Hamilton gritLIT literary festival returns for 20th anniversary
This year's gritLIT was a five-day celebration of the excellence, diversity and culture of the city's literary arts community
Originating as a grassroots initiative, the gritLIT literary festival has grown into a five-day celebration of Hamilton's local talent and authors from across Canada. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the festival which took place from Apr 17 to Apr 21.
gritLIT describes itself as an intimate festival with a focus on local Hamilton writers.
“People don't know what to expect, and if it's something you're intimidated by or you haven't really been in that literary world, just the idea of a literary festival can sound kind of snobbish or exclusive. And we're absolutely not that,” explained Jessica Rose, interim artistic director at gritLIT.
People don't know what to expect, and if it's something you're intimidated by or you haven't really been in that literary world, just the idea of a literary festival can sound kind of snobbish or exclusive. And we're absolutely not that.
Jessica Rose
gritLIT, Interim Artistic Director
In addition to gritLIT’s commitment to celebrating excellence in the literary arts and bringing cultural traffic to Hamilton, the festival is focused on promoting a diversity of perspective and experience in their programming.
“We've got some incredible authors coming this year who are sharing their trans experience, their immigration experiences — very much their lived experiences — whether they're telling it through memoir or poetry or fiction,” said Rose.
We've got some incredible authors coming this year who are sharing their trans experience, their immigration experiences — very much their lived experiences — whether they're telling it through memoir or poetry or fiction.
Jessica Rose
gritLIT, Interim Artistic Director
During the pandemic, gritLIT organizers saw the importance of virtual programming, which the festival still continues today through a hybrid format. This year, gritLIT will be hosting their 20th anniversary celebration and writing contest awards online to accommodate viewers and contest participants from across Canada.
“Accessibility is really, really important to us. There were so many negative things about the pandemic, but one amazing thing was we were able to have people tune into gritLIT events from across the country,” explained Rose.
Over the 30 events that gritLIT held, the festival drew in thousands of attendees. The larger events included an evening with Margaret Atwood, who was speaking about her latest work Old Babes in the Wood at Theatre Aquarius.
Efforts to engage younger audiences included new events like their flash fiction contest and involvement from the youth committee. Last year, the gritLIT youth committee organized a mixer event for attendees to discuss their favorite books, which was well-received by the younger crowd.
“We find once people come to a gritLIT event, they come back and they come back and they come back. So, we're just excited to see the demographics change a little bit, seeing some of those younger faces,” said Rose
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