Robert Paterson, LJI 

The annual Knowlton Literary Festival returns October 12-14.

The festival begins on Thursday, October 12, with children’s book author and illustrator Barbara Reid meeting students at Knowlton Academy. Reid has produced more than a dozen award-winning picture books and was named to the Order of Canada for her contributions to children’s literature. That evening, festival attendees are invited to drop by Brome Lake Books for the local authors’ event. Attending this year will be author, playwright, and humorist Ross Murray; Record Editor Matthew McCully; author and artist Garry Hamilton; author Jared Fishman; artist and author Camille Isaacs-Morrell; and Stephanie Ho-Poui Wang. 

On Thursday, Roen Higgins will speak about her life as an award- winning poet, youth educator, inspirational speaker, and impact coach with students at Massey Vanier. As well, Higgins will perform Friday evening at the Festival’s Opening Event at the Brome Lake Community Centre. Wine and nibbles will be served. 

On Saturday, October 14, events begin with Giller Prize nominee and Globe and Mail best-selling author Zoe Whittall. Born on a sheep farm right here in the Eastern Townships, Whittall has developed an award-winning career as a novelist, poet, and TV writer. She will be followed by Clayton Thomas-Müller, award-winning author of the best-selling Life in the City of Dirty Water. Thomas- Müller has also gained acclaim as a film director, media producer, organizer and public speaker and is featured as a human rights defender in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. 

A journalism panel will follow, moderated by former CBC broadcaster Wendy Mesley and featuring her guests, investigative journalist and author Jacquie McNish, and Paul Wells, author and political editor of MacLean’s magazine. The topic will be “The End of Journalism”? 

The festival will close Saturday evening with Kathy Reichs, who along with being a forensic anthropologist working with police forces in both Canada and the US, has also penned 22 best-selling crime novels and was a producer of the television crime drama Bones. The Bone Hacker is her latest work in the Temperance Brennan series. 

Tickets are on sale now: http://www.knowltonliteraryfestival.ca or Brome Lake Books at 450-242-2242.