March 27, 2026
4:30 PM – 5:30 PM MT
Keyano College Clearwater Campus
Elements Room
8115 Franklin Avenue
Fort McMurray
Read Across Wood Buffalo Day: Celebrating Literacy, Reading, and Community invites community leaders, educators, students, artists, and residents to gather at Keyano College on March 27, 2026, to mark the launch of Read Across Wood Buffalo Day, a new literacy initiative focused on reading, storytelling, and civic engagement across the region.
Juleus Ghunta, the Writers’ Guild of Alberta 2025 Regional Writer-in-Residence for Fort McMurray, is spearheading the initiative as the culminating project of his residency. Ghunta, who is being supported by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta, Arts Council Wood Buffalo, and the Northern Canada Collective Society of Writers, noted that “Read Across Wood Buffalo Day will take place annually. The March 27 event marks the beginning of efforts to raise awareness.”
The first official celebration of Read Across Wood Buffalo Day is slated for September 25, 2026, during Alberta Culture Days. In the months leading up to September, organizers will visit schools, NGOs, and businesses across the region to share information and encourage participation.
The March 27 event will be hosted by Cheryl Alexander and feature a poetry reading by Shaylean Gladu and live music by artists Josh and Jess. Following the formal program, guests will have an opportunity to mingle, meet local writers, and enjoy delicious Caribbean-style cuisine prepared by 876 Kitchen.
About Read Across Wood Buffalo Day
Read Across Wood Buffalo Day is inspired by similar initiatives around the world, where schools, families, artists, and others come together to celebrate literature and community bonds. “Reading and storytelling are at the heart of a connected community,” said Dawn Booth, President of the Northern Canada Collective Society of Writers. “This day is a great step toward recognizing our shared experiences and encouraging a love of literacy and a culture of care across our region.”
About WGA Writer in Residence, Juleus Ghunta
Juleus Ghunta is a Chevening Scholar, educator, poet, and editor. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in thirty journals, including Wasafiri, Poetry Archive, sx salon, The Caribbean Writer, Pittsburgh Poetry Review, and PREE. He placed second in the 2024 Charles Causley Trust International Poetry Competition, won a Poetry Archive Wordview Prize in 2023, and received the Catherine James Poetry Prize in 2017. His work has also been recognized as a finalist for the Wasafiri New Writing Prize (2022, 2024), the Small Axe Poetry Prize (2015, 2016), and the 2025 Alberta Magazine Awards (Essay Prize). Ghunta is the author and editor of several children’s books, including You Never Know What You’re Going to Get: An Anthology of Short Stories (Chalkboard Publishing, 2025). He co-edited four issues of Interviewing the Caribbean journal, published by the University of the West Indies Press, and co-authored a chapter on trauma-informed praxis in higher education, published by Teachers College Press. In 2024, he participated in the Writers’ Guild of Alberta (WGA) Mentorship Program and delivered the keynote address at WGA’s Awards Gala. His essay A Party in the School Yard was selected as the cover feature for the October–December 2024 issue of WestWord, WGA’s quarterly magazine.
You can learn more about the Writer in Residence Program here.
