When is the Word On The Street?

WOTS Vancouver is always on the last Sunday of September. Our 2010 festival takes place on Sunday, September 26th.

How much does it cost?

WOTS festivals across Canada are free to the public. We do, of course, welcome donations and there are plenty of opportunities to support the festival on site. Our biggest fundraiser is our Annual Silent Auction in the Library concourse. If you meet one of our roving volunteers and donate $2, you not only become a member of the Vancouver Book & Magazine Fair Society, you are entered for a chance to win a WOTS Library (nearly every book featured at the Festival this year!). There are also various book bargains and more at the Marketplace of Exhibitors.

What is WOTS?

WOTS Vancouver is one of four free one-day festivals across Canada. Here at Library Square, we shut down Homer and Hamilton Streets on either side of the block and set up tents to house all manner of book and magazine publishers, booksellers, literary organizations and literacy groups. We also offer plenty of entertainment and education on site ranging from demos and panels, to slam poetry, to children's storytelling, to favourite authors discussing their latest works. The festival offers something for all ages and interests. If you like to read, come and check it out.

I would like to read/perform at WOTS Vancouver. How do I arrange that?

Programming decisions for the festival are typically made in early summer (May-June). Due to the high volume of enquiries received and the limited number of reading/performance spaces available, we cannot offer festival time to everyone who expresses interest.

Anyone who would like to be a part of the festival is encouraged to mail information about themselves and their book/performance group/etc. to WOTS Programming, #901 - 207 West Hastings Street Vancouver, BC, V6B 1H7. All materials become property of WOTS Vancouver and will not be returned, and only those selected to perform will be contacted.

I'm interested in having a booth/table at the festival. How much does it cost?

The price for exhibitor space varies depending on the size of the space you need, and the type of publication/organization you are representing. The registration form has detailed information about exhibiting at WOTS Vancouver, including rates, which increase the longer you wait to register. It pays to be an early bird!

Learn about becoming an Exhibitor

What if it rains?

Yes, the weather wasn't great in 2007, but we're hoping it was just unlucky because it was the 13th Anniversary (surely having both a civic strike and wet weather couldn't have been a coincidence!)

WOTS Vancouver is an outdoor event, and while a few activities and exhibitors are inside the library, most events happen in tents set up on Homer and Hamilton Streets. Rain or shine, the festival must go on! So if you sense less-than-cooperative weather on the big day, be sure to bring your umbrella. For exhibitors, we recommend you bring clear plastic sheeting to protect your books, a