In a time of mass extinction — and distraction — it can feel like books have joined the endangered species list. Reams of bleak data support this assessment. The Atlantic magazine recently summed up the grim tidings in a much-discussed article titled “The End of Reading Is Here.” Less than half of Americans read a book last year! That’s a 20 per cent drop from five years ago! You know who to thank: smartphones and the internet.

Yet somehow the book business is thriving. Sales of most genres and formats, including adult fiction and children’s books, paperbacks and audiobooks and e-books, are all on the rise. This is true in both the US, where over 3 billion books were sold in 2025, and Canada, where — unlike our benighted southern neighbours — 80 per cent of the population reports having read a book in the past year. 

It’s against this backdrop that the Vancouver Writers Fest opens its doors this fall. Running from October 18-25, this year marks the biggest festival in the organization’s 38-year history, with 94 authors from around the world converging on Granville Island, where the festival is headquartered. 

“I think people are hungry for intelligent dialogue, and to be in community with like-minded people who are trying to see a positive way forward,”........

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