By Anna Dunlop
Lush green becomes a warm yellow, sandals close their toes, and as its name suggests, the season finds itself falling into our laps. Montreal’s literary scene thrives during the autumn quiet, and opportunities abound to escape, adventure and take part in Montreal’s vibrant literary community!
Book Clubs
Located in Mile End, Drawn & Quarterly is a bookstore hosting numerous events throughout the year, including their own monthly book clubs. These clubs are open to all and cover fiction and non-fiction books alike, offering several different themed variations that are sure to satisfy anyone’s literary tastes.
Their current book club cycle switches between their cookbook club – next on the menu is a discussion of Matty Matheson’s Soups, Salada, Sandwiches on September 14th – and their graphic novel book club, focusing on Misery of Love by Yvan Alagbe on September 30th. Follow along with these and other upcoming events through their Instagram or online event calendar for further updates.
Another great book club to follow is the Violet Hour Book Club. Created by Christopher DiRaddo and hosted monthly at Espace des Possibles dans La Petite-Patrie, the Violet Hour centres discussions of LGBTQ+ literature. The first of these Fall sessions, taking place on September 20, will discuss Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. The book is available to purchase at Montreal local bookstores such as Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore and Pulp Books & Cafe. The Violet Hour has both Instagram and Facebook pages to keep you updated, as well as a newsletter to keep you informed of scheduled sessions each month.
Argo Bookshop, which celebrates its 59th year in 2025, is the oldest English-language independent bookstore in Montreal and has hosted several book clubs over its long run. This year it offers three in particular: The Japan Book Club and the Literature in Translation Book Club (which meet every two months), and Book Club with the Author (which meets on a more intermittent basis). The Japan Book Club meets again in late September, focusing on The Master of Go by Kawabata Yasunari. To follow along with Argo’s events, email events@argobookshop.ca, or sign up for their newsletter.
Libraries
There’s no shortage of amazing bookstores in Montreal, but don’t sleep on its public libraries!
The fall is full of events at the Westmount Public Library, with two author talks in September. On September 16, journalist Ian Darragh will discuss his work on Holocaust survivor Walter W. Igersheimer’s memoir Blatant Injustice, published in 2024 by McGill-Queen’s University Press. On September 28, professor Nathalie Cooke will discuss her new book Tastes and Traditions, published this year by Reaktion Books.
If documentaries are more your speed, the Westmount Library also hosts a documentary club running throughout the fall, the first screening being the 2024 film So Surreal: Behind The Masks on September 10th. There will be one screening of a new documentary each month, and all screenings and author events are free.
The Atwater Library is also hosting free events this fall, including their book club meeting once a month, as well as their Atwater Lunchtime Series, which brings in speakers and artists of all kinds. A full schedule is available on their website.
If you’re a writer who has found themselves with a case of writer’s block, Bibliothèque Mordecai-Richler is just the place to help you find some inspiration with their weekly writing workshops. Offering a slew of other events, Mordecai-Richler is a great place for both writers and readers alike to scratch their literary itch and indulge in their passions.
Festivals
To close off the season, three staples of the Montreal literary scene make their return: the Salon du livre de Montréal, Yolk Oktoberfest, and the Read Quebec Book fair.
Between activities onsite and throughout the city, the Salon du livre de Montréal fills the whole month of November with books! The Salon dans la ville portion begins on November 7 with activities throughout the city, culminating in the onsite festival at the Palais des congrès de Montréal from November 19-23.
To cap off a fall full of books, the Read Quebec Book Fair will return for its 10th anniversary edition! Produced by the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ), the Read Quebec Book Fair celebrates English-language writers and publishers from here. This year’s fair is slated for December 6 and 7 at Casa d’Italia. Follow AELAQ on Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates, and keep an eye on ReadQuebec.ca for this year’s programming, as this is one milestone event you do not want to miss!
Reading Series
Is your Notes app being weighed down by poetry dying to be shared? These open mics might just be the perfect place for you.
If you’re someone who likes to pair your poetry with a pint, be sure to stop by La Marche à Côté on the first and third Sunday of each month for Accent Open Mic. Whether you’re a writer looking to share your work or a patron of the arts, Accent Open Mic is just as it is called, open to all. All of Accent’s reading themes for each event, as well as the invited readers are featured on their Facebook page, with their next installment on September 6th!
One last part of the blooming literary culture in Montreal stems from a grassroots organization, created by students at Concordia University, Union Sante Fe. USF welcomes writers and artists of all kinds for weekly open mics, the meetings being open for all to attend, with locations changing all over the city. Follow along with the union on instagram for updates on future events and their locations, as this particular club hosts several talented young voices.\
A city with a great love and passion for the literary arts is worth celebrating, and I hope that you choose to do so by engaging with at least one of these wonderful events. May your Chai lattes keep you warm as you fill your shelves with books!
Anna Dunlop (she/her) is a student of English Literature at Concordia University, as well as a writer and editor. She is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Montreal-based literary anthology, Tea and Oranges.