Symposium & Exhibit Launch: 100 Years of The Blue Castle at the University of Guelph

Join us online or in-person for this special, co-sponsored event!

In 1922, L.M. Montgomery and her family vacationed in the Muskoka Lakes region of Ontario. The beauty of rugged landscape inspired her to write The Blue Castle (1926), a departure from her previous works, and her only novel set entirely outside of Prince Edward Island. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of this unique, beloved text, join us for a one-day symposium and exhibit launch, hosted by the University of Guelph’s McLaughlin Library in partnership with the L.M. Montgomery Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island. Hear presentations about the novel’s literary legacies and learn more about the Muskoka region that captured Montgomery’s imagination.

Date: Friday, October 23, 2026
Time: 9:00am – 3:30pm (Eastern)
Location: University of Guelph, McLaughlin Library 246 Robert Whitelaw Room (Visitor Parking Information) OR online

Registration: Open! Please register for the in-person or online event here!

The Blue Castle at 100: L.M. Montgomery’s Ontario Story, Event Schedule

9:00–10:30 AM, Welcome and Session 1: “The Blue Castle’s Productive Disruptions”

Session Chair: Heidi Lawrence (Brigham Young University)
Rita Bode (Trent University), “Family Life Interrupted”
Laura Robinson (Chair, LMMI Management Committee, Acadia University), “‘mosque and palace and minaret’: Decentring Whiteness in The Blue Castle”
Melanie Fishbane (Western University), “Finding Her Happy Hour: Queering Happily Ever After in The Blue Castle”

10:30–11:0- AM, Refreshment Break

11:00 AM–12:15 PM, Session 2: “Time, Place, and Things of The Blue Castle”

Session Chair: Heidi Lawrence (Brigham Young University)
Allison McBain Hudson (Current LMMI Visiting Scholar, Dublin City University), “Objects as Agents of Change in The Blue Castle”
Tara K. Parmiter (New York University), “‘The Son of Purple Pills’: The Nature of Family Shame in The Blue Castle,”
Andrea McKenzie (York University), “A Jazz Age Fairy Tale

12:15–1:30 PM Lunch on your own (many options available on and near campus)

1:30–2:30 PM, Session 3: “100 Years of The Blue Castle: The Exhibit Overview”

Exhibit Curators: Ashley Shifflett McBrayne (University of Guelph) and Emily Woster (The College of St. Scholastica)

2:30–3:30 PM, Refreshments and time to explore the exhibit