Current Events

See also: Past Events

March


Tue
25
Arctic Predator Book Launch
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Perfect Books

Journalist Kathleen Lippa comes to Perfect Books to launch Arctic Predator: The Crimes of Edward Horne Against Children in Canada’s North.

The result of years of research, this important book examines the devastating impact Horne’s crimes had on individuals, families, and entire Inuit communities in Canada’s Arctic. Her compelling work lifts the veil of silence surrounding the Horne story once and for all.

Tue
25
Tuesday Night at VERSeFest
7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Saw Gallery

Enjoy opening night of Ottawa's International Poetry Festival, VERSeFest, at Saw Gallery! Featuring two back-to-back events:

7 pm: Em Dial, Jessica Hiemstra, and Susan Atkinson - Hosted by Stephen Brockwell

9 pm: Riverbed Reading Series presents Kimberly Quioque Andrews, Oana Avasilichioaei, and Xenia Gould - Hosted by nina jane drystek

More details and tickets available at verseottawa.ca

Wed
26
Chasing Shadows with Ronald J. Deibert
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street

Join the Ottawa Writers Festival, in partnership with Library and Archives Canada and the Ottawa Public Library, as they welcome cyber security expert Ronald J. Deibert in conversation with Associate Professor of International Relations at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs Stephanie Carvin.

In his real-life spy thriller, Chasing Shadows, Ronald Deibert details the unseemly marketplace for high-tech surveillance, professional disinformation, and computerized malfeasance. He reveals how his team of digital sleuths at the Citizen Lab have lifted the lid on dozens of covert operations targeting innocent citizens everywhere.

For more details and tickets, visit writersfestival.org

Wed
26
Wednesday Night at VERSeFest
7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Saw Gallery

VERSefest continues for another dual event Saw Gallery:

7pm: In Our Tongues presents Luna-Cardenas Ibarra, Nshannacappo, and Rebecca Kempe - Hosted by Sridaya Srivatsan

9pm: Urban Legends presents King Kimbit, Dümideya, and Kazmega - Hosted by Billie Nell

More details and tickets at verseottawa.ca

Thu
27
Communities for Everyone: When Driving Isn't An Option
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Faculty of Health Sciences FHS Lees Room 142, University of Ottawa

Join Anna Zivarts, author of When Driving is Not an Option, for an eye-opening talk on inclusive and universal design in transportation. She’ll explore what mobility looks like from a non-driving perspective and why prioritizing transit, walking, and rolling makes cities safer, more accessible, and more efficient.

Discover key insights from her book, learn how current systems fall short, and gain a new perspective on what truly inclusive transportation could be. Whether you're a planner, advocate, or simply curious, this conversation will inspire new ways to build and support communities for everyone.

This event will include a book signing with Anna Zivarts after the keynote and networking/mingling time.

Register here!

Thu
27
Thursday Night at VERSeFest
7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Happy Goat Cafe on Laurel Ave

The third evening of Ottawa's poetry festival continues at the Happy Goat on Laurel!

7pm: Flo. Literary Magazine presents Adrienne Stevenson, Laurie Koensgen, and Salem Paige

9pm: Arc Poetry Magazine presents Alexis Vollant, Chelene Knight, and Pamela Mosher - Hosted by Lise Rochefort

More details and tickets at verseottawa.ca

Fri
28
Friday Night at VERSeFest
7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Happy Goat Cafe on Laurel Ave

Continue the VERSeFest poetry week of fun with a Friday evening at Happy Goat Cafe on Laurel, featuring two great events:

7pm: Andy Weaver, Phil Hall, and Terese Mason Pierre - hosted by rob mclennan

9 pm: Chloé LaDuchesse, Eileen Myles, and Zoe Whittall - hosted by Daniel Groleau Landry

More details and tickets available at verseottawa.ca

Sat
29
Closing Night of VERSeFest
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
The Manx Pub

Plan 99 presents the closing event of VERSeFest's Spring 2025 Festival, featuring Bridget Huh, Sara Berkeley, and Stephanie Roberts!

More details and tickets at verseottawa.ca

April


Wed
2
Sucker Punch with Scaachi Koul
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Southminster United Church, 15 Alymer Ave

Ottawa Writers Festival presents Scaachi Koul's latest book, Sucker Punch:

Scaachi Koul’s first book was a collection of raw, perceptive, and hilarious essays reckoning with the issues of race, body image, love, friendship, and growing up the daughter of immigrants. When the time came to start writing her next book, Scaachi assumed she’d be updating her story with essays about her elaborate four-day wedding, settling down to domestic bliss, and continuing her never-ending arguments with her parents. Instead, the Covid pandemic hit, the world went into lockdown, Scaachi’s marriage fell apart, she lost her job, and her mother was diagnosed with cancer.

Sucker Punch  is about what happens when the life you thought you’d be living radically changes course, everything you thought you knew about the world and yourself has tilted on its axis, and you have to start forging a new path forward.

More details and tickets at writersfestival.org

Mon
7
Book Launch for At the Trough
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Perfect Books

Local author Laurent Carbonneau offers a searing critique of Canada’s long-standing reliance on corporate subsidies with his book At the Trough: The Rise and Rise of Canada's Corporate Welfare Bums. Join us for the book launch of this timely call to action, wherein the author urges Canadians to demand a fairer, more prosperous economy designed for the public good, not corporate interests.

Tue
8
Born and Razed Book Launch
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Perfect Books

Join author Beth Granger for the launch of Born and Razed: Surviving the Cult Was Only Half the Battle, a story of recovery from religious abuse, and the road to holding the abusers accountable.