Cary Fagan (Can) is an award-winning children’s author, writer of adult novels, and editor and contributor to a number of magazines and newspapers, including The Globe and Mail, The Montreal Gazette, and Books in Canada. His work has won the City of Toronto Book Award and the Jewish Book Committee Prize for Fiction. Cary has written several picture books and novels for children, among them The Market Wedding, Daughter of the Great Zandini (winner of a Mr. Christie’s Silver Medal), The Fortress of Kaspar Snit and Ten Old Men and a Mouse. His latest book is My New Shirt. He is a native of Toronto.

Dennis Lee (Can) written more than twenty books of poetry for children and adults, including Alligator Pie, now a children’s classic, and Civil Elegies, which won the 1972 Governor General’s Award for Poetry. He was one of the founders of House of Anansi Press and, from 2001 to 2004, served as Toronto’s first poet laureate. He also wrote most of the song lyrics for the television show Fraggle Rock and contributed to two fantasy films by Jim Henson: The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. His most recent collections are SoCool, for younger teenagers, and yesno, for adults.

Sylvain Meunier (Can) dreamed of being an author as soon as he learned to read and write. His first novel appeared in 1995, and since then he has published over twenty titles for both youth and adults. He is a two-time finalist for the Governor General’s Award. In addition, he is head of the Union des Écrivains Québécois and President of the Association des Auteurs de la Montérégie. His children’s books include Les malheurs de mon grand-père, a novel from his funny and touching Germaine series; Le grand corbeau, a first chapter book; and Le bon sommeil du roi de Sucredor, a picture book.

Andrée Poulin (Can) has always believed that books can change the world. Her passion for reading brought her to her first career in journalism. Later, her interest in Asia and Africa led her to international relations, and she continues to split her time between writing and international development. She has published a dozen picture books and novels and has received many literary awards. Les Impatiences de Ping, for example, is on the Communication-Jeunesse 2004–2005 list of favourite books selected by youth. She brings three books to WordFest, including the award-winning Mes parents sont gentils… mais tellement girouettes.

Dr. Dale Auger (Can) is a renowned Cree artist and motivational speaker with a unique perspective on education and the communication of knowledge; he brings his first book, Mwakwa - Talks to the Loon, to this year's Festival.

David Bouchard (Can) has penned over twenty-five bestselling children's books despite being a latecomer to literature (he became a dedicated reader at twenty-seven and began writing a decade later); he returns to WordFest with Nokum Is My Teacher.

Yvon Brochu (Can) has written more than thirty-five books for readers of all ages and pens the hilarious Galoche Supercaboche series of novels and comics; his latest works are Galoche en grande vedette and Galoche Supercaboche et les Jeux olympiques.

Hazel Hutchins (Can) is the award-winning author of over thirty children's books and a regular presenter at venues across Canada; she brings the latest volume of her popular TJ series, TJ and the Sports Fanatic, to the Festival.

Michelle is a founding member of the famously eclectic Montréal roots band Hart-Rouge; she comes to WordFest this year as the voice of the picture book The Fabulous Song.

This poet, storyteller and educator returns to WordFest with her first young adult novel The Gravesavers - a ghostly mystery set in the tiny town of Boulder Basin, Nova Scotia, as well as a brand-new collection of enchanting children's poems..

auteur de douze romans pour adultes et de trente livres pour enfants, on lui décernait en 1990 le prix M. Christie pour Zamboni, le Prix du Gouverneur général, catégorie littérature jeunesse, pour Deux heures et demie avant Jasmine, en 1991, ainsi que le prix Alvine-Bélisle de l’Asted 1994, pour Klonk.

Paul has published well over a dozen books for readers of all ages; his latest titles include Bamboo, a folk tale set in a south Chinese village.

Carolyn Fisher grew up on a southern Alberta farm with a cow, a cat, a dog, a duck, three chickens and a pig. When Carolyn's not making pictures in her studio, she teaches illustration at the Alberta College of Art and Design and tours the country talking to people about art and books.

Connie Kaldor, the renowned Canadian folk singer brings two books to this year’s festival: A Duck in New York City and A Poodle in Paris.

Robert Heidbreder is an elementary school teacher who believes that children are natural poets; he is the author of Eenie Meenie Manitoba, Don’t Eat Spiders, I Wished for a Unicorn and most recently, Drumheller Dinosaur Dance.

Born and raised on southern Alberta farm, Hazel Hutchins has enjoyed the West’s beauty her whole life. Hazel Hutchins brings three new books to this year’s festival: Beneath the Bridge, The Sidewalk Rescue and TJ and the Rockets.

Laurent Chabin est né et a grandi en France. En 1994, il déménage à Calgary avec sa famille. Depuis 1996, il a écrit plus de cinquante livres en français qui sont bien reçus autant chez les jeunes que chez les adultes.

Originaire de la ville de Québec, Sophie Bérubé vit en Nouvelle-Écosse où elle se laisse inspirer par la magie et la beauté qui l’entourent. Son premier recueil pour enfants Le chef-d’oeuvre de Lombrie, a gagné le prix Lilla Stirling au printemps 2002. Son deuxième livre pour enfants, La truelle magique, a été publié au printemps 2001.

Pamela Paige Porter is a poet and writer of children’s books. She will be presenting Sky at this year’s Book Rapport; a story set in Montana and southern Canada after the great floods of 1964. Sky tells the story of the devastation caused by the flood and the impact it caused on farm land, families and interracial relations.

Maryse Pelletier est dramaturge, comédienne et écrivaine. Elle collabore à des scripts de radio et des émissions de télévision, et elle a été directrice artistique du Théâtre Populaire du Québec. Son plus récent livre pour les jeunes est La chasse au plomb.

Linda Bailey is an award-winning author of children’s books, and enjoys a huge following for her classic Stevie Diamond mysteries and the Good Times Travel Agency series; her latest is Adventures in Ancient China.

Marie-Danielle Croteau hails from Eastern Québec with a pair of new children’s novels, Un rêveur qui aimait la mer et les poissons dorés and La petite fille qui voulait être roi.

Sheree Fitch is a renowned performance poet, storyteller, author, and educator; she released her first young adult novel One More Step last year, and The Rock A Bye Rock is her latest book.

Tomson Highway has been one of Canada’s most important literary voices as a playwright and novelist; he returns to WordFest with the latest in a trilogy of children’s books, Dragonfly Kites.

Dennis Lee, internationally renowned author of Alligator Pie, Bubblegum Delicious and Garbage Delight, was Canada’s nominee for the 2002 Hans Christian Anderson Author Award for lasting contribution to literature for children and young people.

Andrea Spalding is a renowned and multi-talented children’s author and entertainer; her latest works are The Disappearing Dinosaur – part of the unique Internet-integrated Adventure Net series – and Dance of the Stones.

Rudy Wiebe has penned numerous books on distinctly Canadian subjects; he returns to WordFest with the new children’s title Hidden Buffalo.

Julie Lawson is an award-winning children’s writer whose potent imagination animates her new works The Klondike Cat, Emily: Disaster at the Bridge and A Ribbon of Shining Steel.

Richard Scrimger has taken children's literature by storm with adorable characters like the nose-dwelling alien Norbert, who returns in Noses are Red, and Winifred in Princess Bun Bun.