gritLIT Presenter Portal

We are so excited to have you at our 22nd readers and writers festival. Your presenter badge will give you access to all of our mainstage events, excluding workshops, so we hope you sit in and see what your peers are up to!

We’d also like to welcome you to our opening celebration at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, featuring Sarah Mughal Rana, Emily Ohanjanians, and Lavanya Lakshmi. RSVP is required, so please follow this link to claim your free ticket to Opening Night, Opening Pages.

Check out our program to see what else you might be interested in attending!

If you have not done so already, please fill out the Presenter Questionnaire.

All mainstage events are held on the mezzanine level of the Homewood Suites by Hilton, located at 40 Bay Street South, just two blocks from the TD Coliseum and the Hamilton Convention Centre. Unique local restaurants, shops, and attractions are only minutes away.

Mainstage events will be held in the ROSEDALE room and the WESTDALE room. Workshops will be held in either WESTDALE or HAMILTON EAST. Interactive events will take place in HAMILTON CENTRAL or BEASLEY. Each room will be clearly labelled and have a schedule of events for that room.

Our Festival Field Trips are located at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, renowned for presenting outstanding exhibitions and complementary programming for visitors of all ages, located at 123 King Street West and the Hamilton Farmers’ Market, one of Hamilton’s oldest and most cherished traditions, located at 35 York Boulevard. New this year, gritLIT will be presenting a walking tour of downtown Hamilton that will begin and end at the Homewood Suites.

If you would like to spend more time at the Art Gallery, you’ll find a complimentary pass in your swag bag!

The gritLIT partner hotel is the Homewood Suites by Hilton, located at 40 Bay Street South, just two blocks from the TD Coliseum and the Hamilton Convention Centre.

You will receive confirmation of your stay directly from the Homewood Suites by Hilton. If you do not receive it within 48 hours of your stay, please contact us so we can ensure you have everything you need for your stay. 

AUTHOR DINNERS

Author dinners are the perfect opportunity to rub elbows with your fellow gritLIT presenters! If you signed up for an author dinner on your Presenter Questionnaire, please join us in the WESTDALE room on the night(s) to which you RSVP’d for an evening of good food and great conversation.

When you arrive, please check in at the Presenter Room, located on the mezzanine level of the Homewood Suites by Hilton (one level above the floor with the restaurant). There, you’ll receive your presenter badge and swag bag. The Presenter Room is also a place to get away from all the action if you need a quiet moment, hang out and rub elbows with other gritLIT presenters, or grab a coffee, tea, or cold drink. This room will be continuously staffed by volunteers, so you can put down your bags and coats to fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere.

Our bookseller, Epic Books, will be onsite all weekend selling copies of authors’ current works, as well as a selected backlist. They will be set up in the DURAND room across from the Presenter Room.

Signings take place immediately following events in HAMILTON CENTRAL. There will be signage and volunteers to guide you to all locations.

Throughout the venue, we have posted signs posted indicating our photography policy. Photography is allowed during gritLIT, though we ask the audience to please refrain from using their flash during events. We cannot take responsibility for the use of images taken by our audience members. However, if you have concerns about being photographed by our team, please let Jennifer know at operations@gritlit.ca.

If you have other concerns, please review our Safer Spaces Policy.

There is a parking garage under hotel, Impark lots at 114 Main Street West and 160 Main Street West, and a lot at 71 Main Street West (City Hall), just across Bay Street from the hotel.

MONSTER JAM

Hamilton is lucky to host such a variety of events. Unfortunately, this means some events often conflict with each other. gritLIT and Monster Jam Hamilton are usually scheduled for the same weekend, and this can make finding parking downtown a challenge. We encourage everyone who is able to do so to take public transit.

Please let us know if you require the use of any technology during your presentation by filling out this form.