CELEBRATING THE CITY’S AUTHORS: TORONTO LIT UP ANNOUNCES SPRING SEASON
The Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) is proud to announce the 15 new titles selected for the Spring season of Toronto Lit Up 2024-2025. The programme is a joint initiative with Toronto Arts Council that spotlights Toronto writers and through supporting and promoting their book launch celebrations, bringing together communities of readers across the city.
The Spring season will take place between April and September 2024, and feature new works of fiction and non-fiction for adults and young people, poetry, memoir and drama, by debut and established Toronto authors. Discover stories that capture the iconic character of Toronto’s neighbourhoods and the wealth of cultures that meet on our streets. From bookstores to bars, clubs to coffee shops, Toronto Lit Up has a book launch for everyone’s TBR needs.
The following new books will be featured:
- Jean Marc Ah-Sen – Kilworthy Tanner (Véhicule Press)
- K.J. Aiello – The Monster and the Mirror (ECW Press)
- Gloria Blizzard – Black Cake, Turtle Soup, and Other Dilemmas (Dundurn Press)
- Kern Carter – And Then There Was Us (Tundra Books)
- Andrea Curtis, Anne Roos Kleiss (Illustrator) – Loop de Loop: Circular Solutions for a Waste Free World (Groundwood Books)
- Em Dial – In The Key of Decay (Palimpsest Press)
- Rosena Fung – Age 16 (Annick Press)
- Clarissa Trinidad Gonzalez – Celestina's House (Rare Machines, Dundurn Press)
- Sydney Hegele – Bird Suit (Invisible Publishing)
- Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho)– cockroach (曱甴) (Playwrights Canada Press)
- Sarabeth Holden, Emma Pedersen (Illustrator) – Sea Snooze (Inhabit Media Inc.)
- Sadi Muktadir – Land of No Regrets (HarperCollins)
- Devan Rajkumar – Mad Love: Big Flavors Made to Share, from South Asia to the West Indies–A Cookbook (Figure1 Publishing)
- Jess Taylor – Play (Book*hug Press)
- A.G.A Wilmot – Withered (ECW Press)
Events to launch and celebrate these titles will take place in person across Toronto from April to September. All events will be free to attend and open to the public. Stay tuned for dates and details to come at FestivalofAuthors.ca.
Between April 2016 and March 2024, Toronto Lit Up has presented over 200 events featuring over 250 Toronto authors and illustrators.
- From the Toronto Arts Council
“Partnering with TIFA to amplify the work of Toronto authors and illustrators is something we are very proud to do. Toronto Lit Up not only generates excitement for published work, but it promotes and further strengthens our city’s rich literary community. Congratulations to the 15 authors and illustrators who are taking part in this season of Toronto Lit Up!” – Kelly Langgard, Director & CEO, Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation.
The Committee
Each submission is reviewed by the Toronto Lit Up Committee, composed of Ayesha Chatterjee (past president, League of Canadian Poets), Ian Keteku (Creative Writing Instructor, OCAD U), Samia Madwar (Senior Editor, The Walrus), Hazel Millar (Co-Publisher, Book*hug) and Roland Gulliver (Director, Toronto International Festival of Authors).
New Committee Member: Samia Madwar is a senior editor at The Walrus and has previously worked in editorial roles at Up Here and Canadian Geographic magazines. She has served as a judge for the National Magazine Awards, the Digital Publishing Awards, and the Online Journalism Awards, among others, and has mentored emerging journalists through the National Media Awards Foundation’s BIPOC Mentorship Program.
How to get involved:
To keep up to date on announcements, upcoming events and submission periods, follow us on social media at @festofauthors and subscribe to our e-newsletter.
