The Cabot Trail Writers Festival is delighted to host a reading, conversation and audience Q&A with the three authors nominated for the 2025 Alistair MacLeod Prize for Short Fiction: Allison Graves (Soft Serve), Amanda Peters (Waiting for the Long Night Moon) and Susie Taylor (Vigil).

The evening will be hosted by author Alexander MacLeod. We’re very pleased to bring these three extraordinary writers (see below for their bios) together to share their work and celebrate their nomination for an Atlantic Book Award particularly dear to Cape Breton hearts, named in honour of one of our most beloved authors and now administered by the Cabot Trail Writers Festival.

This event will be pay-what-you-can (recommended: $15). All proceeds will go towards the award and event costs. Books will be available for sale, a cash bar will be open, and light refreshments will be served. Our thanks to the Inverness County Centre for the Arts for generously opening their doors to welcome us into their space to share this beautiful evening of laughter, inspiration and stories..