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Three-time Governor General’s Award winner Guy Vanderhaeghe will return to Moose Jaw this month for the Saskatchewan Festival of Words, joining a packed literary lineup just weeks after taking home top honours at this year’s Saskatchewan Book Awards.
Vanderhaeghe is scheduled to appear at multiple events during the festival, including an onstage interview at the Mae Wilson Theatre on Friday, July 18 at 4 p.m., hosted by Angie Abdou, focused on his newest book, Because Somebody Asked Me To — a reflective collection of nonfiction essays, speeches, and personal commentary spanning four decades of literary life.
“It’s a sort of chronicle of my life as a writer,” Vanderhaeghe said. “Some of the earliest pieces go back to 1984. It was things that I was asked about various topics, either talks or newspaper articles or magazine articles, so that's what my emphasis is going to be. There's going to be an on stage interview with me of that book. And then I'm going to have a reading with two other winners of this year's Saskatchewan Book Awards."
Because Somebody Asked Me To earned both Book of the Year and Nonfiction Book of the Year at the 2025 Saskatchewan Book Awards, cementing Vanderhaeghe’s place as one of the province’s most respected literary voices.
Born in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, Vanderhaeghe is known for blending sharp realism with historical insight, particularly in novels like The Englishman’s Boy, The Last Crossing, and A Good Man. He’s also received the Order of Canada and Saskatchewan Order of Merit, among many national honours.
But for Vanderhaeghe, his Festival of Words appearances are about something quieter: connection.
“I really like Moose Jaw, for one thing," he said. "I first came because the founder of the festival, Gary Hyland, started writing about the same time that I did, and the first thing I ever published was — I was in high school, and it was in the Saskatchewan Teachers Magazine.
"And in there, there was a poem by Gary Hyland and another Moose Jaw writer, poet Bob Currie. So, I like both of those people, and they were both involved in the early days of the festival, so I was very glad to come. I had a good time there. I liked the feel of the festival, I liked the city, and I find it just a kind of very laid back, relaxing venue.”
Though many know him through sweeping historical fiction, Vanderhaeghe says he resists the label of a writer who’s only interested in the past.
“You don’t throw out the past. You add to it,” he said. “If you want to understand the present — what this country is becoming — you need to understand what it’s been through. And for people living on the Prairies, I think that’s especially true.”
Other scheduled appearances include reading sessions on Saturday: from 10 to 11 a.m. alongside Sylivia Legris and Jarol Boan (fellow winners at this year's Saskatchewan Book Awards), and from 1 to 2 p.m. with K.J. Aiello.
Festival tickets and passes are available now at festivalofwords.com.