TIFA Virtual Book Club
Love reading? Join the club!
Enjoy the company of fellow readers by becoming a part of TIFA’s Official Book Club. We’re thrilled to announce the return of two virtual seasons in 2025, featuring thoughtfully curated reading lists and engaging conversations. The Winter and Fall seasons each include five meeting sessions that spotlight a specific contemporary book that delivers compelling storytelling and thought-provoking themes. Sessions are facilitated by author and award-winning educator Catherine Graham, and many will include guest appearances by the authors themselves.
Each season of Book Club is capped at 30 registrants, to provide an accessible and intimate environment where all readers have the opportunity to participate meaningfully. Reserve your spot early to avoid disappointment!
Meeting sessions take place at 6pm ET on Wednesdays via Zoom video conferencing.
Winter 2025 Season
Featuring 2024 GGBooks Finalists & Winners
February 5 – June 11, 2025
All sessions start at 6pm ET
SOLD OUT
Join us for a special winter season celebrating the 2024 Governor General’s Literary Awards (GGBooks)! Over these five sessions, we’ll dive into exceptional titles that showcase the creativity and diversity of voices that define the literary landscape of Canada. Don’t miss this chance to meet the finalists and winners of these prestigious awards.
This season is organized in collaboration with the Canada Council for the Arts to celebrate the finalists and winners of the Governor General’s Literary Awards.
Session dates and reading list:
- Wednesday, February 5, 2025 – Empty Spaces by Jordan Abel
- Wednesday, March 5, 2025 – Naniki by Oonya Kempadoo
- Wednesday, April 2, 2025 – There is Violence and There is Righteous Violence and There Is Death, or the Born-Again Crow by Caleigh Crow
- Wednesday, May 7, 2025 – Wînipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre by Niigaan Sinclair
- Wednesday, June 11, 2025 – Nights Too Short to Dance by Marie-Claire Blais, Translated by Katia Grubisic
Fall 2025 Season
September 10 – December 10, 2025
All sessions start at 6pm ET
$74 + HST
Get an early look at TIFA’s annual flagship Festival, as the reading list for this Book Club season will spotlight many titles featured in the Festival programme. TIFA Book Clubbers will be the first to unpack the themes and ideas being explored on our stages this fall, by delving deep into a range of stories that span diverse genres and countries.
The Fall 2025 reading list will be unveiled this summer.
Session dates:
- Wednesday, September 10, 2025
- Wednesday, October 15, 2025
- Wednesday, November 5, 2025
- Wednesday, November 26, 2025
- Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Catherine Graham’s eighth book, Æther: An Out-of-Body Lyric, was a finalist for the Trillium Book Award, Toronto Book Award and won the Fred Kerner Book Award. Her sixth collection, The Celery Forest, was named a CBC Best Book of the Year and was a finalist for the Fred Cogswell Award. Her debut novel Quarry won an IPPY Gold Medal for Fiction, The Miramichi Reader Award for Best Fiction and was a finalist for the Sarton Women’s Book Award and Fred Kerner Book Award. The Most Cunning Heart, her second novel, was named a Miramichi Reader Best Book and was a finalist for the Fred Kerner Book Award. Published internationally, her poems have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, shortlisted for the Montreal International Poetry Prize and appear in Best Canadian Poetry. She teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto SCS where she won an Excellence in Teaching Award and co-hosts The Hummingbird Podcast—part of the WNED PBS Amplify app. Put Flowers Around Us and Pretend We’re Dead: New and Selected Poems is her latest book. Visit her online at www.catherinegraham.com and @catgrahampoet.