‘Its a celebration:’ Halifax book festival puts Maritime authors on display

Dozens of authors and community members took part in the fourth annual “Booktoberfest” at Halifax’s Central Library Saturday.

“It’s a celebration of recently published works in Nova Scotia, and we have over 60 authors here in the book fair,” says Oriana Duinker, executive director of the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia.

“They’re all selling their recent books, and they also have creative writing workshops and public readings that are open to the public for free, happening at different rooms in the Central Library.”

Duinker says the festival started in 2022, with a goal to promote local authors who published their books during the pandemic.

“All of these writers couldn’t have book launches back then. So, it started off as a kind of celebration,” she says.

Renee Belliveau, one of the authors, says the event was a great way for local authors and publishers to meet one another.

“My book just came out a few weeks ago, and I thought this was a great opportunity to come out and meet people of the community and promote my book, as well as meet other authors,” says Belliveau.

“We have so many wonderful publishers in the Maritimes…And I think this is just a great opportunity for us to get out and make sure that people know who we are and what we’re writing about. A lot of us are writing about the Maritimes, and so if people have an interest about the history, or the region, then it’s a great place to come find out about some new authors and books.”

The event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., allowed community members to browse new books, and meet the creators behind them.

“Whether they buy or not. It doesn’t matter. They meet you, they talk to you, they know about the book, they go around, they come back… At the end of the day, it’s the camaraderie. They are continuously looking to learn about you and your craft,” says Robert De La Chevotiere, another author at the event.

“Its a great time to stock up on books now because cozy fall reading time is just around the corner, as well as the gift giving season,” says Duinker.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page