The Word On The Street

The Word On The Street (WOTS) is a free national, annual celebration of reading and writing.

Highlighting the importance of literacy, WOTS festivals happen on the last Sunday of September in Halifax, Toronto, Kitchener, Calgary and here in Vancouver, where it is Western Canada’s best-attended celebration of reading and writing, attracting an estimated 40,000 visitors to the site at Library Square and the CBC Plaza.

With readings, events and performances by hundreds of authors, playwrights, poets, songwriters, children’s book authors, illustrators, journalists, editors, librarians and more, WOTS Vancouver strives to promote literacy through the literature of Canadian, and particularly British Columbian, artists to as broad an audience as possible.

WOTS is an multi-faceted experience: last year’s festival featured The Poet’s Corner, three children’s venues, a multilingual reading venue, writing and publishing panel discussions, visual displays, musical performances, theatrical readings, as well as a marketplace of 149 exhibitors (booksellers, publishers, industry associations, and community groups) where visitors could discover new and backlist books, author signing events, and opportunities to volunteer as a literacy tutor.

Rebus Creative is the organizational and creative force behind this annual event, overseeing artistic programming, fund raising, publicity and year-round administration.

Further details about WOTS can be found at www.thewordonthestreet.ca.