ST. ANNS, N.S. — The cancellations may be mounting elsewhere but organizers of the Cabot Trail Writers Festival are optimistic their annual event can still take place this fall.
“At this point, we’re very optimistic that we’ll be able to proceed as planned with the 2020 Cabot Trail Writers Festival, on Oct. 2-4, and feel fortunate that the festival timing makes that possible,” said artistic director Rebecca Silver Slayter in a recent news release.
Slayter had expected to post details on the annual May reading featuring nominees for the 2020 Atlantic Book Awards but that event has been now postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. She’s hopeful the reading event will go ahead in the fall.
The Atlantic Book Awards Society postponed the 2020 Atlantic Book Festival and Awards Gala earlier this month that was initially planned for May. It’s expected that the society will announce its shortlist in late June or early July and the festival and gala will go ahead in the late fall if possible.
Slayter said it’s good that festivals and arts organizations are cancelling events to protect artists and audiences, even though it is a tough decision to make. She asks readers to make their own contributions by supporting writers through reading their work.
“Publishers, bookstores and writers are facing very tough times right now, and just by using some of these extra hours at home reading their books, you are helping.”
It will be the 12th year for the Cabot Trail Writers Festival which is based at the Gaelic College in St. Anns. Its goals are to conceive, devise, create, and present an annual celebration of writing, reading, and the literate arts, as well as adjunct events with the same aims presented throughout the year.
It has been able to maintain its relaxed intimacy of a "small" literary festival. Writers and readers mingle freely with no stage or curtain to divide them.
The Cabot Trail Writers Festival describes the event as a "distinctly unstuffy literary experience, with music and laughter freely filling the gaps between readings, workshops and panel discussions," that give a unique opportunity for writers and their fans to enjoy each other's company.
