WritersFest:Short Story Showcase
Discover how much emotional force, imagination and meaning can be concentrated into a short story during the Short Story Showcase, a marquee event at the 2026 Kingston WritersFest.
Jess Gibson, Wayne Grady and Chanel Sutherland will take the festival stage with three distinctive collections that demonstrate the remarkable possibilities of short fiction. Joined by Sarah Tsiangls, the authors will explore human relationships, hidden histories and the creative art of transforming familiar stories into something entirely new.
Jess Gibson introduces The Good Eye, a mesmerizing debut collection in which everyday situations gradually shift into uncanny mysteries and acts of quiet subversion. Gibson’s stories find strangeness beneath the surface of ordinary life, revealing how a carefully observed moment can become unsettling, surprising or deeply meaningful. Novelist André Alexis praised it as “the best first collection of stories I’ve read in years.”
Montreal writer Chanel Sutherland presents Layaway Child, a lyrical and moving examination of girlhood, displacement and the Caribbean immigrant experience. Through intimate storytelling, Sutherland considers how memory, identity and belonging are shaped across generations and geographical boundaries.
Longtime friend of Kingston WritersFest Wayne Grady rounds out the evening with The Cartel and Other Cover Stories. The inventive collection approaches classic literary works in much the same way musicians reinterpret familiar songs. Grady remixes recognizable stories with sharp contemporary twists, inviting readers to see established narratives from unexpected perspectives.
Together, these three writers illustrate the precision required by the short-story form. With limited space, every character, image and sentence must contribute to the larger effect. Their collections show that a brief work can contain enormous emotional depth, complex histories and entire worlds.
Whether you are an enthusiastic reader, an aspiring writer or someone curious about contemporary Canadian literature, the Short Story Showcase offers an opportunity to hear three accomplished voices discuss their work and creative approaches. Join Kingston WritersFest for an evening celebrating stories that may be short in length but are expansive in imagination and impact.
Event Details
Date: Thursday, October 1, 2026
Time: 7:00–8:30 p.m.
Venue: Limestone, Kingston Marriott
Address: 285 King Street East, Kingston
Featuring: Jess Gibson, Wayne Grady and Chanel Sutherland
With: Sarah Tsiang
