The Association of Book Publishers of B.C. (Books BC) is excited to announce the 2026-27 Poetry in Transit program!
Now celebrating its 30th year, this community-engagement project, made possible through a partnership with TransLink and BC Transit, is an opportunity to showcase BC’s regional poets. Each year, we invite submissions of BC-authored poems from Canadian publishers and select 10 local poets to be featured in the campaign.
A collection of bus cards featuring the poetry selections are produced and placed on transit vehicles across the province for riders to discover on their daily commutes. Transit shelter ads are also placed around Vancouver during the launch month of September. Each bus card and transit shelter ad features the cover art of the book in which the selected poem was first published. This year’s launch includes fresh new designs for the bus cards and transit shelter ads to enhance discoverability and engagement.
The 2026-27 Poetry in Transit selected poets and featured books are:
- Cynthia Woodman Kerkham, Victoria, BC – Water Quality, McGill-Queen’s University Press
- Elizabeth Bachinsky, New Westminster, BC – Real Grownup, Nightwood Editions
- Eve Joseph, Victoria, BC – Dismantling, Anvil Press
- Fenn Stewart, Vancouver, BC – women and roosters, Book*hug Press
- George Bowering, Vancouver, BC – Pearl, Talonbooks
- Jónína Kirton, New Westminster, BC – Save Your Prayers – Send Money, Talonbooks
- Murray Mann, Cowichan, BC – poem featured in Sublime: Poems for Vanishing Ice, Caitlin Press
- Renée Sarojini Saklikar, Vancouver, BC – Bramah’s Discovery, Nightwood Editions
- Russell Thornton, North Vancouver, BC – Two Songs: Selected Poems 2000-2025, Harbour
Publishing - Wendy Donawa, Victoria, BC – The Time of Falling Apart, Harbour Publishing
30 Years of Poetry in Transit
Poetry in Transit has been running since 1996, making it the longest-running poetry on transit
program in Canada. Poems eligible for the project must be by BC-based writers and published in
book form by Canadian publishers. Poems are submitted by publishers and selected by a jury. The
2025-26 jury included Vancouver poets Evelyn Lau and Rob Taylor.
Celebrations for the 30th year of Poetry in Transit begin at the Word Vancouver Festival at UBC
Robson Square with two reading events. On Saturday, September 19 at 2-3:30 p.m., hear this year’s
featured poets: Cynthia Woodman Kerkham, Elizabeth Bachinsky, Eve Joseph, Fenn Stewart, Jónína
Kirton, Murray Mann, Renée Sarojini Saklikar, Russell Thornton, Wendy Donawa. The first event will
be hosted by Junie Désil.
Following is a special 30th-anniversary celebration hosted by Rob Taylor and featuring poets Junie
Désil, Natalie Lim, and Fiona Tinwei Lam. There will also be other activations on site, including an
interactive “30 Years of Poetry in Transit” timeline and a “Community Poetry” board for festival
attendees.
Find more information about this project at poetryintransit.ca