Event Speaker: Lavanya Lakshmi

Lavanya has lived in nine cities and four countries before moving to Toronto. Lavanya has a Master’s degree from NYU and worked in the publishing industry for thirteen years; she is also on the board of directors for the Festival of Literary Diversity.Her debut novel, LEAVE AND COME BACK, was named an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best Romance, An Indigo’s Best 100 Books of the Year So Far, and was the June 2026 pick for Lilly Singh’s Lilly’s Library Book Club.