AfterWords Literary Festival, the newest addition to CanLit’s fall lineup, has released the program for its inaugural edition. The Halifax event runs from Oct. 2–6 in venues across the city.

The lineup includes Caroline Adderson, Mona Awad, Cary Fagan, Elise Levine, Lynn Coady, Christy Ann Conlin, Kamal Al-Solaylee, Doyali Islam, and Gwen Benaway. In addition to readings, conversations, and talks, AfterWords is also offering free public workshops on poetry, screenwriting, and fiction. A professional development workshop for writers will be led by Adderson.

In a press release, co-founder and co-executive director Stephanie Domet says that all venues are physically accessible and many events will offer an ASL interpreter. AfterWords is also working with the free school Halifax Humanities to offer tickets to those who might not be able to afford to attend otherwise.

The volunteer-led initiative is the first literary festival in a decade that focuses on presenting both local and touring authors to Halifax audiences. In 2009, the Halifax International Writers’ Festival was shut down after a five-year run.

Tickets and passes are now available at AfterWordsLiteraryFestival.com.