The Knowlton Literary Association is marking the 13th edition of its annual Knowlton Literary Festival and this year it is exploring new avenues. 

While active readers are familiar with seeing some of their favourite published authors, poets, and up-and-coming writers from the local area and beyond, the Knowlton Literary Association has invited former CBC broadcaster Wendy Mesley, investigative journalist and author Jacquie McNish, and author and political editor of MacLean’s magazine Paul Wells to partake in its first journalism panel.

“The panel aspect is not new, we have certainly used that as a form in the past, but the journalism angle is a little bit different. It is an extension of the written word, so the festival doesn’t have to just be about fiction and non-fiction,” said Jane Livingston, president of the Knowlton Literary Association. 

After meeting Mesley in-person, “describing her as a well known-figure, so articulate,” Livingston said,  that’s when “the penny dropped” for her to explore journalism in more detail at the festival. Livingston added that organizers also share a concern for the future of journalism.

“The association has felt a certain concern, as many of us have, about the future of journalism vis-a-vis artificial intelligence, the threats out there facing journalists, the cutbacks to newspapers, television, all forms of delivery. So we wanted to address that concern and we also chose journalists who are also authors,” explained Livingston. “Paul Wells has written a book about the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa. Jacquie McNish has written a book about the rise and fall of Blackberry and it has since been made into a film that is being presented at the TIFF. And then, of course, Wendy Mesley. (…) They’re all colleagues and friends so it just seemed like the perfect it.”

Moderated by Mesley, the journalism panel will see McNish and Wells discussing their views on the question, “The End of Journalism?” 

Livingston noted that the ticket sales for the journalism panel are “really, really strong,” reflecting the interest on part of the local community to learn more on this topic of discussion.

“The festival by its very nature attracts readers. I don’t want to paint everybody with the same brush, but they’re generally well read in terms of current events. We all go to our newspapers, we all go to our CBC radio programs, or whatever the other outlets are. It’s not just Knowlton, it’s everywhere. Anywhere where there are readers, they’re generally going to be concerned about how messages are getting out there,” mentioned Livingston.

Livingston emphasized that the Literary Association’s exploration into the “extensions” of the written word is all about responding to changing times and what concerns or interests society. 

“The focus is literary, but we’re taking it out into new areas. You know, this is also the first year where we are kind of exploring the ‘spoken word’ and performance art in the form of Roen Higgins performance. (…) It’s really moving beyond just the book on the page, and of course now we’re reading our books on our phones and on our tablets,” said Livingston. “We will respond to changing worlds. Journalism might be something that we touch upon for next year, who knows."

Expanding on what’s in store for the 13th edition of the  Knowlton Literary Festival, Livingston highlighted that there are a number of artists that will bring something different for all book worms. 

A local authors event at Brome Lake Books will serve as a “warm-up to the major festival” with the likes of author, playwright and humorist Ross Murray, The Record editor Matthew McCully, author and artist Garry Hamilton, author Jared Fishman, artist and author Camille Isaacs-Morrell, and Stephanie Ho-Poui Wang.

Other “wordsmiths” invited to this year’s festival include well-established children’s book author Barbara Reid, who will be making an appearance at Knowlton Academy; novelist, poet, and TV writer Zoe Whittall; and award-winning author, film director, media producer, organizer, public speaker and human rights defender Clayton Thomas-Müller. 

“We sort of feel like we are at that tipping point where we’ve established our name. We actually have authors and publishers reaching out to us and that’s huge for us. (…) We just hope that we can keep this momentum going, that we will continue to draw big names that will allow us to expose lesser known artists, and keep up a spectrum of interests, topics, subjects, so there is a little something for everyone,” mentioned Livingston. 

The Knowlton Literary Festival kicks off on Oct. 12 and runs up until Oct. 14. More information and ticket purchasing can be found on the Knowlton Literary Festival website. 

“Many of you have families, you got kids, you’ve got two careers and a household, it’s hard to take the time to stop and read a book or whatever. We’d love to be able to just give you little snippets, so dedicate a couple of hours and come and check the authors out,” Livingston highlighted. 

CIDI will be following-up with Wendy Mesley at a later date for more details on the journalism panel.

Listen to the full interview with Livingston below: