A popular Collingwood festival will return for 2011. Last year’s inaugural WORDSTOCK Literary Festival, celebrating the written and spoken word, was an unqualified success. This year’s event promises to be bigger and better.

The 2011 WORDSTOCK festival will take place September 9 – 10, in various venues across the Collingwood area. The program includes author readings, workshops, children’s activities, teen events and more. As well, the Toronto Poetry Slam team returns, hosted by David Silverberg.

Some of the confirmed guests for 2011 include:

• Terry O’Reilly, is the familiar voice -- and the co-writer and co-producer -- behind The Age of Persuasion, the hit CBC radio show about the business, the craft, and the promise of advertising. It draws over 600,000 listeners every week. O'Reilly has won hundreds of national and international awards for his ad work, has been named to Marketing Magazine's Power 100 List, and, in 2009, was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Legends.  

• Christine Cowley, author, editor and writing coach who specializes in memoir and family history. Christine will be leading the “My Life, My Legacy” workshop, sharing techniques that will help you create compelling narrative. By using Christine’s tools, you’ll be able to preserve your family memories for generations to come.

• Karen Hood-Caddy, enviro-fiction author of three novels set in Ontario and personal coach. Karen will facilitate a workshop called “Cracking the Creativity Code”, aimed at poets, songwriters, budding novelists, or anyone who wants to crank up their creative abilities.

• Dorris Heffron, internationally acclaimed novelist and frequent book reviewer for The Globe and Mail, will be leading our “Making it as a Writer” workshop. Dorris will share insider information on the publishing industry, covering everything from how to complete your first draft, revision work, through to preparing and submitting your writing for publication.

Learn more by visiting www.wordstock.ca