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Burnaby talent part of Word on the Street

Burnaby writers will be in the spotlight when an expanded Word on the Street festival hits downtown Vancouver this weekend. The festival is taking place over three days this year, Sept. 23 to 25.

Burnaby writers will be in the spotlight when an expanded Word on the Street festival hits downtown Vancouver this weekend.

The festival is taking place over three days this year, Sept. 23 to 25.

As always, the Sunday activities will take place at Library Square in the heart of downtown Vancouver, with extra programming on Saturday at the Carnegie Centre at Main and Hastings streets.

Friday evening activities are set for the historic Joy Kogawa House on West 64th Avenue and Banyen Books and Sound on West Fourth Avenue.

"We are delighted to be moving into three days of free programming," said Bryan Pike, producer of Word on the Street, in a press release. "Our new partnerships ... expand not just our programming, but our geography, bringing The Word On the Street to several venues in different areas of the city."

Several Burnaby writers will be part of the weekend's activities.

North Burnaby resident Daniel Zomparelli will be hosting a session at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at the Carnegie Centre, presented by his magazine, Poetry is Dead. He's also reading in the poetry tent at Library Square on Sunday at 12:30 p.m., with readings from Poetry is Dead.

Ellen Schwartz and Jacqueline Pearce, both Burnaby residents, will be up to read in the kids' tent on Sunday - Schwartz at 4:40 p.m., from her book The Case of the Missing Deed, and Pearce at 4:20 p.m., from her work The Mystery of the Missing Luck.

Jen Sookfong Lee will be reading from her book The Better Mother in the Canada Writes tent at 12:20 p.m. on Sunday.

Elizabeth Elwood, meanwhile, will be taking part in a panel discussion on Demystifying Mystery Writing. She'll join fellow mystery novelists Debra Purdy Kong, Robin Spano and Joan Donaldson-Yarmey in the discussion in the Peter Kaye Room, downstairs in the Vancouver Public Library. Their talk is set for noon.

For full details and scheduling information, see www.thewordonthestreet.ca/vancouver or visit the blog at http://wotsvan.wordpress.com.