BookFest Windsor / Festival du livre, the annual literary festival that was first held in the Southwestern Ontario city in 2002, has announced that it will be winding down operations.

“With funding decreasing and fewer people able to continue the stellar work of our founders, we are no longer able to mount a literary festival. With board and member approval, we are following government regulations to dissolve the charitable organization of Literary Arts Windsor,” BookFest said in a Facebook post on Oct. 26. “Unused funds will be returned to the grantor. Any other resources will be donated to a designated local arts charity. Our archives have been safely placed at the local archives of Leddy Library at the University of Windsor.”

The event, which was first held under the name Windsor Festival of the Book, counts among its co-founders Biblioasis publisher Dan Wells, and has hosted many award-winning and bestselling Canadian authors over the years.

The last festival was held in October 2024.