Upcoming Events

September 25, 2024: Launch of peter hrastovec’s limbo moon, with poets kalie chapman and jovan stefanov

We’re excited to launch our first poetry chapbook, Limbo Moon, authored by the inimitable Peter Hrastovec, Poet Laureate of the City of Windsor. Peter will be joined by two local young poets, Kalie Chapman and Jovan Stefanov.

This is a free event. Chapbooks will be available for purchase. All are welcome.

Date: Wednesday, September 25th at 7:00 p.m.
Location: Cafe Amor (1464 Ottawa St.), Windsor, Ontario

May 11-12, 2024: springsong weekend with margaret atwood, helen humphreys, and roderigo lópez

For the second year in a row, Woodbridge Farm Books is excited to partner with the Pelee Island Bird Observatory on the publication of three new chapbooks. This year, at the 23rd annual Springsong Weekend banquet on Saturday, May 11th, we’ll be launching two new books in our Birders on Birds series — Margaret Atwood’s Birding with Graeme Gibson: Snowy Owl, Scarlet Ibis, Cuban Crow and guest birder Roderigo López’s Rose-bellied Bunting: The Battle for Pinch-Point Habitats — along with guest author Helen Humphreys’ In Conversation with the Wild: On Drawing Nature, in our Writers at Rest series. This is a paid event.

The next morning, on Sunday, May 12th at 10:00 a.m., Woodbridge Farm Books will be vending chapbooks for all three of this year’s authors at Pelee Wings PIBO Bird Talk, featuring a presentation by author Roderigo López. More information on this event can be found here.

Date: Saturday and Sunday, May 11-12, 2024
Location: Pelee Island Winery, Pelee Island, Ontario

May 13, 2023: springsong dinner with Randy Boyagoda and Ian davidson

Woodbridge Farm Books, in partnership with the Pelee Island Bird Observatory, is honored to attend the Pelee Island Heritage Centre’s 22nd Springsong Weekend on Pelee Island, Ontario. This year’s event features guest author Randy Boyagoda.

In celebration of the occasion, Woodbridge Farm Books has published chapbooks by Randy Boyagoda and ecologist Ian Davidson.

This is a paid event. Chapbooks will be on sale for signing.

Date: Saturday, May 13, 2023
Location: Pelee Island Winery, Pelee Island, Ontario

Past Events

july 21, 2019: an outdoor reading with alix hawley and mary ann mulhern

For our fourth annual event, we’re delighted to host readings by Kelowna, British Columbia-based author Alix Hawley and Windsor Poet Laureate Mary Ann Mulhern.

This is a free event and chapbook launch, with snacks and refreshments. Books will be on sale for signing.

Date: Sunday, July 21, 2019
Time: 2 - 5 p.m.
Location: Red Lantern Cafe, Kingsville, Ontario

June 24, 2018: an outdoor reading with dani couture and melanie janisse-barlow

It's almost summer in Kingsville — which means we're nearing the launch of Woodbridge Farm's third year of outdoor readings. Come out to welcome our June author-in-residence, the amazing Toronto-based Dani Couture — among Canada's most acclaimed young poets — who'll be presenting with local favorite Melanie Janisse-Barlow. As always, expect free refreshments, a beautiful lakeside view, books on sale for signing, and jazz 78s from the 20s, 30s, and 40s.

This is a free event and chapbook launch, with snacks and refreshments. Books will be on sale for signing.

Date: Sunday, June 24, 2018
Time: 3 - 6 p.m.
Location: Woodbridge Farm; see our Contact page for details
Rain venue: None; we have a big tent

August 26, 2017: an experimental fiction master class with André alexis

What is experimental fiction? What draws authors to the form? How can innovation add depth and meaning to a narrative, or shape a work in lieu of a narrative? Commencing with a morning lecture, followed by an afternoon of guided writing exercises, award-winning novelist André Alexis takes students through the theory and practice of a tradition popularized, in recent years, by Zadie Smith, George Saunders, and Alexis himself.

For details on the Saturday, August 26th class, including fees, can be found here on our News page.

For more about André, visit the "2017 Authors-in-Residence" section of our Residencies page.

August 27, 2017: An Outdoor Reading with André Alexis, André Narbonne, and Dorothy Mahoney

Our outdoor reading series continues in late August, with three spectacular authors: Giller Prize winning novelist André Alexis, author and professor André Narbonne, and poet Dorothy Mahoney.

For more about André, visit the "2017 Authors-in-Residents" section of our Residencies page.

André Narbonne and Dorothy Mahoney, both highly esteemed Windsor-based writers, will join Alexis to share their latest work and enjoy a relaxed weekend afternoon on the lake.

This is a free event and book launch, with snacks and refreshments. Books will be on sale for signing.

Date: Sunday, August 27, 2017
Time: 3 - 6 p.m.
Location: Woodbridge Farm; see our Contact page for details
Rain venue: Pelee Island Winery, 455 Seacliff Dr., Kingsville, ON

june 11, 2017: an outdoor reading with Diane Schoemperlen, Marty gervais, and d.a. Lockhart

Our outdoor reading series started again in June, with three spectacular authors: Governor General's Award winning novelist and Taylor Prize finalist Diane Schoemperlen, Windsor's beloved poet laureate Marty Gervais, and Windsor-based author, poet, and publisher D.A. Lockhart. The event, held in partnership with Windsor, Ont. publisher Biblioasis, opened the region's summer literary season.

For a recap with photos, click here.

june 10, 2017: exclusive memoir master class with diane schoemperlen

2017 Taylor Prize finalist Diane Schoemperlen, author of the national bestseller This is Not My Life: A Memoir of Love, Prison, and Other Complications, lead a sold-out masterclass on memoir writing on Saturday, June 10th. Details on the class can be found here.

For more about Diane, and to view her interview on TVO's The Agenda, visit the "2017 Resident Authors" section of our Retreat page.

about our summer reading series

At present, the Summer Reading Series on indefinite hiatus. We hope to return to annual programming soon.

Started as a way to gather with friends and introduce writers from outside the region to homegrown talent, the series launched in July of 2016. Our first resident, Toronto-based poet and writer Jesse Eckerlin, was joined by Windsor-based poet, writer, and bookseller Robert Earl Stewart. Praised by LouAnn Geauvreau-Karry in her column for The Kingsville Reporter as "an ideal way to spend a summer ... afternoon," the reading received overwhelmingly positive feedback from those who attended.

If you're a resident of the Windsor-Essex-Detroit region, sign up below for periodic news about our events and programming.

Banner and sidebar photographs provided by Robert Earl Stewart