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From Emerging to Famous: a Conversation with Loghan Paylor

Fraser River Literary Festival

Loghan Paylor’s debut novel, The Cure for Drowning, quickly gained acclaim before winning Canada Reads 2026. Join Loghan for a conversation about the book and the journey behind its success.

An accomplished teacher, entrepreneur and writer, Loghan Paylor is an author who knew who they were when they released their first novel in 2024, The Cure for Drowning. Rapidly gaining a following, The Cure for Drowning (2024) has picked up numerous award nominations and widespread critical acclaim, most recently winning Canada Reads 2026. An impressive work combining Canadian history, romance and queer elements, this novel has sparked conversations across Canada. Join us as we hear from Loghan about what this book is about and the journey around it.

The author talk will be followed by a Q&A period.

Registration required.

For more information about this Fraser River Literary Festival event, email ask@coqlibrary.ca. 

Special for this night! Afterhours at the Library

Time: 5:00-7:00 pm

Here for one night only, local bookstore Western Sky books will be set up with festival authors for sale, so get your books! In addition, the local eatery Beanery Coffeehouse & Eatery will be on site selling delicious sandwiches and treats (optional purchases, not included with registration). 

Dinner, entertainment, and books, sorted!

Loghan Paylor is a queer, trans writer who lives in Chilliwack, BC. They are the author of the #1 national bestseller The Cure for Drowning (Random House Canada, 2024), which won the 2026 CBC Canada Reads competition and was shortlisted for the 2026 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Speculative Fiction. It was also shortlisted for the 2025 BC and Yukon Book Prize: Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes and longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize. It was a 2024 Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year pick. Loghan’s work has appeared in Room, Prairie Fire, CBC Arts and more. Their nonfiction work was longlisted for the 2025 CBC Nonfiction Prize. Loghan is a graduate of The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University and they hold an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. They divide their time between teaching, writing, and co-owning a game company.

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