Sudbury’s Wordstock festival returns with community-led vision

A promotional image for the 2025 Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival. (Wordstock)

The Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival will return this October with a new community-led vision and a thematic focus on “survival,” organizers announced Tuesday.

The 12th edition of the festival is scheduled for October 24-25 at Place des Arts in downtown Sudbury. After a period of uncertainty, the event is proceeding with an energized volunteer team planning a weekend of literary celebration.

A reimagined festival

Programming for the two-day event will include author panel discussions, workshops for writers, an open mic, a poetry slam and the launch of a silent reading club. The festival’s 2025 survival theme is intended to explore how stories help navigate complex world issues.

The annual literary festival and its board faced dissolution earlier this year in the face of financial woes and organizational challenges; however, in June, members voted to keep going.

“This year’s festival is a turning point,” said Dinah Laprairie, the interim chair of the Wordstock board, in a news release.

“With the support of our community, we’re reimagining what a literary festival needs to be for Sudbury. Wordstock Sudbury 2025 is a celebration of survival – of literature, of community and of creative expression.”

The event aims to connect audiences with authors from across Canada and northeastern Ontario while offering local writers professional development and networking opportunities.

Call for community participation

The volunteer planning committee is urging the public to mark their calendars and prepare for the announcement of featured authors.

“Tell your book club, spread the word and subscribe to the newsletter,” said Nancy Daoust, a local writer and the festival committee chair.

“Headliners will be announced soon and tickets go on sale shortly.”

Organizers credited the festival’s return to support from The City of Greater Sudbury, Access Copyright, the Ontario Arts Council and numerous other businesses and individual donors, alongside a dedicated team of volunteers.