Bookish delights at this weekend’s Ottawa Book Expo

Good news for book enthusiasts: the Ottawa Book Expo is returning this year. The annual event first kicked off in 2019 to promote up-and-coming Canadian authors in addition to supporting established favourites.

Admission is free, and there is so much to do and see.

This year, the three-day festival features over 60 authors representing many cultures in both official languages. The Ottawa Book Expo truly represents all that Ottawa has to offer the literary world, plus it aims to spread social awareness on literacy and homelessness.

Not only that, but attendees to the first day of the event will be in for an extra treat. Ottawa Tastes will be on site with food trucks and restauranteurs from across the city serving up a wide array of cuisines.  

Head to the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne Park to browse the tables and meet the authors. The weekend-long event will include appearances from some bestselling Canadian authors. Award-winning author, top-seller on Amazon, actress, and film producer Jennifer Lieberman will speak on August 27th and 28th. Lieberman is the author of Year of the What and Make Your Own Break: How to Record & Publish Your Audiobook in Seven Simple Steps.

Acclaimed author and emergency room physician Dr. Melissa YI (Yuan-Innes) will be on hand on August 27th to discuss planning the perfect murder mystery. Dr. YI’s forty-plus published titles include the Hope Sze Medical Mystery series that draws from Dr. YI’s real-life experience as a medical doctor. These novels have been praised by CBC radio for “wonderful characters and plot.”

Other speakers include Linton Garner, co-creator of the ABCs of Black Canadian History educational resources, and Dr. Dorothy Williams, a trailblazer in black Canadian studies and the author of two books on the history of the black community in Montreal.

French-speaking presenters include Francois-Xavier Simard, vice president of More International, an organization dedicated to researching and writing biographies and screenplays on pioneers, and Danny-Phillippe Desgagné, acclaimed author of French language thrillers.

The masters of ceremony for the weekend will be Dr. Rebecca Bromwich of Carleton University, Jolène Savoie-Day, school board trustee and Parliamentary learning specialist, and Dr. Julie Fiala, an expert on Indigenous art and art-based knowledge.

If you’re a writer, publisher, or graphic designer, the Ottawa Book Expo is a great networking opportunity. There is still time to become an exhibitor. Click the link here to find out more. If you can’t attend, fear not since there will also be a virtual component so you can still get the most out of all the Expo offers remotely. You can upload promotional materials like posters and videos and link directly to the sales portal.

With 60 great local authors to browse, networking opportunities for writing professionals of all stripes, great speakers, local food, and a worthy cause to support, you don’t want to miss the Ottawa Book Expo and Ottawa Tastes Festival.

For more information, visit ottawabookexpo.ca

WHERE: The Horticulture Building in Lansdown Park, 1525 Princess Patricia Way
WHEN: Friday, August 26th to Sunday, August 27th
WHAT TIME: Friday from 11 am to 8 pm. Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm.
ADMISSION: Free