60 Events for 60 Years
In 2026, the League will celebrate its 60th anniversary - a milestone made possible thanks to a truly unparalleled backbone of members, volunteers, donors, friends, and supporters.
To celebrate six decades of community, the League will distribute more than $20,000 to our members gathering at 60 in-person events all across Canada throughout 2026.
To support organizers hoping to take part in the 60 Events for 60 Years campaign, the League has prepared a guide with an overview of available funding, step-by-step event overviews, additional resources for hosts, and a brief guide to finding a venue for poetry events.
Types of funding
60 Events for 60 Years will fund and promote six different kinds of events: readings and performances, poetry slams, workshops and writing groups, book clubs, panels, and poetry crawls. Detailed guidelines for each kind of event are available on this page. Events must be free, open to the public, and held in person.
The League will continue to offer regular online and in-person event funding through our usual event funding streams, open for applications January 15 - February 15, 2026 and July 1 - August 1, 2026.
Eligibility and limits
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Funding is available to Full, Life, and Associate members of the League
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Members are limited to receiving one payment through the 60 for 60 campaign, whether as an organizer or a poet
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Events must be held in-person (hybrid events are also appreciated and encouraged)
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Events must be held in a physically accessible location with accessible washrooms, with an exception for events held at independent bookstores
- Minimal (< $100) travel reimbursement is available to support transit, carshare, rideshare, and mileage costs
Organizing an event
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Each organizer will receive 25-50 postcards promoting the League to hand out to attendees
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The League will provide up to $50 reimbursement to book an accessible room at a public library for the event (can provide proof of non-profit status to access non-profit rates)
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Events must have a scent-free policy
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Organizers must be open to encouraging masked attendance if requested by an interested participants or attendee
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Hosts must provide land acknowledgment (League can provide template)
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Organizers must report attendance following the event
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Event photos are strongly encouraged
How to apply
- Applications will open September 24, 2025, with application forms available on this page (poets.ca/60events)
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There is no set deadline for applications
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Applications received less than 3 months prior to the event date are unlikely to be approved
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Applications will be reviewed and processed based on the proposed event date; ie. applications for events in March will be processed before applications for events in July
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All details of an event must be confirmed prior to submitting an application for funding
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Applications for events that do not fit into one of the six approved event categories will not be approved
With 60 Events for 60 Years, we want to work with our members to support a diversity of programming all across Canada. When submitting your application(s), please include as much detail as possible in the description, so our staff can comprehensively review applications and follow up as necessary.
Not sure if your event is quite right? Please submit an application and then follow up with funding@poets.ca
Funded events
Readings/performances
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$125 each for up to 3 readers/performers
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No host/organizer payment (organizers are encouraged to participate as one of the paid poets)
Poetry slams
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$125 to organizer
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$125 to feature poet
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$125 to winner
Book clubs
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$125 for guest author
- No host/organizer payment
Workshops/writing groups
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$250 to the facilitator, max one facilitator per event
- No host/organizer payment
Panels
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$125 to organizer
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$125 to moderator
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$125 each for up to 3 panelists
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Subject must be submitted with application
Poetry cafe/bookstore crawl
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Weekend event
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2-3 consecutive events at 2-3 different cafes/bookstores
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Usually during the day, the shop is still open to foot traffic – a more boisterous event
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$125 each for up to 5 poets
- No host/organizer payment (organizers are encouraged to participate as one of the paid poets)
Applications must contain all relevant information about an event: featured performers, venue, subject (for panels and workshops), and proposed date.
Travel reimbursement
To maximize the limited funds available for this campaign, the League is providing only minimal travel reimbursement to support transit, carshare, or mileage costs; as such, events should feature relatively local poets.
Venue cost reimbursement
The League will provide up to $50 reimbursement to book an accessible room at a public library for the event (League can provide proof of non-profit status to access non-profit rates)
Putting it together: combining events
We encourage poets to work together in groups to co-ordinate days or weekends that may feature several 60 for 60 events. For instance, a group of poets in one area may wish to organize and apply for funding to support two or three days of related events: a few panels, a few readings, a workshop, and even a poetry crawl!
As this is our first time running this kind of funding stream, we are seeking to work with our members to support a diversity of programming all across Canada. When submitting your application(s), please include as much detail as possible in the description, so our staff can comprehensively review applications and follow up as necessary.
A sample weekend schedule might include 6 events, submitted by 6 different applicants who have co-ordinated with each other to come up with the following:
- Friday evening: poetry slam
- Saturday A.M.: two workshops
- Saturday P.M.: Reading/performance, panel
- Sunday: Poetry crawl
Community events
Although our funding support is limited to 60 events in 2026, we recognize that our members are creative, community-oriented poets who may be conducting unique celebrations of their own to mark this milestone.
The League is happy to provide an additional 40 volunteer-run events with up to $50 of venue cost reimbursement to support accessibility!
Organizers may request venue cost reimbursement when they submit their community event to our event calendar (opening November 2025).