StoryFest 2026

Karen Molson comes by her passion for preservation honestly.

“I was extremely fond of, and close to my paternal grandfather who founded the Canadian Heritage of Quebec, which is, to this day, a private family foundation dedicated to preserving homes of historical significance across the province,” shares the Executive Director of the Greenwood Centre for Living History in Hudson. “Some of my earliest memories of being with my grandfather are of him showing me these old houses, including the oldest home on the island of Montreal. And I was just fascinated. He had many stories about our own family history as well.”

The Greenwood Museum board member for more than 25 years, Molson had been commuting daily from her small farm in eastern Ontario to fulfill her conservational duties until relocating to Hudson this past summer.

“I absolutely love the area,” she shares. “It only made sense to make the move, especially after taking on the role of Executive Director last year. Greenwood has been a big part of my life, and I hope that it will be for some time.”

A non-profit, volunteer-based organization which has been preserving and maintaining the historic Hudson home since 1996, the Greenwood Centre for Living History continues to contribute to the community’s cultural landscape through a series of annual events, including StoryFest.

Showcasing six authors over five weeks this October and November, StoryFest began as a lecture series 25 years ago, since evolving into one of the country’s foremost literary festivals.

Molson explains that it is a combination of factors that goes into picking the authors each year.
“One is if they have a new book out. Another is their availability. And we try to aim for a balance of men and women, fiction and nonfiction, and we try to be fair in all aspects. StoryFest has developed a reputation among both publishers and the authors themselves. They might meet each other at different functions, and they will say, ‘If you ever get a chance to go to this festival, you should go! It’s great, and they treat you very well’. Authors love the accommodations and the variety of restaurants here. So, they end up approaching us and asking to be a part of what we have happening.”

StoryFest has showcased a litany of Canadian literary giants over the past quarter century – including the likes of Wayne Johnston, Margaret Atwood, Linden MacIntyre, Martha Wainwright, Ken Dryden, and many more. This year’s lineup is equally poignant, with Michael Crummey, Anita Rau Badami, Gail Anderson-Dargatz, Michelle Good, Mary Walsh and Peter Mansbridge scheduled to appear over the several weeks.

Molson – whose father is a native Montrealer and whose mother hails from Little Bay Islands in northern Newfoundland/Labrador – notes that, along with diversity, part of the festival’s popular appeal is its accessibility.

“It is more intimate. We get audiences that are big enough to make it worth everyone’s while, but small enough that there is opportunity to meet the authors and exchange a few words with them, or hear them being interviewed by the moderator, or ask questions directly from the audience – you are right there with them, and you are not competing with noise and crowds.”

Although attendees come from across the region, it is the Hudson community that keeps the festival’s pages turning.

“We couldn’t do it without the incredible support here at home,” says Molson. “The workers behind the scenes, the volunteers, the financial backers, and the people who buy tickets. That kind of multi-dimensional help is essential, and it serves to further strengthen the bonds in this already-tight knit community.”

StoryFest may be the centre’s largest annual fundraiser, but Greenwood hosts an array of year-round activities.

“This summer we hosted 28 events and each one of them contributed in its own way to the overall health and vitality of our museum. We sometimes try new things, although our traditional events continue to be the most popular, including Theatre on the Lawn, Music in the Garden, Traditional Tea, Gourmet Dinner, and our Treasures in the Kitchen event, where we sell food made by volunteers including home-made baked goods such as breads and pies. And we have our yearly Old-Fashioned Christmas, which always sells out.

“And we are already coming up with ideas for next year,” adds Molson. “Preserving the past can be frought with challenges on many fronts, but it is important if we are to better understand who we are today. And I like to think that my grandfather would be proud of the work we are doing.”

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