Our ever-lively opening event features readings by Ivan Coyote, Sue Goyette, Zilla Jones, Mona Knight, Eliza Reid, David A. Robertson, Tom Ryan and Madeleine Thien (hosted by Alexander MacLeod). This event will be held in the beautiful Great Hall of the Clans, alongside a blazing hearth, at the Gaelic College in St. Ann's.

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Ivan Coyote is a writer and storyteller. Born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, they are the author of thirteen books, the creator of four films, six stage shows, and three albums that combine storytelling with music. Coyote’s books have won the ReLit Award, been named a Stonewall Honour Book, been longlisted for Canada Reads, shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Prize for non-fiction and the Governor General's Award, and awarded BC and Yukon Book Prize’s inaugural Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes. Ivan’s most recent book is Care Of: Letters, Connections and Cures.

Sue Goyette lives in K'jipuktuk (Halifax) and has published several books of poems and a novel. Her latest collection is Future Howl, (Gaspereau Press, 2025). Her work has been translated into French, Spanish and German and has been featured in films, subways, buses, spray painted on a sidewalk and tattooed.

Zilla Jones is an African-Canadian anti-racist educator, lawyer, mother, and singer of Caribbean, Chinese, and European heritage, writing on Treaty 1 territory. She was born in the UK and now lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is a winner of the Journey Prize, a finalist for The Writers’ Trust Bronwen Wallace Emerging Writers Award, and a finalist for the CBC Short Story Prize. The World So Wide is her debut novel.

Mona Knight is a fiction writer. During her working career, she was, for a time, a correspondent for an International Aid programme for children in the Third World. Mona and her husband, Jim, returned to Cape Breton in 2008 and for a number of years she wrote for The Victoria Standard. Her first novel, Banjo Flats, was published in 2017. The sequel, Second Chance, was published in 2020, and the third in the series, Heartbreak Rodeo, will be released in September.

Eliza Reid is a bestselling writer, public speaker, gender equality advocate, and cofounder of the acclaimed Iceland Writers Retreat. She was born and raised in Canada but has lived in Iceland for over twenty years. Her first book, Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World, was an instant bestseller in Canada and Iceland, and a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Pick. Death on the Island is the first of a series and has been optioned for television. From 2016 to 2024, Eliza served in the unofficial role of First Lady while her husband was President of Iceland, an adventure which greatly informed the writing of this book. She lives in the outskirts of Reykjavík with her husband and four children.

David A. Robertson is a two-time Governor General's Literary Award winner and has won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and the Writer's Union of Canada Freedom to Read award. His books include the novel The Theory of Crows, the memoir Black Water, the picture books When We Were Alone and On the Trapline, and the middle-grade series the Misewa Saga. In 2025 he released 52 Ways to Reconcile: How to Walk with Indigenous People on the Path to Healing, All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live with Anxiety and the picture book Little Shoes. A member of Norway House Cree Nation, Dave currently lives in Winnipeg.

Tom Ryan is the internationally bestselling author of adult mysteries The Treasure Hunters Club and We Had a Hunch, in addition to the award-winning YA mysteries Keep This to Yourself and I Hope You’re Listening, winner of the 2021 Lambda “Lammy” Award for Best LGBTQ Mystery. Tom was born and raised in Inverness, Cape Breton, where he lives with his husband and their dog.

Madeleine Thien’s last novel, Do Not Say We Have Nothing, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the Women's Prize for Fiction and the Folio Prize, and won the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction. Her new novel, The Book of Records, was released this spring and became an instant bestseller. Born in Vancouver, Madeleine lives in Montreal.

Note: If the ticket price presents a barrier, please don't hesitate to contact us and we'd be glad to send along a fee-waived ticket.

Not even the tasty array of brunch offerings we'll be serving up first can compete with the delicious plot twists and turns these two bestselling mystery authors will take the stage to discuss. When the plates are cleared, Eliza Reid will share a reading from her new novel Death on the Island and then Tom Ryan will interview Eliza about her work and even share some insights from his own books and writing life. (Meal included in ticket price.)

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Eliza Reid is a bestselling writer, public speaker, gender equality advocate, and cofounder of the acclaimed Iceland Writers Retreat. She was born and raised in Canada but has lived in Iceland for over twenty years. Her first book, Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World, was an instant bestseller in Canada and Iceland, and a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Pick. Death on the Island is the first of a series and has been optioned for television. From 2016 to 2024, Eliza served in the unofficial role of First Lady while her husband was President of Iceland, an adventure which greatly informed the writing of this book. She lives in the outskirts of Reykjavík with her husband and four children.

Tom Ryan is the internationally bestselling author of adult mysteries The Treasure Hunters Club and We Had a Hunch, in addition to the award-winning YA mysteries Keep This to Yourself and I Hope You’re Listening, winner of the 2021 Lambda “Lammy” Award for Best LGBTQ Mystery. Tom was born and raised in Inverness, Cape Breton, where he lives with his husband and their dog.

Note: If the ticket price presents a barrier, please don't hesitate to contact us and we'd be glad to send along a fee-waived ticket.

This conversation will be open to audience questions throughout, offering an opportunity for readers to connect directly with author Tanya Johnson and learn more about her book Your Tears Are Not Enough, and how her experiences as a Mi'kmaw woman from Potlotek First Nation—and the lives, voices and stories of other Indigenous girls and women—inspired it.

Those registering for this free event are invited to read or even just begin the book before attending, if possible, to get the most out of the opportunity to discuss it with the author, but it is not a requirement, and should be an engaging and enlightening conversation even for those discovering the book for the first time.

The book will be available at On the Same Page Books & Butterflies and Dreams in Sydney, at Millbrook Cultural Heritage Centre, at Consciously Clean in Fredericton, N.B., or by selecting "Yes, I'd like to purchase a copy for delivery by mail" when registering if you'd like the author to mail it to you. Tanya donates a portion of all book-sale proceeds to families affecting by MMIWGP (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and People).

Please join Cabot Trail Writers Festival Board members and the Artistic/Executive Director to discuss our dreams and plans for the festival. Over tea, coffee, and snacks, we will share a brief overview of our strategic plan and ideas for future programming and invite your thoughts and questions. This festival was created by community and we want to continue to evolve, dream and plan with you!

***Note: This is a free event, but to help us plan for audience size and to ensure we can reach you in the event of any last-minute chance in location, etc., we appreciate you registering in advance. Thank you!***

6 p.m. • Pre-Event Reception (optional)
Featuring live music by Iranian Canadian pianist Behrooz Mihankhah, cash bar (including alcohol-free drinks), hors d'oeuvres, and a chance to browse the bookstore and meet with other audience members, authors and members of the festival team. Ticket holders are invited to come early to take part in this if they wish, or they can simply arrive for the formal programming that begins at 7 p.m.

7 p.m. • "We Need to Talk": A Panel on the Art of Conversation, Confession & Connection
Writers Sue Goyette, David A. Robertson, and Ian Williams will each offer short readings from their work before engaging in a panel conversation with moderator Alexander MacLeod about the ways we engage and share and communicate amidst division and around difficult topics, as individuals and as societies, and about the role of writing and the authors’ own experiences opening up and communicating to readers in their books.

8:30 p.m. • A Reading & Conversation with Madeleine Thien
Festival Co-Chair Monika Dutt will interview Madeleine Thien (award-winning author whose most recent novel is The Book of Records).

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Behrooz Mihankhah is a celebrated Iranian Canadian, ECMA-nominated composer, and pianist based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Inspired by his migrations through Iran, India and finally to Canada, Behrooz fuses various musical traditions, compositional techniques, and improvisational schools of thought and brings together listeners of various backgrounds. His debut album “Lydium” was nominated in the jazz category of East Coast Music Awards as well as Music Nova Scotia.

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Sue Goyette lives in K'jipuktuk (Halifax) and has published several books of poems and a novel. Her latest collection is Future Howl, (Gaspereau Press, 2025). Her work has been translated into French, Spanish and German and has been featured in films, subways, buses, spray painted on a sidewalk and tattooed.

David A. Robertson is a two-time Governor General's Literary Award winner and has won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and the Writer's Union of Canada Freedom to Read award. His books include the novel The Theory of Crows, the memoir Black Water, the picture books When We Were Alone and On the Trapline, and the middle-grade series the Misewa Saga. In 2025 he released 52 Ways to Reconcile: How to Walk with Indigenous People on the Path to Healing, All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live with Anxiety and the picture book Little Shoes. A member of Norway House Cree Nation, Dave currently lives in Winnipeg. 

Ian Williams is the author of seven acclaimed books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. He delivered the 2024 CBC Massey Lectures, What I Mean to Say, on rehabilitating conversations, and is the winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, the Raymound Souster Award, and a finalist for the Griffin Poetry Prize. He is a trustee for the Griffin Poetry Prize and a professor of English and director of the Creative Writing program at University of Toronto.

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Madeleine Thien’s last novel, Do Not Say We Have Nothing, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the Women's Prize for Fiction and the Folio Prize, and won the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction. Her new novel, The Book of Records, was released this spring and became an instant bestseller. Born in Vancouver, Madeleine lives in Montreal.

Note: If the ticket price presents a barrier, please don't hesitate to contact us and we'd be glad to send along a fee-waived ticket.

Unravel the secrets of great mystery writing in this focused two-hour workshop designed for both emerging and experienced writers. Participants will explore the core elements of the genre—from crafting compelling detectives, suspects, victims and culprits to planting clues and building suspense.

Through guided exercises and discussion, you'll learn how to use reverse engineering to structure a gripping plot, develop red herrings, and deliver satisfying twists. Whether you're writing a classic whodunit, a cozy mystery, or a psychological thriller, this course will sharpen your storytelling instincts and help you turn your ideas into a page-turning mystery.

Participants are encouraged to show up with a project or idea in mind to develop - it can be as fully formed as a novel in progress, or as simple and basic as a brilliant twist, compelling sleuth or unique backdrop for a story.

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Tom Ryan is the internationally bestselling author of adult mysteries The Treasure Hunters Club and We Had a Hunch, in addition to the award-winning YA mysteries Keep This to Yourself and I Hope You’re Listening, winner of the 2021 Lambda “Lammy” Award for Best LGBTQ Mystery. Tom was born and raised in Inverness, Cape Breton, where he lives with his husband and their dog.

Note: If the ticket price presents a barrier, please don't hesitate to contact us and we'd be glad to send along a fee-waived ticket

Authors Zilla Jones, Mona Knight and Tom Ryan will join a panel conversation and audience Q&A with moderator Stephanie Domet, exploring the writing process and their publishing experiences, and offering wisdom and advice for aspiring writers about what they've learned along the way... (Meal is included in ticket price.)

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Zilla Jones is an African-Canadian anti-racist educator, lawyer, mother, and singer of Caribbean, Chinese, and European heritage, writing on Treaty 1 territory. She was born in the UK and now lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is a winner of the Journey Prize, a finalist for The Writers’ Trust Bronwen Wallace Emerging Writers Award, and a finalist for the CBC Short Story Prize. The World So Wide is her debut novel.

Mona Knight is a fiction writer. During her working career, she was, for a time, a correspondent for an International Aid programme for children in the Third World. Mona and her husband, Jim, returned to Cape Breton in 2008 and for a number of years she wrote for The Victoria Standard. Her first novel, Banjo Flats, was published in 2017. The sequel, Second Chance, was published in 2020, and the third in the series, Heartbreak Rodeo, will be released in September.

Tom Ryan is the internationally bestselling author of adult mysteries The Treasure Hunters Club and We Had a Hunch, in addition to the award-winning YA mysteries Keep This to Yourself and I Hope You’re Listening, winner of the 2021 Lambda “Lammy” Award for Best LGBTQ Mystery. Tom was born and raised in Inverness, Cape Breton, where he lives with his husband and their dog.

Note: If the ticket price presents a barrier, please don't hesitate to contact us and we'd be glad to send along a fee-waived ticket.

As part of our Writers' Salon, we'll host a 45-minute shared creative space (amidst gentle live music by Iranian Canadian pianist Behrooz Mihankhah), inviting people to come together in one room to freewrite and discover what emerges on the page.

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Behrooz Mihankhah is a celebrated Iranian Canadian, ECMA-nominated composer, and pianist based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Inspired by his migrations through Iran, India and finally to Canada, Behrooz fuses various musical traditions, compositional techniques, and improvisational schools of thought and brings together listeners of various backgrounds. His debut album “Lydium” was nominated in the jazz category of East Coast Music Awards as well as Music Nova Scotia. 

***Note: This is a free event, but to help us plan for audience size and to ensure we can reach you in the event of any last-minute chance in location, etc., we appreciate you registering in advance. Thank you!***

Following WordStorm, we'll serve coffee and pastries and invite willing writers in the audience to share a short reading on stage as we gather and listen and learn together.

***Note: This is a free event, but to help us plan for audience size and to ensure we can reach you in the event of any last-minute chance in location, etc., we appreciate you registering in advance. Thank you!***

A walk among the changing colours of the forest of the Skye River Trail, with poet Tyra Denny sharing short readings and teachings, guiding the audience through the land, culture and community.

Please dress for the weather and meet at the junction of the Skye River Trail. (Stay tuned for updated location information in the event of rain.) The parking area for the Skye River Trail is just south of the little bridge between the Farmer’s Daughter and the We’koqma’q One Stop gas station. You can park in the first or second lot.

This event will take place outdoors, at points along the 1.5-km Skye River Trail. It is an “easy to moderate walking” trail. Please note that there is no seating; the event will last roughly 1.5 hours, so if you would prefer not to stand or sit on the ground for that duration, you may wish to bring a folding chair that you can comfortable walk with.

***Note: This is a free event, but to help us plan for audience size and to ensure we can reach you in the event of any last-minute chance in location, etc., we appreciate you registering in advance. Thank you!***

Join Mi'kmaw storyteller Clifford Paul, Acadian storyteller Ronald Labelle, and Gaelic storyteller Sionainn/Shannon MacMullin as they share stories from each of their cultural traditions amidst the beautiful forest setting of the Skye River Trail.

The parking area for the Skye River Trail is just south of the little bridge between the Farmer’s Daughter and the We’koqma’q One Stop gas station. You can park in the first or second lot. 

This event will take place outdoors, and please note that there is no seating; the event will last roughly an hour, so if you would prefer not to stand or sit on the ground for that duration, you may wish to bring a folding chair that you can comfortable walk with. Please dress for the weather and stay tuned for updated location information in the event of rain.

This event is part of a multi-year project called In Our Own Words, exploring the island's Mi'kmaw, Acadian and Gaelic languages and literary cultures. This year's edition of the project is centred on storytelling traditions in these three unique cultural communities.

***Note: This is a free event, but to help us plan for audience size and to ensure we can reach you in the event of any last-minute chance in location, etc., we appreciate you registering in advance. Thank you!***

This event is part of a multi-year project called In Our Own Words, exploring the island's Mi'kmaw, Acadian and Gaelic languages and literary cultures. This year's edition of the project is centred on storytelling traditions in these three unique cultural communities.