What to see and where to see it
This is just a small sampling of the more than 200 authors and presenters appearing at this massive free festival. The Word On The Street is your first chance to find out about the best new Canadian books — a lakeside kickoff to the fall book season.
Amazon.ca Bestsellers Stage As the flagship venue at The Word On The Street, visit Harbourfront Centre Theatre to see some of the biggest names in CanLit. The Amazon.ca Bestsellers Stage will feature a stellar roster of Canadian talent, beloved TV personalities, award winners, and new books for the kids.
Don’t miss striking spring and summer reads including Barbara Gowdy’s Little Sister, Linden MacIntyre’s The Only Cafè, and Grace O’Connell’s Be Ready For the Lighting. See award winners David Chariandy with his highly anticipated Brother, Toronto’s Poet Laureate Anne Michaels with All We Saw, and Frances Itani with her Second World War-era novel, That’s My Baby.
Environmental updates begin with The Patch by Chris Turner, and end with David Suzuki and Ian Hanington as they present Just Cool It!: The Climate Crisis and What We Can Do.
Authors behind big-screen successes, Deb Ellis ( Breadwinner series) and Emma Donoghue ( Room), share their middle grade features Sit and The Lotterys Plus One. Join rock star Ron Sexmith for his most recent on the road endeavour, Deer Life. End your day with your favourite jokesters Terry Fallis and Peter Unwin as they embark on their most recent quests, One Brother Shy and Searching for Petronius Totem.
Author Cruises Join bestselling author panels for four 60-minute Author Cruises on the Tall Ship Kajama. Cruises board at 11 a.m.,12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. Get your genre fix with historical fiction by Bruce Murray, Emily Schultz, Lesley Krueger, and Eva Stachniak; horror by Nick Cutter, Ron Corbett, and David Demchuk; sports writing by Lance Hornby, Stacey May Fowles, and Bertrand Hébert & Pat Laprade; and speculative fiction by Robert J. Sawyer, Lesley Livingston, and Sylvain Neuvel. For tickets, head to an information booth ($20 Adults, $35 Adult + One Book*, $10 Children). *Some exceptions apply
Canadian Magazines Stage Go straight to the source by attending panels at our Canadian Magazines Tent featuring your favourite national magazines. Hot topics include: redesigning Toronto, redefining feminism, shaping culture through poetry, global unrest, pop culture and urban farming. Don’t miss out on some great discussion and head over to our Magazines Mews to renew your subscriptions!
Cooks ‘n’ Books Stage Whether it’s cultural delicacies or tasty back-to-school treats you de- sire, don’t miss live cooking demos and free samples at the Cooks ‘n’ Books Stage, located in the Harbourfront Centre Main Building. Catch appearances by kids’ favourite Chef Chirp, Chef David Wolfman ( Cooking with the Wolfman: Indigenous Fusion), and other popular authors including Laura Keogh and Ceri Marsh ( School Year Survival Cookbook) and Evelyn Raab ( Clueless in the Kitchen).
Great Books Marquee Along the boardwalk, spend your day with literary greats at the Great Books Marquee. This venue features a variety of spring and fall titles including fiction, short stories, and poetry. Featured authors include poets Gillian Sze, Lisa Richter, and Roo Borson; new big names Kevin Hardcastle, Craig Francis Power, and Daniel Grenier; suspense writers Anna Porter, Nicole Lundrigan, and Andrew Pyper; and professors extraordinaire Nick Mount and Dr. Anne Urbancic.
Indigenous Voices Indigenous Voices will be a platform to engage and educate festival goers about the varied contributions to literature from communities across the country.
In addition to contemporary literature, this stage hosts traditional storytelling and language segments representing Indigenous languages from Toronto and surrounding areas including Anishinaabemowin and Cree. Join some of Canada’s best Indigenous voices including Melanie Florence, Jay Odjick, Tanya Talaga, Lee Maracle, Cherie Dimaline, Drew Hayden Taylor, Daniel David Moses, and more.
Learning Station Literacy comes alive at the Learning Station with yoga, drumming, and inspiring literacy activities hosted by Let’s Get Together, The Children’s Book Bank, ONBIDA (the Ontario Branch of the International Dyslexia Association), Frontier College, the Ontario Cultural Society of the Deaf and Silent Voice, and Parkdale Project Read.
Sculpting New Reads This exciting visual arts venue brings together Canadian artists and authors to explore how books can inspire new ways of thinking, creating and innovating.
Four local artists have been paired with books by authors including Bolivian-Canadian Alejandro Saravia, Indigenous journalist Tanya Talaga, music icon Ron Sexsmith, and poet Lisa Richter.
Each artist has been challenged to create an art installation inspired by the themes of their book, applying their own unique practice to the creative process. Teen Spirit Stage On offer are genre-based, interactive programming sessions showcasing great YA books and authors. Travel the world, spend time with fantasy queens and sci-fi heroes, learn from the past, and enter the wild to catch these YA greats in person. Featured authors include Nina Berkhout, M-E Girard, Cherie Dimaline, Lesley Livingston, Elly Blake, Rick Revelle, S.K Ali, and slam poets from BAM! Toronto.
TFO Franco Stage (Franco scène TFO) The new TFO Franco Stage (Franco scène TFO) showcases the best in Francophone literature. There’s something for everyone — the little ones will love the Mini TFO shows. Hosted by Théâtre français de Toronto, Salon du livre de Toronto, and Les Libraires, check out literary greats from Quebec and Ontario including Marguerite Andersen, Fanny Britt, Didier Leclair, Alex A., Louise Tremblay d’Essiambre, Chrystine Brouillet, Stéphane Larue, and more. End your day with Francophone Slam Poetry hosted by Franc’Open Mic.
Toronto Book Awards Tent The Toronto Book Awards Tent is hosting the authors and editors of all five finalists for the 2017 Toronto Book Awards, including James Mas- kalyk ( Life on the Ground Floor), B. Denham Jolly ( In the Black: My Life), Jen Agg ( I Hear She’s a Real Bitch), Catherine Hernandez ( Scarborough), and Jane Farrow, Rahim Thawer, Jennifer Coffey, Steven Maynard ( Any Other Way: How Toronto Got Queer). And, don’t miss Diaspora Dialogues panel Mapping Toronto: Stories from the Six.
Toronto Star Tent The Toronto Star Tent offers thought-provoking presentations from some of the Star’s most popular writers. Featured presenters include David Rider, Tess Kalinowski, Edward Keenan, Chantal Hébert, Daniel Dale, Thomas Walkom, Peter Howell, and Linda Barnard.
Vibrant Voices of Ontario Tent This venue celebrates the amazing fiction, non-fiction, and poetry produced by writers and publishers from our province. Join us for readings and thoughtful discussion from a vast array of authors, including comedian Shawn Hitchins, poet Canisia Lubrin, bestseller Robert Rotenberg, and your favourite slam poets.
ACX Wordshop Marquee Stop by the Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre for a day of informative talks about creative writing and publishing for aspiring and experienced writers. Presented by the Humber School for Writers, whose alumni have gone on to publish over 1,000 books in the last 20 years, join the discussions with David Bezmozgis Colin McAdam, Kyo Maclear, Helen Heller, Madeline Ashby, and more.
TD KidStreet Programming CBC Kids Activity Tent Hosted for the first time by CBC Kids’ Studio K and Gary the Unicorn comes a day of arts and crafts inspired by amazing children’s books. Design your own outfit with Julie Kraulis, make some new friends with Naseem Hrab, learn how to raise Monarch butterflies with Carol Pasternak, and get into character for The Artsy Mistake Mystery with Sylvia McNicoll.
TD Children’s Literature Tent Come and see some of Canada’s most renowned children’s authors and illustrators, including some of the nominees for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. Featured authors include Kyo Maclear, Vikki VanSickle, Qin Leng, and Nicola Winstanley. Then join in a celebration of Andrea Lynn Beck’s Good Morning, Canada to celebrate Canada 150, chosen as this year’s TD Grade 1 Book Giveaway.
TVOkids LIVE! Stage Sing, dance and learn at the TVOkids LIVE! Stage. Families can enjoy a fun-filled day with some of TVOkids’ favourite characters and personalities, including TVOkids Pirate Bookaneers, Odd Squad, Paw Patrol, Dino Dana, and Canada’s leading environmentalist David Suzuki!