Ottawa's Festival of Ideas Since 1997

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Live Online Event

Tue Dec 14 • 1:00pm

Seen and Heard: Children’s Art and Activism with Marah Gubar

In Conversation with Neil Wilson

Live Online Event

Tue Dec 14 • 12:30pm

The Healing Power of Stories: A Muslim View with Rukhsana Khan

In Conversation with Neil Wilson

Live Online Event

Tue Dec 14 • 12:00pm

Changing the World One Story at a Time with Natasha Deen

In Conversation with Neil Wilson

Video coming soon

Live Online Event

Tue Nov 30 • 7:00pm

Writing and Activism: Words in Action

with Monia Mazigh

Live Online Event

Mon Nov 29 • 7:30pm

What Strange Paradise

with Omar El Akkad

Episode 26 • Fri Nov 26

The Weight of Sand

with Edith Blais

Episode 25 • Fri Nov 26

with Todd Babiak

Episode 24 • Fri Nov 19

Finish this Sentence

with Leslie Roach

Episode 23 • Fri Nov 19

It Doesn't Matter What We Meant

with Rob Winger

Live Online Event

Mon Nov 15 • 7:30pm

Exile: Celebrating 50 Years in Publishing

with Barry Callaghan, Michael Callaghan, Darlene Madott, Katie Zdybel and George Elliott Clarke

Episode 22 • Fri Nov 12

Permanent Astonishment

with Tomson Highway

Live Online Event

Wed Nov 10 • 7:30pm

Launch of ARC 96

Featuring: Junie Désil, Simone Dalton and Shery Alexander Heinis

Live Online Event

Tue Nov 9 • 7:30pm

Me Tomorrow: Indigenous Views on the Future

with Drew Hayden Taylor, Norma Dunning and Darrel J. McLeod

Episode 21 • Fri Nov 5

with Hasan Namir

Live Online Event

Thu Nov 4 • 7:30pm

Book Launch: Best Canadian Poetry 2021

With Anita Lahey, Souvankham Thammavongsa and many more!

Live Online Event

Mon Nov 1 • 7:30pm

Between Certain Death and a Possible Future

With Alexander McClelland, Eddie Walker, Kate Doyle Griffiths and Ryan Conrad

Episode 20 • Fri Oct 29

A Time Outside This Time

with Amitava Kumar

Live Online Event

Wed Oct 27 • 7:30pm

My Best Mistake

with Terry O’Reilly

Live Online Event

Tue Oct 26 • 7:00pm

Book Launch: My Stories, My Times, Volume 2

with The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien

Live Online Event

Mon Oct 25 • 7:30pm

BYWORDS JOHN NEWLOVE AWARDS

with Megan Misztal and John Ian

Episode 19 • Fri Oct 22

Nice White Ladies

with Jessie Daniels

Live Online Event

Wed Oct 20 • 6:00pm

THE OTTAWA BOOK AWARDS & PRIX DU LIVRE D’OTTAWA

Live Online Event

Tue Oct 19 • 7:30pm

BOOK LAUNCH: Hunting by Stars

with Cherie Dimaline

Live Online Event

Mon Oct 18 • 7:30pm

with Chris Hedges

Live Online Event

Sun Oct 17 • 7:00pm

Books and Biryani: A Muslim History of the Americas

with Omar Mouallem

Episode 18 • Fri Oct 15

On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years

with Elaine Dewar

Episode 17 • Fri Oct 15

What Storm, What Thunder

with Myriam J.A. Chancy

Live Online Event

Thu Oct 14 • 7:30pm

Live Online Event

Tue Oct 12 • 7:30pm

Not a Happy Family

with Shari Lapena

Episode 16 • Fri Oct 8

The Book of Form and Emptiness

with Ruth Ozeki

Episode 15 • Fri Oct 8

with Jordan Tannahill

Live Online Event

Thu Oct 7 • 7:30pm

An Embarrassment of Critch’s

with Mark Critch

Live Online Event

Tue Oct 5 • 7:30pm

BOOK LAUNCH: Off the Record

with Peter Mansbridge

Live Online Event

Mon Oct 4 • 7:30pm

Out of the Sun: On Art, Race, and the Future

with Esi Edugyan

Episode 14 • Fri Oct 1

The Death of Francis Bacon

with Max Porter

Episode 13 • Fri Oct 1

Ripping down half the trees

Live Online Event

Wed Sep 29 • 7:30pm

with Kamal Al-Solaylee

Live Online Event

Tue Sep 28 • 7:30pm

with Katherena Vermette

Live Online Event

Mon Sep 27 • 7:30pm

Live Online Event

Sun Sep 26 • 5:30pm

Book Launch: Masses on Radar

by David O’Meara

Episode 12 • Fri Sep 24

with Alison MacLeod

Episode 11 • Fri Sep 24

The Spectacular

with Zoe Whittall

Live Online Event

Thu Sep 23 • 7:30pm

"Indian" in the Cabinet

with Jody Wilson Raybould

Live Online Event

Wed Sep 22 • 7:30pm

The Mystery of Right and Wrong

with Wayne Johnston

Live Online Event

Tue Sep 21 • 7:30pm

with Jesse Wente

Episode 10 • Fri Sep 17

with Kathleen Winter

Episode 9 • Fri Sep 17

with Elisabeth de Mariaffi

Live Online Event

Tue Sep 14 • 7:30pm

August into Winter

with Guy Vanderhaeghe

Live Online Event

Mon Sep 13 • 7:30pm

with Ashley Bristowe

Episode 8 • Fri Sep 10

Life in the City of Dirty Water

with Clayton Thomas-Muller

Episode 7 • Fri Sep 10

The Last Exiles

Episode 6 • Fri Sep 3

Where Beauty Survived

with George Elliott Clarke

Episode 5 • Fri Sep 3

How to Be Animal

with Melanie Challenger

Live Online Event

Tue Aug 31 • 7:30pm

Operation Angus

with Terry Fallis

Episode 4 • Fri Aug 27

with Genki Ferguson

Episode 3 • Fri Aug 27

with Tessa McWatt

Episode 2 • Fri Aug 20

Better Not Bitter

with Yusef Salaam

Episode 1 • Fri Aug 20

with Jordan Abel

Episode 29 • Fri Jun 25

The Traitor's Blade

with Kevin Sands

Live Online Event

Sun Jun 20 • 7:30pm

with Richard Van Camp

Live Online Event

Fri Jun 18 • 7:30pm

The Menopause Manifesto

With Dr. Jen Gunter

Episode 28 • Fri Jun 18

The Bright Side

with Cathrin Bradbury

Episode 27 • Fri Jun 18

with David Macfarlane

Live Online Event

Thu Jun 17 • 5:30pm

The Life and Times of Robbie Burns

with John Ivison and Pauline Mackay

Episode 26 • Fri Jun 11

with M.G. Vassanji

Episode 25 • Fri Jun 11

Change: How to Make Big Things Happen

with Damon Centola

Episode 24 • Fri Jun 4

A Girl Called Echo

with Katherena Vermette

Episode 23 • Fri Jun 4

Because the Sun

with Sarah Burgoyne

Live Online Event

Mon May 31 • 7:00pm

with Andrew O’Hagan

Live Online Event

Thu May 27 • 7:00pm

One Page: The Window Seat

with Aminatta Forna

Live Online Event

Wed May 26 • 7:35pm

with Thomas King

Live Online Event

Tue May 25 • 7:30pm

with Brad Fraser

Episode 22 • Fri May 21

with Edward Rutherfurd

Episode 21 • Fri May 21

The Good Father

with Wayne Grady

Live Online Event

Thu May 20 • 7:00pm

One Page: Monkey Boy

with Francisco Goldman

Live Online Event

Mon May 17 • 8:00pm

The Shadow List

with Jen Sookfong Lee

Episode 20 • Fri May 14

Hummingbird Salamander

with Jeff VanderMeer

Episode 19 • Fri May 14

with Tanya Boteju

Live Online Event

Thu May 13 • 7:00pm

One Page: Goodbye, Again

Live Online Event

Mon May 10 • 7:30pm

with Linwood Barclay

Episode 18 • Fri May 7

with Nina Berkhout

Episode 17 • Fri May 7

Elizabeth & Margaret

with Andrew Morton

Episode 16 • Fri Apr 30

On Time and Water

with Andri Snaer Magnason

Episode 15 • Fri Apr 30

The Girl from Dream City

with Linda Leith

Live Online Event

Mon Apr 26 • 7:30pm

Take Back the Fight

with Nora Loreto

Episode 14 • Fri Apr 23

A Desolation Called Peace

with Arkady Martine

Episode 13 • Fri Apr 23

Live Online Event

Thu Apr 22 • 9:00pm

One Page: Under the Wave at Waimea

with Paul Theroux

Live Online Event

Mon Apr 19 • 7:30pm

A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency

with Seth Klein

Episode 12 • Fri Apr 16

Hana Khan Carries On

with Uzma Jalaluddin

Live Online Event

Thu Apr 15 • 12:00pm

One Page: The Soul of a Woman

with Isabel Allende

Live Online Event

Mon Apr 12 • 7:30pm

The New Climate War

with Michael E. Mann

Episode 11 • Fri Apr 9

Tainna: The Unseen Ones

with Norma Dunning

Live Online Event

Thu Apr 8 • 7:00pm

One Page: Klara and the Sun

with Kazuo Ishiguro

Live Online Event

Mon Mar 29 • 7:30pm

Peyakow: Reclaiming Cree Dignity

With Darrel J. McLeod

Episode 10 • Fri Mar 26

Four Lost Cities

with Annalee Newitz

Episode 9 • Fri Mar 26

with Camilla Gibb

Live Online Event

Thu Mar 25 • 7:00pm

One Page: Foregone

with Russell Banks

Live Online Event

Mon Mar 22 • 7:30pm

Neglected No More: The Urgent Need to Improve the Lives of Canada's Elders

with André Picard

Episode 8 • Fri Mar 19

The Deficit Myth

with Stephanie Kelton

Episode 7 • Fri Mar 19

Nothing the Same, Everything Haunted

with Gary Barwin

Live Online Event

Tue Mar 16 • 7:00pm

If I Tell You The Truth

with Jasmin Kaur

Live Online Event

Mon Mar 15 • 7:30pm

Return of the Trickster

with Eden Robinson

Episode 6 • Fri Mar 12

with Jael Richardson

Episode 5 • Fri Mar 12

A Town Called Solace

with Mary Lawson

Live Online Event

Mon Mar 8 • 7:30pm

Episode 4 • Fri Mar 5

with Kim Echlin

Episode 3 • Fri Mar 5

with Catherine Bush

Live Online Event

Thu Mar 4 • 12:00pm

One Page: This Strange and Violent World

with Elif Shafak

Live Online Event

Tue Mar 2 • 7:30pm

The New Age of Empire

with Kehinde Andrews

Episode 2 • Fri Feb 26

The Centaur’s Wife

with Amanda Leduc

Episode 1 • Fri Feb 26

with Ashley Audrain

Live Online Event

Thu Feb 25 • 7:30pm

Can You Hear Me Now?

with Celina Caesar-Chavannes

Live Online Event

Mon Feb 22 • 7:30pm

with Rinaldo Walcott

Live Online Event

Thu Dec 10 • 7:00pm

One Page: Wow No Thank You

Episode 29 • Fri Dec 4

Breathing Life into Art and Art into Life, The Art of Is

with Stephen Nachmanovitch

Live Online Event

Thu Dec 3 • 7:00pm

One Page: Close to the Bone

with Lisa Ray and Deepa Mehta

Episode 28 • Tue Dec 1

The Challenges Facing Canada in Protecting the Well Being of Children

Featuring Kim Hellemans and Jane Bertrand

Live Online Event

Mon Nov 30 • 7:30pm

Creative Writing For Teens: Using Texts and Social Media for Inspiration

with Lindsay Wong

Episode 27 • Fri Nov 27

Student Activism and the Climate Crisis

Featuring Vidya Shah and Alexis Benns

Episode 26 • Fri Nov 27

War At The Snow White Motel

with Tim Wynne-Jones

Live Online Event

Thu Nov 26 • 9:00pm

One Page: There There

With Tommy Orange and Waubgeshig Rice

Live Online Event

Thu Nov 26 • 12:00pm

One Page: The Kingdom

Episode 15 • Tue Nov 24

Education and Social Mobility

with Andy Hargreaves

Live Online Event

Mon Nov 23 • 7:30pm

with Christina Hammonds Reed

Pre-Recorded Event

Republic of Childhood: The Casket of Time

With Andri Snaer Magnason

Episode 24 • Fri Nov 20

Writing for Young Readers

Featuring Kenneth Oppel and Deborah Ellis

Live Online Event

Thu Nov 19 • 7:00pm

One Page: Deacon King Kong

with James McBride and Omar El Akkad

Episode 23 • Tue Nov 17

Yes, It's Systemic

Featuring Eternity Martis and Tessa McWatt

Live Online Event

Mon Nov 16 • 7:30pm

Masterclass: Connecting Plot and Character

with Kenneth Oppel

Pre-Recorded Event

She Come By It Natural

with Sarah Smarsh

Episode 22 • Fri Nov 13

The Ever-Present Past

featuring Maggie O’Farrell and Sarah Xerar Murphy

Episode 21 • Wed Nov 11

Fighting for Peace

Featuring Tim Cook and Scott Anderson

Live Online Event

Tue Nov 10 • 7:30pm

VerseFest Presents:

with Angye Gaona, Irfan Ali and stephanie roberts

Pre-Recorded Event

As Far As You Know

with A.F. Moritz

Episode 20 • Fri Nov 6

A Life with Books, Writers and Virago:

Emma Donoghue in conversation with Lennie Goodings

Live Online Event

Mon Nov 2 • 7:30pm

Masterclass: Discovering your Voice

with Kagiso Lesego Molope

Pre-Recorded Event

with Merlin Sheldrake

Episode 19 • Fri Oct 30

Spotlight on Arsenal Pulp Press

Featuring Sachiko Murakami and Jillian Christmas

Episode 18 • Tue Oct 27

Craft, Content and Process

Featuring andrea bennett and John Elizabeth Stintzi

Live Online Event

Mon Oct 26 • 7:30pm

Bywords 2020 John Newlove Poetry Award

with David Groulx

Pre-Recorded Event

The Education of an Idealist

with Samantha Power

Pre-Recorded Event

The Lost Spells

with Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris

Episode 17 • Fri Oct 23

Imagining Worlds (part 2)

Featuring Lauren Beukes and MR Carey

Episode 16 • Fri Oct 23

Imagining Worlds (part 1)

Featuring David A. Robertson and Derek Kunsken

Live Online Event

Thu Oct 22 • 7:30pm

National Book Launch: Love After the End

With Joshua Whitehead, jaye simpson, Nazbah Tom and Adam Garnet Jones

Episode 15 • Tue Oct 20

Letting Go of Anxiety

with Tara Henley

Live Online Event

Mon Oct 19 • 7:30pm

with Jesse Thistle and David A. Robertson

Live Online Event

Sun Oct 18 • 8:00pm

Musical Language

with Martha Baillie, Stuart Ross, and Maria Reva

Pre-Recorded Event

War: How Conflict Shaped Us

with Margaret MacMillan

Episode 14 • Fri Oct 16

Crime and Punishment

Featuring Katie Tallo, Scott Thornley and Amy Stuart

Live Online Event

Thu Oct 15 • 12:00pm

One Page: Actress

With Anne Enright

Live Online Event

Tue Oct 13 • 7:30pm

Ending Inequality

with Thomas Philippon

Episode 13 • Tue Oct 13

Lies That Tell Us Truth

Featuring Farzana Doctor, Shani Mootoo and Mona Awad

Pre-Recorded Event

Pre-Recorded Event

with Marilynne Robinson

Live Online Event

Sat Oct 10 • 12:00pm

One Good Reason to Celebrate Mental Health Day

With Séan McCann and Andrea Aragon

Episode 12 • Fri Oct 9

Truth as Fiction and Fiction as Truth

Featuring Helen Humphreys and Will Ferguson

Live Online Event

Thu Oct 8 • 12:00pm

One Page: How to Fly

with Barbara Kingsolver

Pre-Recorded Event

with Tegan and Sara

Episode 11 • Tue Oct 6

Agency and Consent

Featuring Rebecca Watson and Annabel Lyon

Live Online Event

Mon Oct 5 • 7:30pm

Missing from the Village

with Justin Ling

Pre-Recorded Event

A Song for the Dark Times

with Ian Rankin

Episode 10 • Fri Oct 2

The Art of the Short Story

with David Bergen, Frances Boyle and Souvankham Thammavongsa

Episode 09 • Wed Sep 30

Orange Shirt Day

with Michelle Good

Live Online Event

Mon Sep 28 • 7:30pm

Among the Volunteers and Refugees on Lesvos

with Steven Heighton

Pre-Recorded Event

Commanding Hope

with Thomas Homer-Dixon

Episode 08 • Fri Sep 25

Neurodiversity and The Ever-Changing Brain

Featuring Sarah Kurchak and David Eagleman

Live Online Event

Tue Sep 22 • 7:30pm

National Launch for Burning Sugar

with Cicely Belle Blain

Episode 07 • Tue Sep 22

Confronting History

with Francesca Ekwuyasi and Shaena Lambert

Live Online Event

Mon Sep 21 • 7:30pm

with Kaie Kellough and Ian Williams

Pre-Recorded Event

Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies

with Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Episode 06 • Fri Sep 18

Marathon of Hope

with Darrell Fox

Episode 05 • Tue Sep 15

Living with Dying Part Two

with Sheree Fitch and Lorna Crozier

Live Online Event

Mon Sep 14 • 7:30pm

The World as We Know It

with Catherine Hernandez and Saleema Nawaz

Pre-Recorded Event

Magdalena: River of Dreams

with Wade Davis

Episode 04 • Fri Sep 11

Living with Dying Part One

with Dakshana Bascaramurty and Anita Lahey

Live Online Event

Tue Sep 8 • 7:30pm

with Eva Holland

Pre-Recorded Event

Twilight of Democracy

with Anne Applebaum

Pre-Recorded Event

The Glass Hotel

with Emily St. John Mandel

Episode 03 • Fri Sep 4

With Aislinn Hunter and Gil Adamson

Live Online Event

Mon Aug 31 • 7:30pm

The Silver Arrow

with Lev Grossman

Pre-Recorded Event

Indians on Vacation

with Thomas King

Episode 2 • Fri Aug 28

Surviving and Thriving

With Elaina Martin and Joanne Vannicola

Live Online Event

Mon Aug 24 • 7:30pm

The Pull of the Stars

With Emma Donoghue

Pre-Recorded Event

Transcendence: How Humans Evolved through Fire, Language, Beauty, and Time

with Gaia Vince

Pre-Recorded Event

A History of My Brief Body

with Billy-Ray Belcourt

Episode 1 • Fri Aug 21

with Andrew Pyper, Craig Davidson and Stephen Graham Jones

Live Online Event

Tue Aug 18 • 7:30pm

Virtual Book Launch: The Company We Keep

with Frances Itani

The Ottawa International Writers Festival Podcast Announced

Pre-Recorded Event

Virtual Book Launch: On Pandemics

With Dr. David Waltner-Toews

Live Online Event

Tue May 26 • 1:00pm

With Hugh Segal