Join us for a night of captivating Queer Literary Readings at the Victoria Conference Centre on Saturday, July 4, 2026.
We are thrilled to welcome many great writers and speakers who will be presenting their work for our community audience.
Live captioning will be available during the event. To access the captions on your personal device, scan the QR code or visit https://bc.typewell.com/
Event is 7:30 PM till 10:30 PM (Doors at 6:30PM)
Tickets available now!
All tickets are on a Pay What You Can Model. Suggested donation for tickets is $10-40. We encourage folks to purchase their tickets within their means and for folks who are able to donate more, we greatly encourage so that we can continue to showcase and share these events for EVERYONE!
The Victoria Conference Centre is an accessible venue, including including lifts, elevators, ramps, automatic doors, accessible parking, and wheel chair seating.
Gender neutral washrooms are available.
ASL Closed Captioning with attendees personal device will be available.
All ages event, content warnings given as needed.
Here is a link to an interactive accessibility map:
https://www.destinationgreatervictoria.com/meetings/victoria-conference-centre/accessibility
Billy-Ray Belcourt is from the Driftpile Cree Nation in northwest Alberta. He is an Associate Professor in the School of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of six books; most recently, Coexistence: Stories and The Idea of an Entire Life: Poems.
He's got the gift of gab and you can find him shimmy shoulders on stages all over the island. Know for his Sass, class and all that...heart.
Zena Sharman is an essayist and non-fiction writer whose work explores themes of community, identity, and care. She’s the editor of several anthologies, including The Care We Dream Of and the Lambda Literary award-winning The Remedy. Her debut memoir, Staying Power: On Queerness, Inheritances, and the Families We Choose, was published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2026.
Thistle Dunsmuir (they/them) is a queer, non-binary poet currently residing on the unceded territories of the lәќwәŋәn-speaking people. Their work has appeared in Vagabond City Press, Sea and Cedar Magazine, Eavesdrop Literary and others. As a trans and autistic artist, Thistle uses their poetry to explore themes of mental health, healing and identity in a world not built for them.
Miranda Jay is a BIPOC Neuroqueer writer, speaker, and artist. A poet at heart, she uses her work to metabolize life on a planet where she often feels like an alien—blending confession, rebellion, and dark humor. Her writing appears in ADDitude Magazine, Tiny Buddha, and Art of Autism. She is writing a revolution.
Your friendly queer disabled superhero, Dex Neily (they/them) is a poet and performer from Lekwungen territories. They have represented Victoria nationally and internationally at seven spoken word festivals, and was a finalist at both the 2021 and 2022 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam. Their current work centers around the pain and pleasure of being queer, chronically ill, and alive.
Eryn Alexander Rose is a multidisciplinary visual and performance artist living on lək̓ʷəŋən territory, constantly drawing inspiration from their intersecting disabled and trans identities. Known across Vancouver Island primarily for their dark illustrative tattoo work, as well as their work producing and performing in local shows as drag monster Boy Gorgeous, they also dabble in painting, printmaking, and the occasional cathartic slam poetry piece.
Wilder Simpson is a poet, an athlete, an academic, a creative mind, and a presence within a large and loving family. He’s a transgender man, and his poetry explores what it means—and how it feels—to live authentically and vulnerably in such a harsh and beautiful world.
LGBTQ+ people make your life better. Keynote speaker Mischa Oak wrote the book on it -- literally. 'Rainbow Wisdom: 18 LGBTQ+ Life Lessons for Everyone' is a national bestseller that flips the script and shows why 2SLGBTQIA+ wisdom belongs at the centre of all our lives.
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The Victoria Pride Society acknowledges that it organizes and works on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen Peoples and that the land’s relationships with the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples have existed since time immemorial. Further to this acknowledgement, the Victoria Pride Society affirms that colonialism and the attitudes and practices that have accompanied it contribute to systemic discrimination and violence against Indigenous Peoples and all marginalized and equity-deserving people. Read more.
