Yeehah! The festival season is beginning, so we're highlighting the final lists of authors appearing at the first four of the season: The Lakefield Literary Festival (Lakefield, ON), the Saskatchewan Festival of Words (Moosejaw, SK), Read by the Sea (River John, NS) and the Leacock Summer Festival (Orillia, ON). In a couple of weeks we'll do the same for Canada's August Lit Fests.

The Lakefield Literary Festival, running July 12–14, includes:

• Linda Bailey
• John Bell
• John Boyko
• Jean Murray Cole
• Connie Brummel Crook
• Lauren B. Davis
• Michael Epp
• Douglas Gibson
• Thomas King
• Lewis MacLeod
• Enid Mallory
• Lee Maracle
• Esperança Melo
• Alison Pick
• Bill Slavin
• Linda Spalding
• Drew Hayden Taylor
• Kathleen Winter

You can purchase tickets via this page.

The 17th Saskatchewan Festival of Words (Moosejaw) running July 18–21, includes:

• Angie Abdou
• Annabel Lyon
• Candace Savage
• Carmen Aguirre
• CS Richardson
• Catherine Banks
• CJ Katz
• Dave Bidini
• Ken Babstock
• Dawn Dumont
• Greg Johnson
• Linda Spalding
• Melanie Schnell
• Marie Louise Gay
• Mary Balogh
• Miranda Hill
• Rosemary Griebel
• Rabindranath Maharaj
• Robert Currie
• Ross King
• Sheri-D Wilson
• Shana Stock
• Tom Wayman
• Zoe Whittall
• Wayne Arthurson

For the schedule, click here and to purchase tickets click here.

Read by the Sea (River John, NS) is on July 20, and includes:

• Marina Endicott
• Phil Hall
• Vincent Lam
• Rebecca Silver Slater

(If you're in the area a little earlier, Lisa Moore and Michael Crummey will be reading from their new works at 7pm, Monday, July 15, at Green Grass Running Water Cafe, 102 Main Street, Tatamagouche).

The 2013 Leacock Summer Festival (Orillia) runs July 23–28, and includes:

• Mark Kingwell
• Jowita Bydlowska
• Steven Heighton
• David McFadden
• Ian Williams
• Jan Zwicky
• Marty Gervais
• Terry Fallis
• Lorne Elliot
• Andrew Kaufman
• Roger Bell
• Sherry Lawson
• Charlie Wilkins
• James Clarke
• Bruce Meyer
• Daniel David Moses
• Ed Greenwood
• Leslie Livingston
• Lauren Carter
• Darryl Whetter

For schedule and tickets, click here.

Stay tuned for August Lit Fest lineups!