Hi everyone, Shawn Hogan here, Executive Director of the Prince Edward Island Writers’ Guild. Despite having so many exciting things coming up with our organization (including the return of the Island Literary Awards in 2026!), there are also some really difficult announcements to be made that I simply wish I didn’t have to. That being said, it's with a heavy heart that we’re announcing the cancellation of the Wild Threads Literary Festival for 2025. 

Each and every year we have to source project funding for this event from a variety of public and private sector sources in order to make it happen. Since its beginning, Wild Threads (and the PEI Writers’ Guild as a whole) has received nothing but unwavering support from the folks at Innovation PEI (sincerely, thank you), and this year would have been the third year in a row of receiving federal funding through Canadian Heritage as well. Without these government funders Wild Threads would never have happened let alone grown to what it achieved.

There are some government funding decisions that greatly benefit our organizations’ ability to support PEI writers, and occasionally other decisions are made by other branches that can impact us in severely negative ways too, whether directly or indirectly.  As I’m sure many writers and reading fans have heard, there has emerged a new Tourism PEI funded Cavendish Literary Festival which is making its inaugural debut in late September and we wish them nothing but good fortune. While we did not apply to Tourism for funding this year in regards to Wild Threads, it was promising to hear that they’ve decided that literary events now show promise in creating and drawing a fanbase. However, the calendar dates of this event could not have been more challenging to us, landing a mere 4 weeks before our own festival.

These concerns were shared extensively to the Department of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport and Culture through in-person meetings, email exchanges, and dozens of letters of concern sent from literary festivals and organizations from across the country. It was communicated that placing the only other literary festival on PEI within 4 weeks of a pre-existing one, within close proximity geographically and without enough lead time or resources to adjust, could lead to our cancellation. We did our best and shared with government representatives the idea of shifting this new tourism event to May, the other side of the tourism shoulder season, which would then allow both festivals to co-exist, potentially partner, and in all likelihood prosper. This idea was sadly rejected. 

Writing being celebrated as a tourism product has potential to benefit PEI writers greatly. Our organization argued that point when we last applied for tourism funding for Wild Threads in 2022. However, when these tourism products are being cultivated, impact assessments must take place  to identify potential consequences. Navigating these consequences has been utterly devastating to the capacity levels of my Board of Directors and to me as the Executive Director of the organization. We’ve invested years of time and energy in developing Wild Threads into a brand that could be a reliable source of sustainability for the PEI Writers’ Guild and a continued source of professional development for Island writers.

It was heartbreaking for our board to cancel this year's Wild Threads, especially following the successes and momentum experienced from last year’s event. 2024 was a banner year for Wild Threads. Following an extensive branding redesign and programming overhaul the event experienced over a 70% increase in ticket revenue from its previous year. With continued support from public and private sector partners, festival programming was able to expand outside of Charlottetown with events taking place in North Rustico, Hunter River, and Victoria-by-the-Sea.  

A major focus of Wild Threads was hosting nationally recognized visiting authors and artists, while providing a platform for local PEI writers and performers. Its programming distinguished itself in consistently featuring diverse and underrepresented voices from the literary world. Wild Threads proudly made diversity and inclusion a foundation of its programming, reflecting the full spectrum of voices that exist here. For a festival to be a truly positive force, diverse and inclusive programming must be a part of its core. Our organization experienced great success with this as a focus and based on the program offerings to date, we believe that the Cavendish Literary Festival could better reflect the diversity of voices that exist within PEI and beyond. We’re open and eager to collaborate with any new literary festivals and events to ensure that these voices are considered equally.

We wish success to the Cavendish Literary Festival. We sincerely hope that it's able to expand a deserved spotlight on Island writers and we’ll always do our best to support that cause. This is bittersweet though, because the resources behind introducing a new festival is leading to the cancellation of a longstanding event. Our organization will now focus on sourcing additional funding so that we can host a comprehensive strategic planning process. Possibilities may include “Wild Threads Presents” branded off-season events or presenting the festival at a different time of year. Regardless of the direction, we remain hopeful in the festival’s next chapter. 

We also want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone that continues to show our organization support. To our funding partners whose support made Wild Threads possible from the very beginning. To all of the artists, festivals, and organizations from across the country that sent in letters of support and showed solidarity. To Bookmark bookstore, for helping the festival get off its feet and bring in some incredible talent. And finally, to our PEIWG members and to all writers across the Island: keep writing and sharing your story, your voice matters.