The Word On The Street’s 36th Annual Festival returns to its iconic fall weekend, September 27th and 28th, at David Pecaut Square.
Saturday, September 27 – 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Sunday, September 28 – 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Kick off your day at the festival with a dynamic, powerful poetry performance led by Toronto’s Poet Laureate Lillian Allen, including poets Desiree Mckenzie, Gianna
Kick off your day at the festival with a dynamic, powerful poetry performance led by Toronto’s Poet Laureate Lillian Allen, including poets Desiree Mckenzie, Gianna Patriarca, Joseph Maviglia and Subrata Kumar Das. This special showcase is one hour long.
Presented by the City of Toronto.
Desiree Mckenzie is an award-winning poet, arts educator, poetry slam champion, and voice actor living in Toronto. Her poetry and voice have been featured in works for CBC, Clearco, Button Poetry, Kids Help Phone and Home Depot. In December 2022, she opened for Rupi Kaur on her world tour stop at Massey Hall. She is currently an MFA candidate in the University of Guelph Creative Writing program and working on her first book of poetry.
Gianna Patriarca is a multiple award winner of 13 books. Her poetry, fiction and children’s literature is extensively anthologized, adapted for Canada stage, CBC radio drama and appears in numerous documentaries. Italian Women and Other Tragedies is in its fourth printing and translated into Italian. This Way Home, published by Guernica Editions in 2022, is her latest collected and new work.
In the great tradition of spoken word, performance poets and singer-songwriters, Joseph Maviglia is renowned for his energized musical performances, written text and non-fiction essays.Joseph lives in Toronto. His most recent collection is ‘In a Cage of Sunlight’ (The Selected Works of Joseph Maviglia) (Guernica Editions 2025).
Toronto’s seventh poet laureate, Lillian Allen is an acclaimed foremother of Canadian Poetry. She received an Honourary Doctor of Letters from Wilfrid Laurier University for her significant contribution and impact on Canadian literature.A poet, writer/performer, and a long-time arts activist, she is a leading international exponent of dub poetry with its politically charged reggae-infused aesthetic of resistance and poetic calls for justice, peace, joy, pleasure and revolution. Lillian has also been a successful Cultural Strategist, advising three levels of government and played a key role in transforming the Toronto and Canadian cultural landscapes. A mentor to the mentors for individuals and groups across many cultures, she brings her critical and effective equity and community building strategies to institution such as OCAD University. A creative writing professor at OCAD University, she initiated and led the development of a BFA in Creative Writing Program that acknowledges community connected writing, traditional, non-traditional and new writing forms.Over the decades, she created opportunities for new generations of artists and initiated and led community-building youth-supporting arts programs such as Fresh Elements and Fresh Arts. She has received numerous accolades, citations and awards, and is the recipient of The Toronto Cultural Champions Award, The Margo Bindhardt Award for significantly impacting the arts in Toronto through both creative work and activism, the William P. Hubbard Award for Race. She is the recipient of the Writer’s Trust Margaret Laurence Lecture Award, 2020/ and a recipient of the Gustafson Distinguished Poet award 2021.Lillian’s newest collection is Make the World New- selected works, old & new, edited by Ronald Cummings, WLU Press 2021, other books include Women Do this Every Day, Psychic Unrest, plus books and recordings for children and young people. Also, a globally recognized recording artist, Ms. Allen is a two-time Canadian Juno award winner for her recordings Conditions Critical, and for Revolutionary Tea Party which was recently nominated for the prestigious Polaris Heritage Prize in Canada.
Subrata Kumar Das, a writer and curator, immigrated to Canada from Bangladesh in 2013. A recipient of Nalanda Best Canadian Bengali Author Award in 2023, and Gayatri GaMarsh Memorial Award in 2018, Subrata has 31 books to his credit and a record of joining the TIFA for three years.
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Join us for a suite of special readings and conversation with the finalists for the 2025 Toronto Book Awards. Featuring Chika Stacy Oriuwa, Vinh Nguyen,
Join us for a suite of special readings and conversation with the finalists for the 2025 Toronto Book Awards. Featuring Chika Stacy Oriuwa, Vinh Nguyen, Tanya Talaga, Maggie Helwig, Roza Nozari, and André Alexis.
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This spoken word showcase is hosted by Toronto’s First Youth Poet Laureate, Shahaddah Jack, and will feature performances by three rising youth poets. This special event
This spoken word showcase is hosted by Toronto’s First Youth Poet Laureate, Shahaddah Jack, and will feature performances by three rising youth poets. This special event is one hour long.
Presented by the City of Toronto.
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A meet-cute at the market. A first kiss on the ferry. A happily-ever-after in High Park. Toronto is a sparkling setting for a love story.
A meet-cute at the market. A first kiss on the ferry. A happily-ever-after in High Park. Toronto is a sparkling setting for a love story. Authors Rebecca Fisseha and Jackie Lau dish on all things writing romances set in The Six, from how the city influences plot and character to why these stories strike such a chord with readers around the world.
Presented by the Toronto Public Library.
Jackie Lau studied engineering and worked as a geophysicist before turning to her first love of writing. She is now the author of over twenty romantic comedies including Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie; Donut Fall in Love; and The Stand-Up Groomsman. When she’s not writing, she enjoys gelato, gourmet donuts, cooking, and reading. She lives in Toronto with her husband. Find out more at JackieLauBooks.com.
Rebecca Fisseha is an Ethiopian-Canadian writer based in Toronto. She is the author of the novel Daughters of Silence, as well as short stories, creative non-fiction, and personal essays that appear in various publications, including the anthology Addis Ababa Noir and Tongues: On Longing and Belonging Through Language. Rebecca is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers, the Vancouver Film School, and an alumnus of the TIFF Writers’ Studio.
AuthorRebecca Fisseha
PublisherPenguin Random House Canada
AuthorJackie Lau
PublisherSimon & Schuster
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Ready to score? Sit rinkside with authors Jenny Holiday and Rachel Reid as they share their heart-melting hockey romances. The authors chat about the big
Ready to score? Sit rinkside with authors Jenny Holiday and Rachel Reid as they share their heart-melting hockey romances. The authors chat about the big shots their characters take on and off the ice, why a cold sport packs so much heat, and what’s behind the soaring popularity of this breakaway genre.
Presented by the Toronto Public Library.
Jenny Holiday is a USA Today bestselling author whose books have been featured by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, the Washington Post, and NPR. She grew up in Minnesota and started writing when her fourth-grade teacher gave her a notebook to fill with stories. When she’s not working on her next book, she likes to hike, throw theme parties, and watch other people sing karaoke. Jenny lives in London, Ontario, Canada.
Rachel Reid has always lived in Nova Scotia, Canada, and will likely continue to do so. She has two boring degrees and two interesting sons. She has been a hockey fan since childhood, but sadly never made it to the NHL herself. She enjoys books about hot men doing hot things, and cool ladies being awesome. You can follow Rachel on Instagram at rachelreidwrites and Twitter @akaRachelReid, and on Goodreads. Her website and blog, where she writes more things, is www.rachelreidwrites.com.
AuthorJenny Holiday
PublisherHachette Book Group
AuthorRachel Reid
PublisherHarperCollins Canada
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Two-Eyed Seeing is a principle for intercultural collaboration developed by Mi’kmaq Elder Albert Marshall. In his own words, it “refers to learning to see from
Two-Eyed Seeing is a principle for intercultural collaboration developed by Mi’kmaq Elder Albert Marshall. In his own words, it “refers to learning to see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous ways of knowing and from the other eye with the strengths of Western ways of knowing, and to using both of these eyes together.” Dive into this concept with authors Stephanie Sinclair, D.A. Lockhart, Ki’en Debicki, and Daniel Coleman, and learn how we can all use our gifts together to nurture a better world.
D.A. Lockhart is the author of multiple collections of poetry and short fiction. His work has been shortlisted for numerous awards. It has appeared widely throughout Turtle Island including, The Malahat Review, Grain, CV2, TriQuarterly, The Fiddlehead, ARC Poetry Magazine, Best Canadian Poetry, Best New Poetry from the Midwest, and Belt. He is a graduate of the Indiana University – Bloomington MFA in Creative Writing program where he held a Neal-Marshall Graduate Fellowship in Creative Writing. He is pùkuwànkoamimëns of the Moravian of the Thames First Nation. Lockhart currently resides at Waawiiyaatanong and Pelee Island where he is the publisher at Urban Farmhouse Press.
Daniel Coleman is a recently retired English professor who is grateful to live in the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe in Hamilton, Ontario. He taught in the Department of English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University. He has studied and written about Canadian Literature, whiteness, the literatures of Indigeneity and diaspora, the cultural politics of reading, and wampum, the form of literacy-ceremony-communication-law that was invented by the people who inhabited the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence–Hudson River Watershed before Europeans arrived on Turtle Island. Daniel has long been fascinated by the poetic power of narrative arts to generate a sense of place and community, critical social engagement and mindfulness, and especially wonder. Although he has committed considerable effort to learning in and from the natural world, he is still a bookish person who loves the learning that is essential to writing. He has published numerous academic and creative non-fiction books as an author and as an editor. His books include Masculine Migrations (1998), The Scent of Eucalyptus (2003), White Civility (2006; winner of the Raymond Klibansky Prize), In Bed with the Word (2009) and Yardwork: A Biography of an Urban Place (2017, shortlisted for the RBC Taylor Prize).
Ki’en Debicki is a queer, Kanien’keha:ka, enby poet living and loving along the banks of Kanyatarí:io (beautiful lake) in Anonwarore’tsherakayon:ne (Hamilton ON). They are an assistant professor at McMaster University. Ki’en’s writing has been published in The Malahat Review, Grain Magazine, The Capilano Review, and Studies in Canadian Literature among others.
STEPHANIE SINCLAIR is Publisher of McClelland & Stewart, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada. She is a Cree, Ojibwe, and German/Jewish settler. She is a fierce advocate and activist, serving as a mentor and curator, and organizing publishing events to challenge colonial practices in publishing and to advance the work of reconciliation. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario, with her two children.
AuthorD.A. Lockhart
PublisherKegedonce Press
AuthorKi'en Debicki, Daniel Coleman, and Bonnie M. Freeman
PublisherWLU Press
AuthorDaniel Coleman
PublisherWolsak & Wynn
AuthorStephanie Sinclair
PublisherPenguin Random House Canada
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How do we lean towards one another in times of personal, social, economic, or ecological crisis? As we move through a world that feels increasingly
How do we lean towards one another in times of personal, social, economic, or ecological crisis? As we move through a world that feels increasingly dysregulating, how can we source strength through connectedness? Authors Saeed Teebi, David A. Robertson, and Samra Zafar join author-moderator James Cairns in a care-full, clear-eyed conversation about the rewarding work of being good to one another.
DAVID A. ROBERTSON is the author of numerous books for young readers including Governor General’s Literary Award winners On the Trapline and When We Were Alone. The Barren Grounds, Book 1 of The Misewa Saga series, was a Kirkus, NPR, and Quill & Quire best middle-grade book of 2020, as well as a USBBY and Texas Lone Star selection. Winner of the Writers’ Union of Canada’s Freedom to Read Award, as well as the 2021 Globe and Mail Children’s Storyteller of the Year recipient, Dave is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and currently lives in Winnipeg, Canada.
JAMES CAIRNS is a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, in the Department of Indigenous Studies, Law and Social Justice. He lives with his family in Paris, Ontario, on the shared traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. James is a staff writer at the Hamilton Review of Books and community relations director for the Riverside Reading Series. His latest book, In Crisis, On Crisis: Essays in Troubled Times, was published by Wolsak and Wynn in June.
Saeed Teebi is an award-winning writer and lawyer. His debut short story collection, Her First Palestinian, was a finalist for several awards, including the Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Prize. His nonfiction has appeared in The Globe and Mail and The New Quarterly. Born in Kuwait, he resettled in the United States, then Canada. He now lives in Toronto.
SAMRA ZAFAR is an award-winning, internationally renowned speaker, physician, author and educator. She has been recognized among the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, the Top 25 Most Inspirational Women in Canada, and the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants. Her book A Good Wife: Escaping the Life I Never Chose, based on her journey of escaping an abusive child marriage to pursue her freedom, sheds light on gender-based oppression, and was a national bestseller and a CBC Best Book. Her latest book, Unconditional, was an instant national bestseller and featured in Forbes.
Book Titles
AuthorDavid A. Robertson
PublisherPenguin Random House Canada
AuthorJames Cairns
PublisherWolsak & Wynn
AuthorSamra Zafar
PublisherHarperCollins Canada
AuthorSaeed Teebi
PublisherSimon & Schuster
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Whether it’s a first day at school or a trip around the world, people are transformed every day through the act of going on a
Whether it’s a first day at school or a trip around the world, people are transformed every day through the act of going on a journey. Literature can show us that transformation in detail. In this meandering conversation, explore what draws both readers and writers to journey stories, and how they can accompany us through our own journeys in life. Featuring authors Amal El-Mohtar, Ryad Assani-Razaki, Sara Flemington and author-moderator Terese Mason Pierre.
Amal El-Mohtar writes fiction, poetry, and criticism. She won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards for her short story “Seasons of Glass and Iron” and again for her novella This Is How You Lose the Time War, written with Max Gladstone, which also won the BSFA and Aurora awards, became a New York Times bestseller, and has been translated into over ten languages. Her reviews and articles have appeared in the NYT and on NPR Books. Her solo debut, The River Has Roots, is out now from Tordotcom Publishing. She lives in Ottawa, Canada. Online at: amalelmohtar.com.
Ryad Assani-Razaki (born November 4, 1981) is a Beninese-Canadian writer. His debut short story collection Deux cercles won the Trillium Book Award for French-language fiction in 2010, and his novel La main d’Iman won the Prix Robert-Cliche in 2011 and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award for French-language fiction in 2012.Born in Cotonou, Benin, Assani-Razaki first moved to North America in 1999, to study computer science at the University of North Carolina. After graduating in 2002, he struggled to find a job until registering for a master’s in computer science at the Université de Montréal in 2004. He wrote his first short story in 2006, after witnessing an Asian man struggle to order food in a fast food restaurant because of his difficulties with the language. Deux cercles was published in 2009.
Sara Flemington is the author of the novels Egg Island and R.I.P. Scoot. Her work has appeared in Eclectica, subTerrain, The Feathertale Review, The Humber Literary Review, and Paper Darts, among others. She is a graduate of the University of Guelph at Humber MFA, and lives in Toronto.
Terese Mason Pierre (she/her) is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in The Walrus, ROOM, Brick, Uncanny, and Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction, among others. She is one of ten winners of the Writers’ Trust Journey Prize, and was named a Writers’ Trust Rising Star. Terese is an editor at Augur Magazine, a Canadian speculative literature journal, and co-Director of AugurCon, Augur’s speculative literature conference. She is the author of Myth, a poetry collection, and the editor of As the Earth Dreams, an anthology of Black Canadian speculative fiction. Terese lives and works in Toronto, Canada.
AuthorTerese Mason Pierre
PublisherHouse of Anansi Press
AuthorSara Flemington
PublisherNightwood Editions
AuthorRyad Assani-Razaki
PublisherHouse of Anansi Press
AuthorAmal El-Mohtar
PublisherTordotcom Publishing
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Crafting the perfect pitch or submission takes practice. You need a good idea, a timely hook, a unique angle and a persuasive email. To unravel the components
Crafting the perfect pitch or submission takes practice. You need a good idea, a timely hook, a unique angle and a persuasive email. To unravel the components of success, we’ll hear from three editors about the best ideas to ever parachute into their inbox. We’ll also hear a little bit about what they are dreaming about when they open up something new—from perfect formatting to wild surprises.
Elisabeth de Mariaffi is the critically acclaimed author of four books of fiction, including the Scotiabank Giller Prize-nominated short story collection How to Get Along with Women (2012), and the novels The Devil You Know (2015) and Hysteria (2018), both of which were named Globe and Mail Best Books of the year, and shortlisted for the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize, and most recently, The Retreat (2021) which won the NL Book Award for Fiction. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph, and has taught fiction and screenwriting at UBC, Memorial University, and the Humber School for Writers. Elisabeth is currently on faculty in the MFA (Fiction) at the University of Kings College. She makes her home in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, where she is Executive Director at Riddle Fence: A Journal of Arts and Culture.
Kirstyn Brown brings over 15 years of editorial experience across both consumer and trade media. After earning a BA in Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson), she began her career interning at magazines while working in catering to pay the bills. Her break came as a fact checker at Oxygen Magazine, where she later became a section editor. She went on to co-create STRONG Fitness Magazine, a women’s health and fitness publication, serving as Editor-in-Chief for nine years. Today, Kirstyn is the editor of Plant and MRO, two trade publications from Annex Business Media serving Canada’s manufacturing sector.
SARAH HENSTRA is the author of the bestselling novel The Lost Tarot. Her 2018 novel The Red Word won Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction. Sarah is also author of the young adult novels Mad Miss Mimic and We Contain Multitudes. Sarah holds a PhD in English and is a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is Editor-in-Chief of TMU’s creative writing journal, White Wall Review.
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Join us for a special reading and conversation with some of the shortlisted finalists for the 2025 Trillium Book Awards, Ontario’s most prestigious literary prize
Join us for a special reading and conversation with some of the shortlisted finalists for the 2025 Trillium Book Awards, Ontario’s most prestigious literary prize for English and French-language authors. Featuring Maurice Vellekoop and Morgan Campbell with H.G. Watson of Maclean’s Magazine.
Moderator
H.G. Watson is the new platforms editor at Maclean’s. Her non-fiction work has appeared in Maclean’s, Toronto Life, The Local and many others. Her fiction work has appeared in Dark Matter and God’s Cruel Joke. Watson recently graduated from the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing. She’s currently working on a non-fiction book about the teen girl mags of the 1990s and 2000s.
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Maurice Vellekoop was born in Toronto in 1964. After graduating from Ontario College of Art (now OCADU) in 1986, he joined Reactor Art and Design, an agency for illustrators. In a more than thirty-five year career, Maurice has created illustrations for top international editorial and advertising clients, published numerous zines, comics and books, created art for animation, and participated in art shows around the world. I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together, his graphic memoir from Pantheon Books NYC and Random House Canada was published in February of 2024. It won the Toronto Book Award, The Doug Wright Award and the Trillium Book Award this year.
Morgan Campbell is an award-winning sports writer, and the author the acclaimed memoir of My Fighting Family: Borders And Bloodlines And The Battles That Made Us. The book details his experience growing up Black and American, in Canada, in a family whose two halves are locked in a bitter, generations-long conflict. My Fighting Family is a finalist for the Trillium Book Award, the Balcones Prize, and the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. It was also named a National Association of Black Journalists Outstanding Book of 2025.Campbell is a Mississauga native, and a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
AuthorMaurice Vellekoop
PublisherPenguin Random House Canada
AuthorMorgan Campbell
PublisherPenguin Random House Canada
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Join us for a special reading and conversation with some of the shortlisted finalists for the 2025 Trillium Book Awards for Poetry, Ontario’s most prestigious
Join us for a special reading and conversation with some of the shortlisted finalists for the 2025 Trillium Book Awards for Poetry, Ontario’s most prestigious literary prize for English and French-language poets. Featuring Jake Byrne and Matthew Walsh with H.G. Watson of Maclean’s Magazine.
Moderator
H.G. Watson is the new platforms editor at Maclean’s. Her non-fiction work has appeared in Maclean’s, Toronto Life, The Local and many others. Her fiction work has appeared in Dark Matter and God’s Cruel Joke. Watson recently graduated from the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing. She’s currently working on a non-fiction book about the teen girl mags of the 1990s and 2000s.
Moderator
Jake Byrne is the author of Celebrate Pride with Lockheed Martin (Wolsak & Wynn, 2023) and DADDY (Brick Books, 2024). In 2019, they won CV2‘s Foster Prize for poetry. They live in Toronto/tka:ronto.
Matthew Walsh (MW) is a poet and doodler from Nova Scotia, whose two poetry books were finalists for the Trillium Award for Poetry in 2019 and 2025. Their work has appeared in the Malahat Review, Plenitude Magazine, and their short stories have appeared in Sad Mag and Joyland. Their titles include These are not the potatoes of my youth and Terrarium.
AuthorJake Byrne
PublisherBrick Books
AuthorMatthew Walsh
PublisherGoose Lane Editions
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Soak up a conversation between artists who write about mothers and who are mothers themselves. What trials and triumphs does motherhood pose in the arts?
Soak up a conversation between artists who write about mothers and who are mothers themselves. What trials and triumphs does motherhood pose in the arts? How do artists balance their creative lives with arguably the biggest creative endeavour of all? Authors Lindsay Zier-Vogel, Teri Vlassopoulos, and Catalina Margulis will get into all the details with Arpita Ghosal of Sesaya Arts.
As a child, Arpita Ghosal pestered her storyteller grandmother for “just one more story” so incessantly that her mother taught her to read out of desperation. Her love of stories led her to a PhD in English literature, a career in public and post-secondary education, and a passion for arts journalism. Arpita writes constantly at Sesaya Arts Magazine (sesayarts.com), regularly interviewing artists and authors to help them share their stories. She works at the TDSB, where she has held various teaching and leadership roles. Her life as a mother to three remarkable children and a one-of-a-kind rescue dog yields wondrous stories and experiences. And she remains an avid reader with far too many books teetering on multiple surfaces.
Catalina Margulis is an author, podcast host and mother of four who has written for many of Canada’s top publications over the past 20 years. Cat was an editor at ELLE Canada, Flare and Today’s Parent, she was a regular contributor to Savvymom and Walmart Canada, and has written for more than 40 publications, including The Globe and Mail and Reader’s Digest. Cat’s book Again, Only More Like You, published by Rising Action, was released in April 2025.Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she lives with her family in the suburbs of Toronto, Canada.
Lindsay Zier-Vogel is an author, grant writer, arts educator, and the creator of the internationally acclaimed Love Lettering Project. She is the author of the acclaimed debut novel Letters to Amelia, and her first picture book, Dear Street was a 2023 Junior Library Guild pick, a Canadian Children’s Book Centre book of the year, and was nominated for three reader’s choice awards—the Forest of Reading (Canada), a Magnolia Book Award in Mississippi and the Mountain Laurel Award (Pennsylvania). She is co-editing The Deep End: Reflections on swimming with andrea bennett, and her second novel, The Fun Times Brigade is out now.
Teri Vlassopoulos has published two books, a collection of short stories, Bats or Swallows (Invisible Publishing), which was nominated for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, and a novel, Escape Plans (Invisible Publishing). Her fiction and non-fiction has been published in Room Magazine, Catapult, The Millions, The Rumpus, The Quarantine Review, Open Book, and more. She also publishes a regular Substack newsletter, Bibliographic. She lives in Toronto.
AuthorCatalina Margulis
PublisherSimon & Schuster
AuthorTeri Vlassopoulos
PublisherInvisible Publishing
AuthorLindsay Zier-Vogel
PublisherBook*hug Press
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What are the ways escapist fiction can provide mental reprieve from an overwhelming reality? How does a writer of escapist fiction conjure such immersive worlds?
What are the ways escapist fiction can provide mental reprieve from an overwhelming reality? How does a writer of escapist fiction conjure such immersive worlds? How does escapism nourish readers and help us feel ready to face our own world again? Join authors Tonia Laird, Melodie Campbell, and Sarah Raughley as they discuss the grounding power hidden in plain sight in genres like fantasy, mystery, and historical fiction!
Moderator
Jadine Ngan is a National Magazine Award-nominated journalist and the digital editor at Maclean’s.
Moderator
Called the “Queen of Comedy” by The Toronto Sun and “Canadian literary heir to Donald Westlake” by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Melodie Campbell has over one hundred comedy credits, nineteen novels, and sixty short stories to her name, including The Merry Widow Murders mystery series and The Goddaughter mob caper series. She is the winner of ten awards, including The Derringer (US) and the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence. Campbell lives in Burlington, Ontario.
Sarah Raughley is a graduate of the Department of English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University. Her current research concerns representations of race in popular media culture, youth culture, African and African diasporic cultural studies, postcolonialism, and global capitalism. She is also the author of the recent Victorian fantasy Bones of Ruin series and the Effigies series.
Tonia Laird is a Métis writer living in the heart of Treaty 6 territory, and a citizen of the Saskatchewan Métis Nation. Her work can be found in multiple publications, including literary magazines, fantasy and comic book anthologies, the AAA video games Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition, the mobile game Everlove: Rose, and the interactive novel Poster Girl. Tonia works in the video game industry as a lorekeeper, writer, and world-builder.
AuthorTonia Laird
PublisherECW Press
AuthorSarah Raughley
PublisherHarperCollins Canada
AuthorMelodie Campbell
PublisherCormorant Books
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The monstrous has long been a source of fascination, terror, and allure in storytelling. Sometimes the monsters are external: vampires, werewolves, eldritch horrors. Other times,
The monstrous has long been a source of fascination, terror, and allure in storytelling. Sometimes the monsters are external: vampires, werewolves, eldritch horrors. Other times, those foes are internal: anxiety, depression, humanity’s inner darkness. Join authors David A. Robertson, Matthew J. Trafford, and Jessica Popeski alongside author-moderator Emily A. Weedon as they discuss how we can use story to face what is monstrous in our world and in ourselves.
DAVID A. ROBERTSON is the author of numerous books for young readers including Governor General’s Literary Award winners On the Trapline and When We Were Alone. The Barren Grounds, Book 1 of The Misewa Saga series, was a Kirkus, NPR, and Quill & Quire best middle-grade book of 2020, as well as a USBBY and Texas Lone Star selection. Winner of the Writers’ Union of Canada’s Freedom to Read Award, as well as the 2021 Globe and Mail Children’s Storyteller of the Year recipient, Dave is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and currently lives in Winnipeg, Canada.
Emily A. Weedon is the CSA award–winning screenwriter of Chateau Laurier and Red Ketchup, and the author of the epic dystopia Autokrator. She played Lucy in two separate productions of Dracula, and growing up probably checked out Dracula and other vampire books more than anyone else in the Coe Hill library, so it was inevitable that she would write a novel about vampires. Hemo Sapiens is her second novel. She lives in Toronto.
Jessica Popeski is a dis/abled opera singer, professor, and intersectional ecofeminist poet. Named one of Tkaronto’s “exceptional up and coming writers” by Open Book, she authored “Oratorio” and “The Wrong Place” with Anstruther Press. “the problem with having a body” was published with Gordon Hill Press, and “grenoside” is forthcoming in Fall 2026. She was raised in Moscow, Russia, and Sheffield, England, by her mother and grandmother, and lives with her pitbull-poodle on land which is covered by Treaty 13 and the Williams Treaties, the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples.
Matthew J. Trafford earned his MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. He has twice been a finalist for the CBC Literary Prize, and received an Honour of Distinction Dayne Ogilvie Award from the Writers’ Trust of Canada. Douglas & McIntyre published his first collection of stories, The Divinity Gene, which Publishers Weekly described as “shot-through with moments of genuine pathos and even brilliance.” Trafford continues to publish stories as well as writing for the screen. He is an avid fibre artist in his alternate persona of Fairy Godfather Knits.
AuthorDavid A. Robertson
PublisherHarperCollins Canada
AuthorEmily A. Weedon
PublisherDundurn Press
AuthorMatthew J. Trafford
PublisherArsenal Pulp Press
AuthorJessica Popeski
PublisherGordon Hill Press
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Nothing like a good, hearty meal to bring together two people – the way to the heart is still through the stomach. In this delicious
Nothing like a good, hearty meal to bring together two people – the way to the heart is still through the stomach. In this delicious talk, authors Rachel Phan, Wayne Ng, Wanda Taylor, and Zehra Allibhai discuss how cuisine can connect individuals, communities, and cultures. How can we express ourselves through food, and how do foodways keep us curious about each other? Grab a snack, grab a seat, and let’s find out!
Rachel Phan is a Chinese Canadian author born and raised in a small town in Southern Ontario, where she was one of only two racialized people in her class. Growing up, Rachel always felt a little lost and a lot lonely. She sought escapism from her life by writing the stories she desperately wanted to see, ones where a Chinese-Vietnamese girl like her was the main character. It was no surprise, then, when she got two journalism degrees and became a professional writer. A graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Master of Journalism program, she’s shared her stories on CBC, HuffPost, the National Post and Maclean’s. Rachel’s work often explores the impacts of racism, assimilation, fetishization, and forced displacement on one’s feelings of identity, belonging, and self-worth. Her debut book, Restaurant Kid: A Memoir of Family and Belonging, published in 2025 by Douglas & McIntyre. Restaurant Kid has been a best-seller, and a conversation point for media and readers across Canada.Rachel now lives in Toronto with her partner and their genius dog.
WANDA TAYLOR is the author of fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults. She is also a screenwriter, a journalist and a college professor. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications including Quill & Quire and the Globe and Mail. Taylor’s middle grade non-fiction book Birchtown and the Black Loyalists was listed as one of the top Black history books for young readers by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Her recent novel The Grover School Pledge won the Northern Lights Middle Grade Book of the Year Award in 2023.
Wayne Ng was born in downtown Toronto, on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe people, to Chinese immigrant parents who fuelled his imagination with a steady diet of bitter melon and kung fu movies.His most recent novel, Johnny Delivers, joins a growing list of accomplishments, including The Family Code (shortlisted for the Guernica Prize in 2021 and the Ottawa Book Award in 2024) and Letters From Johnny (winner of the 2022 Crime Writers of Canada Best Novella Award and a finalist for the 2022 Ottawa Book Award). He is currently working on a speculative novel.Wayne lives in Ottawa with his wife and their goldfish, always searching for new ways to nourish both body and soul. Connect with him at WayneNgWrites.com.
Zehra Allibhai is a health & wellness expert with a background in kinesiology and fitness. With over 20 years of experience in the fitness industry her passion is helping women feel strong and confident in their own skin. Along with her passion for fitness, Zehra understands the importance of flavorful & healthy food to nourish the body and soul. She loves sharing quick & easy to follow recipes and workouts with her community around the world across her different social media platforms. She lives just outside of Toronto with her husband and two kids.
AuthorWanda Taylor
PublisherHarperCollins Canada
AuthorZehra Allibhai
PublisherHachette Book Group
AuthorWayne Ng
PublisherGuernica Editions
AuthorRachel Phan
PublisherDouglas & McIntyre
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A thoughtful, inspiring conversation exploring masculinity in all its forms. What does manhood look like culture to culture, era to era – and what could
A thoughtful, inspiring conversation exploring masculinity in all its forms. What does manhood look like culture to culture, era to era – and what could it look like? How do men aspire to greatness in their families, workplaces, and wider societies? Where does art and literature come into all of this? Join Adnan Khan, A. Gregory Frankson, and Matteo L. Cerilli as they mull over the art of manliness together.
A. GREGORY (GREG) FRANKSON is a Toronto-based educator, consultant, public speaker, and award-winning literary artist. He edited and contributed to the critically acclaimed AfriCANthology: Perspectives of Black Canadian Poets, appears in six anthologies, and published four poetry collections. He was previously the poet laureate of the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership and resident poet on CBC Radio One’s Here and Now Toronto. His writings have appeared in numerous literary, digital, and journalistic publications. Greg’s debut full-length work of creative nonfiction, Alphabet Soup: A Memoir in Letters, was released by Dundurn Press in January 2025.
Adnan Khan is a screenwriter, novelist, and journalist. He has won a National Magazine Award and the RBC Taylor Emerging Writer prize, and his debut novel, There Has to Be a Knife, was named a best Canadian novel of 2019 by the CBC. His debut feature film, Shook, made its premier at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
Moderator
Katie Underwood is an award-winning journalist and the current managing editor at Maclean’s magazine. Previously, she held editorial positions at Chatelaine and The Grid, and her byline has appeared in such fine publications as The Walrus, Toronto Life, the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. She just got into audiobooks.
Moderator
MATTEO L. CERILLI is a transmasc author and an activist. He helped found Students for Queer Liberation (Toronto) and works with the No Pride in Policing Coalition. Cerilli writes widely across genres and age categories. Lockjaw is his debut book. Something’s Up with Arlo is his first novel for middle-grade readers.
AuthorA. Gregory Frankson
PublisherDundurn Press
AuthorMatteo L. Cerilli
PublisherHarperCollins Canada
AuthorAdnan Khan
PublisherDundurn Press
Program Sponsor
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A story can be a powerful force for healing. This idea has found its way into the medical field, with disciplines like narrative-based medicine seeking
A story can be a powerful force for healing. This idea has found its way into the medical field, with disciplines like narrative-based medicine seeking to understand the accounts of patients the same way we understand works of literature. How far does this healing modality go? Can poetry and other narrative forms of creative work be, quite literally, good for our health? Join authors Ronna Bloom, Elizabeth Ruth, and Damian Tarnopolsky as they discuss all that lies at the intersection of storytelling and medicine.
Featuring Cathy Gordon, Senior Programmer from Luminato Festival.
Damian Tarnopolsky is the author of Lanzmann and Other Stories, Goya’s Dog, and The Defence. His work has been nominated for many awards, including the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, the Amazon First Novel Award, and the Journey Prize, and he won the Voaden Prize for Playwriting in 2019. He teaches at the Narrative-Based Medicine Lab at the University of Toronto.
Elizabeth Ruth is the author of the novels, Semi-Detached, Matadora, Smoke, and Ten Good Seconds of Silence. Her work has been recognized by the Writers’ Trust of Canada Fiction Prize, the City of Toronto Book Award, the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, and One Book One Community. Ruth is also the editor of the anthology, Bent on Writing: Contemporary Queer Tales. She holds a BA in English Literature, an MA in Counselling Psychology, and an MFA in Creative Writing. Elizabeth Ruth teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto. This Report Is Strictly Confidential is her debut poetry collection.
Ronna Bloom is a Toronto-based poet and educator and the author of seven books of poetry. Her work has been broad- cast on CBC, recorded by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, translated into Bangla and Chinese, and appeared three times in Best Canadian Poetry. Ronna is also someone who puts poetry to work in the world; she has led initiatives to bring poetry into health care settings, specifically developing the first Poet-in-Residence program at Mount Sinai Hospital/ Sinai Health.
AuthorDamian Tarnopolsky
PublisherFreehand Books
AuthorRonna Bloom
PublisherBrick Books
AuthorElizabeth Ruth
PublisherCaitlin Press & Dagger Editions
Program Sponsor
In recent years Romance has finally been getting the recognition it deserves – it’s time to celebrate that! In this playful but sincere spotlight, authors
In recent years Romance has finally been getting the recognition it deserves – it’s time to celebrate that! In this playful but sincere spotlight, authors Lily Chu, Kristen Ciccarelli, and Rebecca Fisseha unpack how the romance genre (and its community) bolster reader empathy, emotional resilience, and a spirit of optimism. Can happily-ever-afters help readers keep their hearts open to the real world? In times of hardship, is love our best defense? Join us and find out!
Kristen Ciccarelli is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Crimson Moth duology, A Dark Forgetting, and the Iskari series. Her books have been translated into over 20 languages. Before writing stories for a living, Kristen dropped out of college and worked as a baker, a potter, and a bookseller. She currently resides in the Niagara region of Ontario with her husband and daughter.
Lily Chu loves ordering the second-cheapest wine, wearing perfume all the time, and staying up far too late with a good book. Four of her books have been released as Audible Originals, performed by Phillipa Soo. Lily’s best-selling stories have spent multiple weeks at number one in Audible Top Plus Listens, and have been named in Best of the Year lists. Her books have been recommended in the New York Times, and her rom-com debut, The Stand-In, was named Target’s Book Club Pick for May as well as an Amazon Book of the Month and Apple Best Books of May.
Moderator
Maureen Halushak is the editor-in-chief of Chatelaine. Outside of work she’s an avid runner, writer, reader and dog walker.
Moderator
Rebecca Fisseha is an Ethiopian-Canadian writer based in Toronto. She is the author of the novel Daughters of Silence, as well as short stories, creative non-fiction, and personal essays that appear in various publications, including the anthology Addis Ababa Noir and Tongues: On Longing and Belonging Through Language. Rebecca is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers, the Vancouver Film School, and an alumnus of the TIFF Writers’ Studio.
AuthorLily Chu
PublisherSourcebooks
AuthorKristen Ciccarelli
PublisherMacmillan
AuthorRebecca Fisseha
PublisherPenguin Random House Canada
AuthorKristen Ciccarelli
PublisherMacmillan
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Program Sponsor
A fun-filled storytime event for kids and families. Join our authors as they tell tales of courage, determination, and finding where you shine! Best suited
A fun-filled storytime event for kids and families. Join our authors as they tell tales of courage, determination, and finding where you shine! Best suited to early readers.
HOWIE SHIA is an illustrator, writer, and animation director. He has worked with Disney, Netflix, and the National Film Board of Canada. He lives in Toronto, Canada, with his most excellent wife, two kindly children, too many books, and not enough drums.
Jillian Dobson delights in discovering stories in the everyday. She’s gathered tales through various unofficial and official roles, including museum guide, classroom assistant in Thailand and Brazil, vermicompost coordinator, event planner, real estate broker, and now children’s author! Jillian has lived in Alberta and Quebec and now lives in Richmond Hill, Ontario, with her incredible husband, their two inspiring children and a cuddly cat. She’s thankful for her supportive family and writing partners Heather Camlot and Loretta Garbutt.
Lana Button is an early childhood educator and the author of more than a dozen books for children, including Stay My Baby, Tough Like Mum, Brianna Banana, Helper of the Day and the Kitty and Friends series. Her books have been shortlisted for the Blue Spruce Award, Shining Willow Award, IODE Jean Throop Book Award and Rainforest of Reading, and they have been recognized as Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Best Books and an IBBY Outstanding Book for Young Children. Lana is a former actress who considers every read-aloud a mini performance. When not writing new stories, Lana spends her time traveling to schools and festivals to share her passion for social-emotional literacy. She lives in Burlington, Ontario.
AuthorLana Button
PublisherOrca Books
AuthorJillian Dobson
PublisherNimbus Press
AuthorHowie Shia
PublisherAnnick Press
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A fun-filled storytime event for kids and families. Join our authors as they tell tales of the homes they left behind and the new homes
A fun-filled storytime event for kids and families. Join our authors as they tell tales of the homes they left behind and the new homes they have found. Best suited to early readers.
LEONARDA CARRANZA was born in San Salvador, El Salvador, and currently lives in Brampton, Ontario. She holds a PhD in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto. She is the winner of Briarpatch Magazine’s Writing in the Margins contest. Her picture book Abuelita and Me (Annick) was nominated for the Blue Spruce Award and won the International Latino Book Award 2022 (best fiction picture book in English).
NADINE PRESLEY is a Syrian Canadian author whose debut picture book, The City of Jasmine (Harper, 2025), is inspired by the beauty of her hometown of Damascus, a place she has held in her heart since leaving over a decade ago, and now she gets to share it with the world. She is also the author of forthcoming titles including A Ramadan Night (Simon & Schuster, 2026) and Where There Is Love (Harper, 2026), with more on the way. Nadine works as a literacy educator and Arabic program coordinator. With a passion for anti racism work and promoting pride for Arab Muslim heritage, she is also a speaker for children, youth and adults. She currently lives in Canada with her husband and three boys, thriving on delicious Syrian food and the loving hugs of her boys.
In the fall of 2011, Wendy J. Whittingham illustrated the children’s book Miss Wondergem’s Dreadfully Dreadful Pie, written by award-winning author Valerie Sherrard and published by Creative Publishing.In the spring of 2012, her story Dreaming With Your Feet was selected as one of the top ten entries in a Canada-wide contest and featured in The Memory Keeper, an anthology by Ascent Aspirations.Wendy is currently awaiting the 2025 publication of her book The Last Last (Groundwood Books) and is polishing several picture books and novels of her own creation.An artist at heart, Wendy is a traditionalist who remains versatile in her practice, enjoying experimentation across a wide range of media. She is passionate about storytelling and eager to make her mark in the world of children’s literature.
AuthorNadine Presley
PublisherHarperCollins Canada
AuthorLeonarda Carranza
PublisherScholastic Canada
AuthorWendy J. Whittingham
PublisherGroundwood Books
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27sep12:10 pm12:55 pm12:10 pm - 12:55 pm Draw With Our Graphic Novelists!Gary Clement
Get out your sketchbooks and get ready to doodle! Led by acclaimed illustrator Gary Clement, this vibrant draw-along session will bring out the artist in
Get out your sketchbooks and get ready to doodle! Led by acclaimed illustrator Gary Clement, this vibrant draw-along session will bring out the artist in kids & families alike. All art materials provided on-site!
Gary Clement is a Canadian artist, cartoonist, illustrator, and writer. He’s the author and illustrator of several children’s books, among them The Great Poochini, which earned Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award in Children’s Literature—Illustration, and most recently illustrated My Winter City, written by James Gladstone. His illustrations have appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and many other newspapers and magazines across North America.
AuthorGary Clement
PublisherHachette Book Group
A fun-filled storytime event for kids and families. Join our authors as they tell tales of handling big feelings, learning about your emotions, and loving
A fun-filled storytime event for kids and families. Join our authors as they tell tales of handling big feelings, learning about your emotions, and loving yourself. Best suited to early readers.
CHANTAIE ALLICK is an author, strategist, and storytelling consultant based in Toronto. A former newspaper reporter and journalist, she is the author of Amoya Blackwood is Brave, published by Tundra Books and an as yet unnamed follow up title. A storyteller to her core – she is a true believer in boldly and bravely sharing your unique light with the world. Most days you can find her working with business owners and creators to understand, shape, and share their stories. She is a proud aunty with a toy poodle named Logan who very much approves the message of her books. Chantaie also writes a storytelling newsletter, Adventures in Storytelling, that helps readers understand, craft, and share their unique stories.
Deborah Kerbel is the critically acclaimed, award-winning author of several books for young people of all ages. Her books have been shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Canadian Library Association’s YA Book Award and the Forest of Reading Blue Spruce Award, among others. Deborah was born in London, England, and raised in Toronto, where she now lives with her family.
Edwin Dumont was born in Parry Sound to a family with Ojibway heritage. His mother is a member of Henvey Inlet First Nation. He has always been called Edweena. Cinderella said, “A dream is a wish your heart makes,” and Edwin’s dream of being a writer came true. He owns a hair salon and lives with his husband in Toronto.
AuthorChantaie Allick
PublisherPenguin Random House Canada
AuthorDeborah Kerbel
PublisherOrca Books
AuthorEdwin Dumont
PublisherSecond Story Press
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27sep1:35 pm2:05 pm1:35 pm - 2:05 pm Author Readings: Turtle Island TalesKaren Krossing, Willie Poll
A fun-filled storytime event for kids and families. Join our authors as they tell tales of the rich history, heritage, and possibility of Turtle Island.
A fun-filled storytime event for kids and families. Join our authors as they tell tales of the rich history, heritage, and possibility of Turtle Island. Best suited to early readers.
KAREN KROSSING is an author of settler heritage who has written many books for kids and teens, including the picture books My Street Remembers and One Tiny Bubble, and the novels Monster vs. Boy and Punch Like a Girl. She has twice won the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award and has been a finalist for the Ontario Library Association White Pine Award, among other honors. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and she’s on faculty at Whale Rock Literary Workshops and Humber School for Writers. Karen lives on the land currently known as Toronto, Canada.
WILLIE POLL is a Métis author, activist, storyteller, and lifelong learner. She is from Sault Ste. Marie, ON and now resides in Prince Edward Island.
AuthorKaren Krossing
PublisherGroundwood Books
AuthorWillie Poll
PublisherAnnick Press
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27sep2:10 pm2:55 pm2:10 pm - 2:55 pm Draw With Our Graphic Novelists!Arley Nopra, Brooklin Stormie
Get out your sketchbooks and get ready to doodle! Led by acclaimed illustrators Arley Nopra and Brooklin Stormie, this vibrant draw-along session will bring out
Get out your sketchbooks and get ready to doodle! Led by acclaimed illustrators Arley Nopra and Brooklin Stormie, this vibrant draw-along session will bring out the artist in kids & families alike. All art materials provided on-site!
Arley Nopra is a Filipina-Canadian illustrator and the creator of the New York Times bestselling Baby-sitters Club graphic novel adaptations of Claudia and the Bad Joke and Mallory and the Trouble with Twins by Ann M. Martin. She was previously a colorist for the second and third Dragon Prince graphic novels. Arley enjoys stories that explore love, resilience, and self-discovery. When she isn’t drawing, she loves getting lost in a good book or spending time with her dog. Arley lives in Toronto.
BROOKLIN STORMIE is an artist and illustrator based in Peterborough, Ontario. She is a grad of OCADU’s illustration program, a Pisces, and a believer in dragons.
AuthorBrooklin Stormie
PublisherAnnick Press
AuthorArley Nopra
PublisherScholastic Canada
An energetic story-time and discussion event for kids and families. Join our authors as they tell tales of the evolution of human communication and the
An energetic story-time and discussion event for kids and families. Join our authors as they tell tales of the evolution of human communication and the science of hope and optimism! Best suited to middle grade readers.
Andrea Curtis is an award-winning writer whose books have been published around the world. Her latest children’s books include The Story and Science of Hope and Loop de Loop: Circular Solutions for a Waste-Free World (both Groundwood) as well as the ThinkCities series about sustainability and urban systems from Groundwood. Andrea also writes books for adults and is a former editor at some of Canada’s best-known magazines. She lives in Toronto with her family where she hikes, bikes and tends her tiny veggie patch.
Maria Birmingham has worked in the children’s publishing industry for over 25 years. She is the award-winning author of over a dozen books for young people, including Can We Talk? How Humans Stay in Touch, Are We There Yet? How Humans Find Their Way and Are We Having Fun Yet? The Human Quest for a Good Time. Maria lives in Brampton, Ontario with her family.
AuthorMaria Birmingham
PublisherOrca Books
AuthorAndrea Curtis
PublisherGroundwood Books
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An energetic story-time and discussion event for kids and families. Join our authors as they tell tales of adventures with spirits, monsters, and magical lands!
An energetic story-time and discussion event for kids and families. Join our authors as they tell tales of adventures with spirits, monsters, and magical lands! Best suited to middle grade readers.
DAVID A. ROBERTSON is the author of numerous books for young readers including Governor General’s Literary Award winners On the Trapline and When We Were Alone. The Barren Grounds, Book 1 of The Misewa Saga series, was a Kirkus, NPR, and Quill & Quire best middle-grade book of 2020, as well as a USBBY and Texas Lone Star selection. Winner of the Writers’ Union of Canada’s Freedom to Read Award, as well as the 2021 Globe and Mail Children’s Storyteller of the Year recipient, Dave is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and currently lives in Winnipeg, Canada.
Sasha and Sarena Nanua are twin sisters who love stories about friendship, ghosts, and all things magical. Born on Diwali ten minutes apart, they began writing books together at the age of nine. They are graduates of the English and professional writing programs at the University of Toronto and are the authors of Spirit Service, Sisters of the Snake, and Daughters of the Dawn. You can visit them online at SarenaSashaBooks.com.
AuthorSasha & Sarena Nanua
PublisherSimon & Schuster
AuthorDavid A. Robertson
PublisherPenguin Random House Canada
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28sep10:20 am10:40 am10:20 am - 10:40 am Meet & Greet with Daniel Tiger and Super Why
Meet and Greets will take place at the Author Signing Tent next to Ella Minnow Children’s Bookstore – Tent E15. Presented by CBC Kids.
Meet and Greets will take place at the Author Signing Tent next to Ella Minnow Children’s Bookstore – Tent E15. Presented by CBC Kids.
Stage & Program Sponsor
28sep10:45 am11:00 am10:45 am - 11:00 am CBC Kids Book Club
Celebrate the magic of books with CBC Kids host Joojo, Gary the Unicorn, and Mr. Orlando! Get ready for sing-along songs, explosive dance moves, and
Celebrate the magic of books with CBC Kids host Joojo, Gary the Unicorn, and Mr. Orlando! Get ready for sing-along songs, explosive dance moves, and non-stop laughs perfect for the whole family.
Stage & Program Sponsor
28sep11:05 am11:25 am11:05 am - 11:25 am Meet & Greet with Joojo, Gary, Orlando and Daniel Tiger
Meet and Greets will take place at the Author Signing Tent next to Ella Minnow Children’s Bookstore – Tent E15. Presented by CBC Kids.
Meet and Greets will take place at the Author Signing Tent next to Ella Minnow Children’s Bookstore – Tent E15. Presented by CBC Kids.
Stage & Program Sponsor
28sep11:30 am12:15 pm11:30 am - 12:15 pm Jeremy and Jazzy Live
Jeremy and Jazzy Live is a Sing-and-Dance-Along show for kids and families featuring the extraordinary music from the hit CBC Kids TV, music, book and
Jeremy and Jazzy Live is a Sing-and-Dance-Along show for kids and families featuring the extraordinary music from the hit CBC Kids TV, music, book and education brand, Jeremy and Jazzy. Packed with music, laughter and stories about friendship, belonging and emotional well-being, Jeremy and Jazzy Live is an ideal concert experience for 4- to 7-year-olds and families.
Stage & Program Sponsor
28sep12:15 pm12:35 pm12:15 pm - 12:35 pm Meet & Greet with Peppa Pig
Meet and Greets will take place at the Author Signing Tent next to Ella Minnow Children’s Bookstore – Tent E15. Presented by CBC Kids.
Meet and Greets will take place at the Author Signing Tent next to Ella Minnow Children’s Bookstore – Tent E15. Presented by CBC Kids.
Stage & Program Sponsor
Dance, laugh, and shout along with CBC Kids host Joojo and friends as they bring to life playful tales from each character’s world. Dance along
Dance, laugh, and shout along with CBC Kids host Joojo and friends as they bring to life playful tales from each character’s world. Dance along with Daniel Tiger, jump in puddles with Peppa Pig and solve a super problem with Super Why!
Stage & Program Sponsor
28sep1:10 pm1:30 pm1:10 pm - 1:30 pm Meet & Greet with Joojo, Daniel Tiger and Super Why
Meet and Greets will take place at the Author Signing Tent next to Ella Minnow Children’s Bookstore – Tent E15. Presented by CBC Kids.
Meet and Greets will take place at the Author Signing Tent next to Ella Minnow Children’s Bookstore – Tent E15. Presented by CBC Kids.
Stage & Program Sponsor
28sep1:30 pm1:45 pm1:30 pm - 1:45 pm Reporting 101, with CBC Kids News
Ever wonder how news is made? Join the CBC Kids News team for a fun, behind-the-scenes look at how real news stories come to life
Ever wonder how news is made? Join the CBC Kids News team for a fun, behind-the-scenes look at how real news stories come to life — from picking a topic to spotting fake info and even playing a game of Fact or Fiction!
Program Sponsor
28sep2:00 pm2:15 pm2:00 pm - 2:15 pm CBC Kids Book Club
Celebrate the magic of books with CBC Kids host Joojo, Gary the Unicorn, and Mr. Orlando! Get ready for sing-along songs, explosive dance moves, and
Celebrate the magic of books with CBC Kids host Joojo, Gary the Unicorn, and Mr. Orlando! Get ready for sing-along songs, explosive dance moves, and non-stop laughs perfect for the whole family.
Stage & Program Sponsor
28sep2:30 pm2:50 pm2:30 pm - 2:50 pm Meet & Greet with Joojo, Gary, Orlando and Peppa Pig
Meet and Greets will take place at the Author Signing Tent next to Ella Minnow Children’s Bookstore – Tent E15. Presented by CBC Kids.
Meet and Greets will take place at the Author Signing Tent next to Ella Minnow Children’s Bookstore – Tent E15. Presented by CBC Kids.
Stage & Program Sponsor
28sep3:00 pm3:45 pm3:00 pm - 3:45 pm Jeremy and Jazzy Live
Jeremy and Jazzy Live is a Sing-and-Dance-Along show for kids and families featuring the extraordinary music from the hit CBC Kids TV, music, book and
Jeremy and Jazzy Live is a Sing-and-Dance-Along show for kids and families featuring the extraordinary music from the hit CBC Kids TV, music, book and education brand, Jeremy and Jazzy. Packed with music, laughter and stories about friendship, belonging and emotional well-being, Jeremy and Jazzy Live is an ideal concert experience for 4- to 7-year-olds and families.
Stage & Program Sponsor
28sep4:00 pm4:17 pm4:00 pm - 4:17 pm CBC Kids Storytime with Daniel Tiger, Super Why, and Peppa Pig
Dance, laugh, and shout along with CBC Kids host Joojo and friends as they bring to life playful tales from each character’s world. Dance along
Dance, laugh, and shout along with CBC Kids host Joojo and friends as they bring to life playful tales from each character’s world. Dance along with Daniel Tiger, jump in puddles with Peppa Pig and solve a super problem with Super Why!
Stage & Program Sponsor
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite. “Our pain is our power. Our beauty is our story.” At The
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite.
“Our pain is our power. Our beauty is our story.”
At The Word on the Street, stories have the power to spark change. Led by Toronto’s first Youth Poet Laureate, Shahaddah Jack, this interactive, all-ages workshop invites you to write your truth and weave it into a powerful collective piece: The People’s Poem.
Through short, high-energy writing prompts, open sharing, and group creativity, participants will transform personal stories into a shared vision for peace, justice, and belonging. Whether you’re a first-time writer, a seasoned poet, or just curious, this is your space to speak up, be heard, and leave your mark on the festival.
Presented with the City of Toronto.
27sep1:00 pm2:00 pm1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Creativity Beyond Words: Sound in PoetryLillian Allen
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite. In this highly interactive workshop, participants explore together how to enliven poetry and the poetic
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite.
In this highly interactive workshop, participants explore together how to enliven poetry and the poetic voice by incorporating elements of sound as language and language sounds in the writing and performing of poetry. Led by Toronto Poet Laureate Lillian Allen, come prepared to make some noise!
Presented with the City of Toronto.
27sep2:30 pm3:30 pm2:30 pm - 3:30 pm So You Want To Make a Magazine?Nicola Hamilton
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite. Against a backdrop of over-commoditized mainstream media and a barrage of free online content, independent
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite.
Against a backdrop of over-commoditized mainstream media and a barrage of free online content, independent publishers are proving that the future of magazines is growing, one creator at a time. Join magazine maker and Issues Magazine Shop founder Nicola Hamilton as she guides us through the process of starting a magazine. We’ll cover everything from funding to production and printing to distribution. Plus, we’ll meet a few inspiring publishers along the way!
Presented by Magazines Canada.
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite. Will I get an agent? Will my work get published? Will it sell?
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite.
Will I get an agent? Will my work get published? Will it sell?
When we’re connecting in any way to the writing industry, it’s easy to keep our eyes on what’s ahead, what’s outside our reach, what’s not yet realized.
Meanwhile, words are here. We are here. Our capacity for language is in our hands, and constantly expanding. In this generative workshop, we’ll shake off our striving and connect to why we want to write right now, accessing playfulness, spontaneity and the joy that’s always available when we choose to put pen to paper with an open mind and heart.
This workshop is for anyone who loves to write, and wants to connect to that love, and let it fuel their festival experience.
Presented with Firefly Creative Writing.
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite. Most books don’t fail in the marketplace. They fail to be written at all, or
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite.
Most books don’t fail in the marketplace. They fail to be written at all, or to be published with clear intention. Self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and uncertainty about the process leave countless aspiring authors stuck before their book ever reaches the publishing stage. But what if your hardest-earned life lessons—the ones you’ve lived, not just learned—could become the foundation for a book that not only helps others, but brings deeper meaning or momentum to your own journey?
In this inspiring and practical session, Tim Lindsay shares a proven 10-step roadmap for writing, publishing, and promoting a nonfiction book, one that begins with purpose and ends with real-world impact. Drawing on over a decade of experience supporting more than 5,000 authors, Tim reveals how writing a book can be a turning point: a way to transform adversity into insight, experience into contribution, and ideas into action.
Blending storytelling with hands-on guidance, this session also includes a simple, empowering 1-page Call to Authorship plan. Whether your book is for healing, helping others, creating opportunity, or establishing a legacy, you’ll leave with the clarity and confidence to not just begin, but follow through.
Presented with TellWell.
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite. Are you interested in becoming an editor? Do you want to learn more about editing
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite.
Are you interested in becoming an editor? Do you want to learn more about editing as a career path? Are you curious about how an editor could improve your work?
Editors Canada will be throwing a speed mentoring event at this year’s Word On The Street Toronto festival at David Pecaut Square. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about the editing industry from six experienced editors, including Jenny Lass, Genevieve Clovis, Suzanne Bowness, Robin Marwick, Chrissy Miskonoodinkwe Smith, and Carolyn Brown.
This session will see participants split up into small groups working with a mentor to explore the world of editing together. Groups will switch mentors approximately three times throughout the hour.
Presented with Editors Canada.
28sep1:30 pm2:30 pm1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Writing With Creative CuriositySarah Selecky
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite. Reconnect with your creative curiosity in this transformative 60-minute workshop with acclaimed author and master
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite.
Reconnect with your creative curiosity in this transformative 60-minute workshop with acclaimed author and master writing coach Sarah Selecky.
Learn practical techniques to bring mindfulness and presence to your writing practice, whether you’re starting fresh or deepening your relationship with an existing project. Through guided exercises and freewriting prompts, you’ll discover how to access a state of calm fascination that makes writing feel natural and engaging. Sarah shares key methods from her new book, Story Is a State of Mind, showing you how to integrate conscious and unconscious awareness for more authentic, interesting work.
You’ll generate new material while learning sustainable practices to keep your creative energy alive. This focused gathering creates space for writers to explore and connect with their innate wisdom. Leave with fresh material, reliable techniques for accessing your creativity, and a renewed sense of possibility in your writing life.
28sep3:00 pm4:00 pm3:00 pm - 4:00 pm A.I. Nope!Raymond Biesinger
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite. While author-artist-illustrator Raymond Biesinger’s new book, 9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off (Drawn
Pre-registration is required! Sign up via Eventbrite.
While author-artist-illustrator Raymond Biesinger’s new book, 9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off (Drawn & Quarterly) deals with the very human battle of independent creative workers versus those that would swindle them, copy them, and leave them unpaid, it deals with the threat of AI only tangentially. Thankfully, Raymond’s WOTS workshop “A.I. Nope!” explores the history of artificial general intelligence in relation to creative folks, its harm to society and the environment, the myth of AI inevitability, and how we can turn its limitations into our strengths. Maybe, too, we can even go on the offensive against it.
Join us at the Bookmobile for stories, songs or rhymes for children! This 30-minute program is perfect for kids ages 0-5 years, with their parents
Join us at the Bookmobile for stories, songs or rhymes for children! This 30-minute program is perfect for kids ages 0-5 years, with their parents or caregivers.
Program Sponsor
27sep11:30 am2:00 pm11:30 am - 2:00 pm Diaspora Dialogues Scavenger Hunt
How confident are you in pitting your literary knowledge against fellow Torontonians? Join Diaspora Dialogues for a Saturday and Sunday afternoon chase of literary clues,
How confident are you in pitting your literary knowledge against fellow Torontonians? Join Diaspora Dialogues for a Saturday and Sunday afternoon chase of literary clues, lines of poetry, personalized readings – and all manner of literary oddities. Complete the hunt and win a prize!
Featuring Ashley Hasfal, Rasiqra Revulva, Ai Jiang, Martin Gomes, Pratap Reddy, Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio, and more.
27sep12:00 pm1:00 pm12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Soapbox Science at WOTS
Fusing a Gap in Children’s Brain Cancer with Alexx Riemenschneider Baking With Color with Sinthuja Sugathas Smart Maps for Safer Cities:
Fusing a Gap in Children’s Brain Cancer with Alexx Riemenschneider
Baking With Color with Sinthuja Sugathas
Smart Maps for Safer Cities: Watching Power in the Air with Paria Mohammadzadeh
PhD Candidate
University of Toronto/Hospital for Sick Children
Research Area: Oncology, Cell Biology
PhD Candidate
PhD Student
York University
Research Area: Wireless Communication
PhD Student
Graduate Research Assistant (PhD student)
University of Guelph
Research Area: Food Science
Graduate Research Assistant (PhD student)
27sep1:00 pm2:00 pm1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Soapbox Science at WOTS
Breaking Down Plastic (& What It Leaves Behind) with Ericka De Oliveira Green Lungs: Plants Fighting Climate Chaos with Ishrat Zahan
Breaking Down Plastic (& What It Leaves Behind) with Ericka De Oliveira
Green Lungs: Plants Fighting Climate Chaos with Ishrat Zahan
Beyond Connectivity: The Evolution of Wireless Networks from Communication to Sensing with Dr. Hina Tabassum
Health For One is Health For All with Destina Mattrasingh
PhD Candidate
University of Guelph
Research Area: Microbiology and Bioinformatics
PhD Candidate
Associate Professor
York University
Research Area: Telecommunication Engineering
Associate Professor
PhD Student
Toronto Metropolitan University
Research Area: Analytical Chemistry
PhD Student
PhD Student
University of Guelph
Research Area: Plant Agriculture
PhD Student
27sep2:00 pm3:00 pm2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Soapbox Science at WOTS
Predicting the Unpredictable: How Math Prevents Pandemics with Sarah Machado-Marques Parasites: Friend or Enemy? with Rachel Goldberg Dealing with
Predicting the Unpredictable: How Math Prevents Pandemics with Sarah Machado-Marques
Parasites: Friend or Enemy? with Rachel Goldberg
Dealing with the Invisible: Chemicals in the Environment with Jolie Miller
Our Universe in a Nutshell with Dr. Encieh Erfani
Postdoctoral Fellow
Perimeter Institute
Research Area: Cosmology
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD Candidate
University of Toronto
Research Area: Environmental Chemistry
PhD Candidate
PhD Candidate
Toronto Metropolitan University
Research Area: Disease Ecology
PhD Candidate
PhD Student
York University
Research Area: Applied Mathematics
PhD Student
Join us at the Bookmobile for stories, songs or rhymes for children! This 30-minute program is perfect for kids ages 0-5 years, with their parents
Join us at the Bookmobile for stories, songs or rhymes for children! This 30-minute program is perfect for kids ages 0-5 years, with their parents or caregivers.
Program Sponsor
27sep3:00 pm5:30 pm3:00 pm - 5:30 pm Diaspora Dialogues Scavenger Hunt
How confident are you in pitting your literary knowledge against fellow Torontonians? Join Diaspora Dialogues for a Saturday and Sunday afternoon chase of literary clues,
How confident are you in pitting your literary knowledge against fellow Torontonians? Join Diaspora Dialogues for a Saturday and Sunday afternoon chase of literary clues, lines of poetry, personalized readings – and all manner of literary oddities. Complete the hunt and win a prize!
Featuring Ashley Hasfal, Rasiqra Revulva, Ai Jiang, Martin Gomes, Pratap Reddy, Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio, and more.
28sep10:30 am1:00 pm10:30 am - 1:00 pm Diaspora Dialogues Scavenger Hunt
How confident are you in pitting your literary knowledge against fellow Torontonians? Join Diaspora Dialogues for a Saturday and Sunday afternoon chase of literary clues,
How confident are you in pitting your literary knowledge against fellow Torontonians? Join Diaspora Dialogues for a Saturday and Sunday afternoon chase of literary clues, lines of poetry, personalized readings – and all manner of literary oddities. Complete the hunt and win a prize!
Featuring Ashley Hasfal, Rasiqra Revulva, Ai Jiang, Martin Gomes, Pratap Reddy, Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio, and more.
Join us at the Bookmobile for stories, songs or rhymes for children! This 30-minute program is perfect for kids ages 0-5 years, with their parents
Join us at the Bookmobile for stories, songs or rhymes for children! This 30-minute program is perfect for kids ages 0-5 years, with their parents or caregivers.
Program Sponsor
28sep12:00 pm1:00 pm12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Soapbox Science at WOTS
This is your chance to ask those burning questions about how our wild and wonderful world works! Our Soapbox Speakers will bring their expertise in science, medicine and
This is your chance to ask those burning questions about how our wild and wonderful world works! Our Soapbox Speakers will bring their expertise in science, medicine and the environment in a fun, ask-me-anything format. Don’t have a question? Don’t worry – we’ll have a few to get you started.
Ask Me About How Cancer Spreads with Dr. Sila Appak Baskoy
Ask Me About The Stuff In Your Green Bin with Reema Kumar
Senior Research Scientist
Toronto Metropolitan University
Research Area: Cancer
Senior Research Scientist
PhD Candidate
York University
Research Area: Biotech, environmental microbiology
PhD Candidate
28sep1:00 pm2:00 pm1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Soapbox Science at WOTS
This is your chance to ask those burning questions about how our wild and wonderful world works! Our Soapbox Speakers will bring their expertise in science, medicine and
This is your chance to ask those burning questions about how our wild and wonderful world works! Our Soapbox Speakers will bring their expertise in science, medicine and the environment in a fun, ask-me-anything format. Don’t have a question? Don’t worry – we’ll have a few to get you started.
Ask Me About Tiny Medicine with Dr. Sarah McColman
Ask Me About How Science Works with Dr. Imogen Coe
Professor
Toronto Metropolitan University
Research Area: Cell Biology
Professor
Post Doc
University of Toronto
Research Area: Nano Medicine
Post Doc
28sep2:00 pm4:30 pm2:00 pm - 4:30 pm Diaspora Dialogues Scavenger Hunt
How confident are you in pitting your literary knowledge against fellow Torontonians? Join Diaspora Dialogues for a Saturday and Sunday afternoon chase of literary clues,
How confident are you in pitting your literary knowledge against fellow Torontonians? Join Diaspora Dialogues for a Saturday and Sunday afternoon chase of literary clues, lines of poetry, personalized readings – and all manner of literary oddities. Complete the hunt and win a prize!
Featuring Ashley Hasfal, Rasiqra Revulva, Ai Jiang, Martin Gomes, Pratap Reddy, Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio, and more.
Join us at the Bookmobile for stories, songs or rhymes for children! This 30-minute program is perfect for kids ages 0-5 years, with their parents
Join us at the Bookmobile for stories, songs or rhymes for children! This 30-minute program is perfect for kids ages 0-5 years, with their parents or caregivers.
Program Sponsor