Best Excuse to Visit:
Ottawa International Writers Festival
Various locations during the spring & fall (check the website for event details)

Since the festival started in 1997 it has seen about an 800% growth in its audience. According to their website, the goal of the Ottawa International Writers Festival is “to create an environment that activates creativity and encourages the love of reading, learning and self-expression.”

Best Literary Event:
Tree Reading Series
2nd & 4th Tuesday of the month at Arts Court, 2 Daly Ave

The Tree Reading Series has been a part of Ottawa’s literary community for over 20 years. Tree offers free poetry workshops and readings by writers from across Canada and is definitely a big part of the literary community in Ottawa.

Best Bookstore:
Nicholas Hoare
419 Sussex Drive

It’s quiet, there are places to sit, and the books are merchandised so well that you can spend hours just browsing through all the titles. It is impossible for me to walk out of there without a book or a list of books that I need to buy.

Nicholas Hoare - Ottawa location

For a list of books set in Ottawa, including Best Laid Plans and Garbo Laughs, visit BiblioTravel: Ottawa.