The annual Word Vancouver festival is set to fan out across the city from September 26 to 30, with a packed program of readings, workshops, salons, and panel events, all culminating in its time-honoured, massive Sunday-long bookapalooza in and around Library Square downtown.

But that’s not the only game in town for lovers of the literary in the coming days. As you’re waiting for Word to launch, you can take in this year’s edition of the multifaceted, three-day LiterASIAN festival of Asian Canadian writing, running from Friday to Sunday (September 21 to 23) at the Sun Wah Centre, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, and the Vancouver Public Library’s Strathcona branch.

The theme this time is Journey to the West: Writing Across the Pacific, and the acclaimed wordsmiths on the roster include novelists Madeleine Thien and Kevin Chong, playwright Jovanni Sy, and screenwriter Vincent Ternida, to name just a few. You can find complete details at the LiterASIAN website.