Victoria Festival of Authors
The Victoria Festival of Authors Society was incorporated as a non-profit in July 2016. The inaugural festival launched on September 21, 2016. Twenty-one mostly local and regional authors led master classes and took part in panel discussions and readings over a five-day period. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, the festival returned with more authors from outside the region, increasing the diversity of voices. The Victoria Festival of Authors Society achieved charitable status in 2019. In 2020, VFA hosted an entirely free and virtual festival through live closed-captioned Zoom events and curated podcasts/ webcasts. In 2021, VFA hosted its first hybrid festival, incorporating digital programming and distanced, in-person events. Based on the success of this event, Victoria Festival of Authors has transitioned into a hybrid festival with a regional focus.
Victoria Festival of Authors is a small festival with no intention of expanding the number of our offerings. Instead, our aim is to continually broaden our reach and deepen our engagement with our community.
We are a festival that is committed to featuring a diversity of voices. Over half of our participating authors identify as a member of one or more marginalized communities. Indigenous writers, writers of colour, disabled writers and writers from the LGBTQIA2s+ community have a place in our programming.
We are a festival that is flexible and receptive. We are connected to our community and reliant on their support, and we listen to their opinions. We are not afraid of change and are always looking for ways we can meet the needs of our community.
We are a festival that is accessible. We have always offered free events. We have provided discounted tickets to marginalized groups in our community for ticketed events. Since 2020 we have provided closed captioning for all our events, and since 2021 we have livestreamed the majority of our in-person programming. In 2023 we added a "free ticket" option for all virtual events, as well as our five in-person evening events. This was a successful choice, drawing a number of new audience members, and one that we will continue. In-person events will also be livestreamed, with ASL interpretation available upon request.
We are a festival that is committed to our authors, whether they be from home or away. We realize that without them, we would not exist. We pay authors and moderators above the standard rate.
We are a festival for Vancouver Island. All authors who participate in in-person programming live in British Columbia, or have ties to our province. Many of these authors are from Vancouver Island. We draw our moderators from our community. Though we welcome audience members from away, we will always celebrate the literature created on this island, and the readers who live here. First and foremost, this festival is for them.