speak and partake in events at the Langham Court Theatre from Oct. 16–20.
According to their website, the VFA prioritizes diversity of perspectives and opinions, and invites authors who capture all aspects of life for their audiences. The works of Debbie Bateman (Your Body Was Made for This) and Karen Whetung (the Corn Chief & Four Fallen Eagles) embody these values.
Bateman’s book of short stories follows myriad women discovering changes to their bodies and lives, while Whetung’s children’s book sheds light on Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Bateman and Whetung are two of the 39 authors who will be speaking about their books at the VFA this year.
“It’s a sense of a larger community of people who value imagination and words,” Bateman said of the VFA in an interview with the Martlet.
Although this is Bateman’s first time attending as an author, she has attended as an audience member in the past. Being a part of the audience at the VFA allows you to experience the bigger picture behind authors’ ideas, and attend workshops as prospecting writers, she explained. It is a place of learning and growing for both literary artists and enthusiasts.
“I get as much joy from being amongst people who love reading as I do from hearing the writers.”
The VFA is a space that allows authors and audience members to dive into the world of literature and storytelling. From writers bringing forth their latest ideas, to audience members getting a chance to speak with artists they admire, this festival brings forth numerous opportunities to get to know the world of stories better.
“[Story] gives us a space … to engage in the same language, the same metaphor,” adds Whetung, an Anishinaabe author of mixed ancestry. Her latest book, Four Fallen Eagles, is a tribute to her students. With their permission, she chose to tell their stories.
Both Bateman and Whetung emphasize the importance of gathering in a space with people who share your interest in reading and writing. For some, it is more than just that. It is their way of living, breathing, learning, and sharing.
With a passion for metaphors and imagination, Bateman and Whetung both aim to evoke compassion in their readers.
Bateman’s short stories, personal essays, and, most recently, debut collection, are geared toward a female audience. With her work, Bateman hopes to help women realize the importance of having a healthy relationship with their physical selves, “and perhaps inspire women to recognize their own power and control, over not just their bodies, but their lives.”
Storytellers present at this festival value their stories and have a passion for sharing them. According to Whetung, when we share stories, we share information and that is how we come to know the truth. Sharing truths with people allows for knowledge to grow.
“I think the arts in general, writing in particular, and festivals like this exist for no other reason but to encourage the exchange of ideas,” said Bateman. “[This is] vital to survival for us as human beings.”
The variety of events hosted by the VFA showcase storytellers that follow a similar vision as Bateman and Whetung by celebrating voice and focusing on diversity. With memoirs, children’s books, women’s experiences, and poetry, you can immerse yourself in an audience with similar intentions to learn, share, and connect.
