Growing Room Literary and Arts Festival Event Registration Opens Tomorrow
Image courtesy of Room Magazine
** UPDATE MARCH 12, 2020 — Due to COVID-19, the remainder of the in-person Growing Room events scheduled have been cancelled. Please visit their website for the full statement on the decision.**
Looking to engage with Canada’s literary community? North America’s only feminist literary and arts festival, Growing Room, runs in Vancouver from March 11–15 and is a damn good place to start. Event registration opens tomorrow, February 4, for a program of over 40 events and workshops that centre around feminist intersectionality and celebrating the art of marginalized identities.
“The cross-genre celebration will feature more than 85 nationally-renowned authors, poets, filmmakers, comedians, dancers, musicians and artists from across the country, to celebrate inclusive storytelling in all its forms during readings, discussions, workshops and parties.”
As the country’s oldest feminist literary journal, Room Magazine has long been at the forefront of Canada’s feminist conversation and is committed to celebrating women, trans folks and those who are non-binary, genderqueer or Two-Spirit. It’s the fourth year of the festival, and each year it grows in popularity—staying true to its namesake.
Headliners include incredible writers such as Gwen Benaway (Holy Wild), Tea Mutonji (Shut Up You’re Pretty), Amber Dawn (Sodom Road Exit), Kai Cheng Thom (I Hope We Choose Love), Chelene Knight (Dear Current Occupant) and so, so many more.
“Celebrated for spotlighting BIPOC, queer and marginalized voices throughout the festival, Growing Room continues to connect communities across identities, genre and form. This year’s theme of worldbuilding speaks directly to this need. As Canada’s social landscape becomes more diverse, and a new generation shares stories that are both passionately political and open-hearted in the face of growing hate crimes and regionalism, Growing Room responds with a timely line-up of cross-genre events that celebrate the many ways we can proudly be ourselves through art.”
Learning from these talented artists is a great way to get inspired and find direction in your own work. New and emerging writers will benefit immensely as there are events about writing processes and getting published in magazines. We recommend you start by checking out the following events:
If you’re craving something a little more interactive, be sure to check out the available workshops where you can dissect your work under the guidance of skilled experts. Those playing around with memoir and multiple genres at once should definitely consider GENRE BLENDING: WRITING IN MULTIPLE GENRES WITH TÉA MUTONJI and WHY THE F*CK ARE WE DOING THIS AGAIN?: REFOCUS YOUR MEMOIR-WRITING PRACTICE.
The pricing for events is extremely generous—online events are free and live events are by donation, though the recommended price is $12.50. Growing Room encourages you to pay what you can as to not create barriers for people who aren’t exactly swimming in it right now. Workshops are $15 across the board, but there are two free seats in each one.
You can register for all events and workshops tomorrow through Eventbrite. This festival is pretty popular, so don’t miss out!
Growing Room has a strict code of conduct to ensure that presenters and attendees are in a supportive and positive environment, and to prevent possible occurrences of heckling or hostility. No TERF* and SWERF** behaviour, for example, will be condoned as such views do “not align with [Growing Room’s] intersectional and inclusive version of feminism.”
It’s a privilege to hear exceptionally talented creators speak on their work and on vulnerable political topics. If you’re new to these kinds of sensitive spaces, definitely do your homework. That way you can be comfortable and confident that you’re giving everyone in attendance the respect they deserve.
These precautions may sound a bit intense, but it’s to prevent random people from asking ridiculously controversial and invasive questions, or from ranting about topics unrelated to the speaker’s work as people often do at literary events. I’ve seen it happen and it’s uncomfortable as hell, but that’s what Growing Room is working hard to prevent through their extensive volunteer training and on-site resources.
For more detailed information and the full event program, please visit festival.roommagazine.com.
* TERF: Trans-exclusionary radical feminists
** SWERF: Sex worker-exclusionary radical feminist
Jo Ramsay
is a Canadian-born, London-based editor and travel copywriter. She’s worked in publishing for four years and continues to pursue opportunities in Canada and abroad. She’s worked at two publishing houses (Arsenal Pulp Press and Greystone Books) and was the blog and opinions editor at The Ubyssey newspaper. She’s lived in Canada, the UK, and Japan.