Application period: February 13 – April 30, 2023
The 2023 International Visitors (IV) Programme committee, in association with the Toronto International Festival of Authors, is pleased to announce that the application period is now open for 2023 IV Programme fellowships.
Now in its 16th year, the IV Programme hosts publishing professionals from across Canada and around the world during the annual Toronto International Festival of Authors. This year, the programme will take place in Toronto between September 25–29, 2023.
The programme is open to Canadian and international mid-level publishing professionals (minimum three years of experience) who work with, or are interested in working with, Canadian authors and publishers.
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The IV Programme is gratefully supported by:
Now Accepting Submissions for the 2023/24 Season
A new season of Toronto Lit Up is on the way to spotlight Toronto authors and provide career-building opportunities. Publishers of Toronto authors who are launching new books between April 2023 and March 2024 are invited to submit an application for book launch support. Self-published authors who identify with one or more of the Toronto Arts Council’s Equity Priority Groups and are members of The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) are also welcome to apply.
Submissions will be accepted between February 2 and March 9.
Books must be published between April 2023 and March 2024.
All submissions will be reviewed by the Toronto Lit Up Committee, composed of Ayesha Chatterjee (past president, League of Canadian Poets), Alison Jones (Quill and Quire) and Hazel Millar (Literary Press Group).
Programme Benefits
Programme participants will receive:
- Financial support for a public book launch celebration taking place in Toronto within the season dates.
- Publicity support to promote the book launch celebration to the public.
- An honorarium fee for the author and select additional artists (performers, interviewers, hosts, etc.) participating in the book launch event.
About Toronto Lit Up
Toronto Lit Up (TLU) is a multi-year initiative, started in 2016 by the Toronto International Festival of Authors and the Toronto Arts Council, to spotlight Toronto writers and empower local artists with career-building opportunities. Between April 2016 and January 2023, Toronto Lit Up has presented 150 events to launch 174 books by 250 Toronto authors. Launches are always open to the public and free to attend.
Eligibility Requirements
Books:
- All genres are elifible, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, short story, graphic novels, literature for young people, cookbooks, gardening books, sports-related stories, satire and much more.
- Books must be published within three (3) months of the anticipated launch event date.
Authors:
- Authors must have been a resident of the City of Toronto for at least one (1) year prior to their book launch date, and also be a current resident, defined as living in Toronto for at least eight (8) months of the year. The City of Toronto is defined by its 1998 Amalgamation: Steeles Avenue to the north, Rouge River to the east, Lake Ontario to the south, and Etobicoke Creek/Highway 427 to the west.
- As TLU is a Toronto Arts Council (TAC) partnership, the programme is designed to represent the residents of the City of Toronto and its Equity Priority Groups, which include those who identify as persons of colour, deaf persons, persons with disabilities and persons living with mental illness, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIAP, as well as other historically underserved writers.
- Self-published authors who identify with one or more of TAC’s Equity Priority Groups and are members of The Writers Union of Canada (TWUC) are also welcome to apply.
Launch Celebration Event:
- Events may take place anywhere within the City of Toronto.
- Must be open to the public and free to attend.
- Event formats may include panel discussions, readings, one-on-one interviews, and/or interdisciplinary presentations held on-location or virtually.
Publishers:
- Publishers may submit more than one author per programme season.
How to Apply
- Review the eligibility requirements
- Respond to the call for submissions by completing an online proposal on or before Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 5pm, ET.
What to include with your submission?
- Author name
- Author bio
- Book title
- Genre
- Publisher
- Book summary
- Publication date
- Advanced readers copy/manuscript in PDF format
- Book’s publication date
- Anticipated event details (i.e., type and format of event, tentative venue, dates and time)
Questions? email TorontoLitUp[at]festivalofauthors.ca
Start your submission now, by clicking the link below.
Follow along on social media through #TorontoLitUp
The International Visitors (IV) Programme, in association with the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA), today announced that Iris Tupholme, SVP, Executive Publisher at HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., will be the 11th recipient of the Ivy Award, given annually to an individual who has made a substantial contribution to Canadian publishing. Tupholme will be honoured during the 2022 Ivy Award & Conversation taking place at Harbourfront Centre during TIFA on September 26 at 11:30am (ET). The free-with-registration event will also feature an introduction by award-winning author Lawrence Hill, and a conversation with Chantal Restivo-Alessi, Chief Digital Officer and CEO International Foreign Language for HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. TIFA, Canada’s largest and longest-running literary festival, celebrates its 43rd edition from September 22 to October 2, 2022.
“I’m delighted to be chosen as the 2022 Ivy Award recipient and particularly honoured to know that author Lawrence Hill will introduce me at TIFA for this event,” said Iris Tupholme. “The Ivy Award is such a special acknowledgement because it comes from our industry colleagues whose support and encouragement I have always appreciated.”
“On behalf of the IV Committee I want to state how delighted we all are that Iris Tupholme has been selected to receive this year’s Ivy Award,” said Carolyn Forde, IV Chair, Partner and Senior Literary Agent at
Transatlantic Agency, President, PACLA (Professional Association of Canadian Literary Agents). “As the
Publisher of HarperCollins Canada, Iris has a hand in bringing some of this country’s most important books to readers, and in nurturing, supporting and championing a wonderful roster of authors. As if that wasn’t enough, the IV Programme exists because of Iris’s outstanding vision and tireless hard work. Over 15 years ago she conceived of this fellowship program and through it she has done so much to showcase the entire Canadian publishing industry to a wide range of international publishers, editors, agents and scouts and has also created a unique and powerful opportunity for Canadian publishing professionals to work together. We are so grateful to Iris and so happy to see her receive this well deserved recognition.”
This year’s Ivy Award jury is composed of Alison Jones, Carolyn Forde, Kyle Wyatt and Roland Gulliver. Past Ivy Award recipients include: Errol Sharpe (2021), Nurjehan Aziz (2020), Anne Collins (2019), Brian Lam (2018), Phyllis Bruce (2017), Linda McKnight (2016), David Kent (2015), Dean Cooke (2014), Louise Dennys (2013) and Scott McIntyre (2012).
The IV Programme is funded by:
On July 26, 2022, the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) announced that 21 new books have been selected to be part of the latest season of Toronto Lit Up, a joint initiative with Toronto Arts Council that spotlights Toronto writers and provide career-building opportunities through book launch celebrations. The latest Toronto Lit Up season will take place between July 2022 and March 2023, and feature new works of fiction and non-fiction for adults and young people, poetry, memoir and drama, by debut and established Toronto authors.
The authors and new books selected for the new Toronto Lit Up season are:
• Didier Leclair, Toronto, I Love You (translated to English by Elaine Kennedy) (Mawenzi House)
• Pamela Mordecai, de Book of Joseph (Mawenzi House)
• Curtis Carmichael, Butterflies in the Trenches: The Hood, an Epic Bike Ride, and Finding Inspiration (Synergy)
• Sophie Jai, Wild Fires (HarperCollins Canada)
• Khashayar Mohammadi, WJD (Gordon Hill)
• Emily Saso, Nine Dash Line (Freehand Books)
• Diane Borsato with illustrations by Kelsey Oseid, Mushrooming: The Joy of the Quiet Hunt – An Illustrated Guide to the Fascinating, the Delicious, the Deadly and the Strange (Douglas & McIntyre)
• Tanya Turton, Jade Is a Twisted Green (Dundurn Press)
• Nancy Lam, The Loyal Daughter (At Bay Press)
• Robert Priest, If I Didn’t Love the River (ECW Press)
• Daniel Scott Tysdal, The End Is in the Middle: MAD fold-in poems (Icehouse Poetry)
• Sam Shelstad, Citizens of Light (TouchWood Editions)
• Danee Wilson, Murder at San Miguel (Radiant Press)
• S.K. Ali, Love from Mecca to Medina (Simon & Schuster Canada)
• Jon S. Dellandrea, The Great Canadian Art Fraud Case: The Group of Seven & Tom Thomson Forgeries (Goose Lane Editions)
• Elaine Kachala, Superpower? The Wearable-Tech Revolution (Orca Book Publishers)
• Chris MacDonald, The Things I Came Here With: A Memoir (ECW Press)
• Elizabeth Gillian Muir, An Unrecognized Contribution: Women and Their Work in 19th-Century Toronto (Dundurn Press)
• Natasha Adiyana Morris, The Negroes Are Congregating (Playwrights Canada Press)
• George Elliott Clarke, Canticles III (MMXXII) (Guernica Editions)
• Brooke Lockyer, Burr (Nightwood Editions)
Book launch events will take place at venues throughout Toronto. Event dates and details will be posted throughout the season at FestivalofAuthors.ca/Toronto-Lit-Up. As always, Toronto Lit Up events are open to the public and free to attend.
“Toronto Lit Up continues to provide invaluable opportunities for Toronto writers to enjoy well-deserved time in the spotlight, along with the resources to celebrate and promote their publishing accomplishments. Toronto Arts Council is pleased to partner with TIFA as we applaud twenty-one accomplished authors participating this season, reflecting a wealth of diverse and compelling stories” – Claire Hopkinson, Director & CEO, Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation
“It’s an honour for us to continue to celebrate local Toronto authors and be a part of showcasing the diversity of the city’s vibrant literary landscape. We are particularly delighted that many of this season’s launches are scheduled to be in-person after many, many months of virtual launches. Congratulations to all the authors launching new books this year. We look forward to receiving – and greatly encourage – new submissions when the next call opens this fall.” – Ayesha Chatterjee, Toronto Lit Up committee member.
This is an extended season of Toronto Lit Up, which takes into account that many book launches were delayed during the past two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All submissions were reviewed by the Toronto Lit Up Committee, composed of Ayesha Chatterjee (past president, League of Canadian Poets), Alison Jones (Quill and Quire) and Hazel Millar (Literary Press Group).
Toronto Lit Up is produced with the support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.
ABOUT TORONTO LIT UP
Toronto Lit Up is a multi-year initiative, started in 2016 by the Toronto International Festival of Authors and Toronto Arts Council, to spotlight Toronto writers and empower local artists with career-building opportunities. Between April 2016 and June 2022, Toronto Lit Up has presented 137 events to launch 161 books by 236 Toronto authors. Launches are always open to the public and free to attend.
As the official presenter of MOTIVE Crime & Mystery Festival, Kobo Plus is offering Toronto International Festival of Authors guests, friends and supporters an opportunity to try Kobo’s all-you-can-read subscription service.
Choose from hundreds of thousands of popular, classic and original titles for only $9.99 a month.
On May 31, 2022, Kegedonce Press will release a remarkable new poetry collection, a collaboration with the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) and Festival of the Peripheries (FLUP), titled Slam Coalkan Performance Poetry: The Condor and the Eagle Meet. In 2021, 17 Indigenous spoken-word artists from Abya Yala (South America) and Turtle Island (North America) were invited by TIFA in Toronto, Canada, and Festival of the Peripheries (FLUP) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to participate in a virtual edition of Slam Coalkan. This project, funded by the Canada Council for the Arts, was created to allow Indigenous poets from across the Americas to meet and share ideas, dreams and aspirations for the future, through two slam performances and a series of roundtables around the importance of storytelling. TIFA then reached out to Kegedonce Press to have the performers’ works published in an English-language anthology.
Slam Coalkan is curated by poets Jennifer Alicia Murrin of Toronto and Renata Tupinambá of São Paulo. The festivals’ directors, Roland Gulliver (TIFA) and Julio Ludemir (FLUP) have each contributed an afterword reflecting on this extraordinary cross-continental collaboration. Digitally enhanced with QR codes, Slam Coalkan links readers to videos of the poets’ performances at the FLUP and TIFA festivals.
The two Slam Coalkan competitions and the resulting anthology evoke an ancient Indigenous prophecy called coalkan, in which South America is represented by the Condor and North America, the Eagle. The prophecy states: The day will come when the Eagle and the Condor will fly together in the same sky, wing to wing, and the world will come into balance. The poetry of Slam Coalkan speaks out against the evils of colonialism, racism, transphobia and genocide.
The artwork on the book’s visually stunning cover is by Philip Cote III and Gustavo Caboco, with design by Chantal Lalonde and Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm.
Tyler Pennock, award-winning author of Bones, writes of Slam Coalkan: “This collection is an invitation, a re-focusing, and a collaboration long overdue. Persistent and affirming, the poets pull our gaze away from centered norms of power, empire, and colony. In this, every poem is a world, unique to the storyteller, diverse and full, maintained as living response to the brutality of oppression. Every page is necessary and compelling – an awakening, and a ‘body that transmutes hate in song.’”
Slam Coalkan will have its official launch at an in-person and online event at Glad Day Bookshop in Toronto on June 21 at 7pm ET. Contributor and editor Jennifer Alicia Murrin will participate and the event will be moderated by Tyler Pennock.
The Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) today announced the author lineup and programming for MOTIVE presented by Kobo Plus, Canada’s newest and largest crime and mystery writing festival, taking place June 3 to 5, 2022 based at Harbourfront Centre. Marking TIFA’s return to in-person programming after two years of digital presentations, the inaugural edition of MOTIVE features nearly 100 authors from Canada and around the world, with over 40 ticketed events, 13 free digital events, plus free outdoor events and activities all weekend long. Tickets are now on sale online and through the Harbourfront Centre Box Office by phone at 416-973-4000.
“This Festival is the realization of a two-year dream: when I arrived in Toronto I was struck by how passionate Canadian readers were for crime and mystery books. So it feels fitting to return to live, in-person events with the launch of MOTIVE, and to share this exceptional lineup of authors with audiences,” said Roland Gulliver, Director, Toronto International Festival of Authors. “From cozy crime to police procedural, psychological thriller to Nordic Noir, the crime and mystery genre has created some of the world’s best storytellers who offer perspectives on the world and explore contemporary social issues through captivating narratives.”
“We are thrilled to work with TIFA to bring the MOTIVE Crime & Mystery Festival to life. As one of the most popular genres on the Kobo Plus all-you-can read subscription service, we have experienced first-hand how passionate readers are for the genre,” said Bart Roberts, Director, Kobo Plus. “Readers who get hooked on mystery want to read everything they can uncover and we’re pleased to offer stories from the best criminal minds in the world for one low monthly fee. Kobo Plus makes it easy to read as many books as you want, to explore new mysteries risk-free, and discover international authors you may not otherwise have found.”
MOTIVE is generously supported by Presenting sponsor Kobo Plus, International sponsor Icelandair and Official booksellers Rakuten Kobo and Indigo.
Ticket prices for MOTIVE start at $16.50+HST ($12.50 for students and youth aged 25 and under). Digital events, The Hidden, and a selection of outdoor activities will be free.
Today, the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) announced the Spring 2022 Season of Toronto Lit Up, a joint initiative with Toronto Arts Council to spotlight Toronto writers, and also opened the call for submissions for the programme’s next season. The Spring Season, taking place now through to June, will feature digital and in-person events that celebrate the launch of eight new books by nine local authors/illustrators.
The selected authors and books for the Spring 2022 Season are:
- Mahak Jain and Anu Chouhan (Illustrator), Bharatanatyam in Ballet Shoes (Annick Press)
- Robert McGill, Suitable Companion for the End of Your Life (Coach House Books)
- Neil Besner, Fishing With Tardelli: A Memoir of Family in Time Lost (ECW Press)
- Terri Favro, The Sisters Sputnik (ECW Press)
- Adrienne Todd, City of Sensors (Now Or Never Publishing)
- S.L. Klassen, Menno-Nightcaps: Cocktails Inspired by that Odd Ethno-Religious Group You Keep Mistaking for the Amish, Quakers Or Mormons (TouchWood Editions)
- Margaret DeRosia, Eight Strings (Simon & Schuster)
- Sonya Singh, Sari, Not Sari (Simon & Schuster)
July 2022 – March 2023 Season Call For Submissions
As of today, the call for submissions is open for the next season of Toronto Lit Up, which will take place between July 2022 and March 2023. This is an extended season, taking into account that many book launches were delayed during the past two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Torontonians who will be published authors within the season dates, and their publicists, are invited to apply to the programme for book launch support. Submissions will be accepted between April 1 and 30, 2022.
All submissions will be reviewed by the Toronto Lit Up Committee, composed of Ayesha Chatterjee (past president, League of Canadian Poets), Alison Jones (Quill and Quire) and Hazel Millar (Literary Press Group).
Click here for more information
A digital mini-series spotlighting a new wave of CanLit influencers
The Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) is thrilled to announce The New Embassy: a new five-part digital series spotlighting artists who are shaping Canada’s literary futures. The events will stream for free between February and April, 2022. Events will be curated by Yousef Kadoura, Canisia Lubrin, Jen Sookfong Lee, Kai Cheng Thom and Syrus Marcus Ware; and feature spoken word, poetry, fiction and non-fiction, theatrical readings, music and dance performed by a roster of influential artists, including Sze-Yang Ade-Lam, Britta B., Courage Bacchus, Aedan Corey, Rodney Diverlus, Beau Dixon, Jaz Fairy J, Aisha Sasha John, Kama La Mackerel, Joy Lapps, Janice Jo Lee, Erica Violet Lee, Kim Ninkuru, Dainty Smith, Zoey Roy and others.
The New Embassy is a celebration of Canadian voices in the 21st century, presented in the spontaneous and innovative spirit of Toronto’s iconic Bohemian Embassy: the iconic 1960s coffee house that helped cultivate the careers of many storytelling legends, such as Margaret Atwood, bpNichol, Gordon Lightfoot, Gwendolyn MacEwen, Lorne Michaels, Michael Ondaatje and Al Purdy. The Bohemian Embassy is considered to be the foremother of the Harbourfront Reading Series, which has grown into the Toronto International Festival of Authors we know today. Prompted by the renowned Ai WeiWei quote “Everything is Art, Everything is Politics”, The New Embassy will bring forward diverse perspectives and lived experiences through artistic works that explore the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality and identity.
Events will be available to watch at their designated release times and 72 hours thereafter. As always, TIFA’s donating Friends and Patrons will have extended viewing access (to learn more, visit festivalofauthors.ca/donate).
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
We are pleased to announce several new appointments to the board of directors of the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA). As of January 11, 2022, TIFA welcomes Shagorika Easwar, Malcolm McLean, Nalini Stewart and Iris Tupholme to its board of directors. All will serve the board, chaired by Charles Baillie, for a three-year term. Easwar’s appointment is effective as of September 2021, and the appointments of McLean, Stewart and Tupholme begin this month.
Shagorika Easwar is a seasoned journalist with years of leadership roles in media in India and Dubai. Easwar is the co-founder and Editor of Desi News, which she launched a year after arriving in Canada in 1995. Twenty-five years later, Desi News is Canada’s premier South Asian print and online magazine with Canada-wide readership, and continues to resonate with the burgeoning community. In 2006, Easwar co-founded Grant’s Desi Achievers Awards in partnership with PMA Canada, a bi-annual event that honours high achievers in Canada’s South Asian communities. Easwar also serves as the Editor of CanadaBound Immigrant magazine, which she co-founded in 2009. The magazine caters to the informational needs of newcomers to Canada and draws its readers from over 50 countries.
After completing the International MBA program at Schulich with a specialty in Russia and Eastern Europe, Malcolm McLean worked for several years in Germany before returning to Canada to embark on a career in brand strategy in the world of advertising. After making contributions at some of Canada’s leading agencies, including BBDO, Cossette, Lowe Roche, TBWA, and Grey Canada, he joined Cundari to invigorate and innovate their strategic offering and was subsequently elevated to the position of President, CSO in March 2019. McLean has had the privilege to work with a variety of not-for-profit organizations including CBCF, the Salvation Army, Special Olympics, Moms Demand Action for Gun Control in America, Strong Minds Strong Kids (Psychology Foundation of Canada), and the Missing Children’s Society of Canada.
For over thirty-five years, Nalini Stewart has held leadership roles on local, provincial, and national boards. She has been Chair of the Ontario Arts Council and the Writers’ Trust of Canada. She has been Acting Chair of the Canada Council for the Arts and President of the Canadian Club. She is a Founding member of the Ontario Arts Foundation, The Power Plant Art Gallery, the Asia Pacific Foundation, the Art Canada Institute and the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund. She is currently Chair of Necessary Angel Theatre and Friends of WWF Canada. She is an honorary governor of York University and the National Theatre School of Canada. Stewart received the Order of Ontario and the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship for “contribution to the arts, education and communication, and for efforts to promote diversity awareness and inclusion.” She has a lifetime achievement award from the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce.
Iris Tupholme is SVP, Executive Publisher at HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Iris leads the Canadian publishing team and is proud to be the publisher of esteemed and award-winning authors including Lawrence Hill, Michelle Good, Tanya Talaga, Hilary Mantel, Emma Donoghue, Thomas King, Heather O’Neil, Shilpi Somaya Gowda, Rosemary Sullivan and Kenneth Oppel, among many others. Iris was born in Saskatchewan and lived in northern Ontario before moving to the Toronto area. She is a graduate of the University of Guelph, the University of Toronto, Ryerson College and the Rotman School of Business (MBA Essentials). Iris was chosen as the Editor of the Year in 2013 by Canadian Booksellers. She has been a Fellow in Sydney, Jerusalem and Scotland. Iris is the Founding Chair of the International Visitors (I.V.) Programme at TIFA, now in its 15th year.
“We are delighted to welcome Shagorika, Malcolm Nalini and Iris to TIFA’s board of directors. They share our enthusiasm for literature and our desire to build upon TIFA’s rich history to ensure the organization’s success as we expand our offerings to the book-loving community this year, and onwards,” said Charles Baillie, TIFA board chair.
“We are so pleased that Shagorika, Malcolm, Nalini and Iris are joining the TIFA Board. They bring a depth of knowledge, experience and expertise that will enable us to continue to successfully navigate these challenging times, and that enhance our abilities to realise our ambitions for 2022 and beyond, as we bring the best books, stories and ideas from around the world to audiences in Toronto,” said Roland Gulliver, TIFA Director.
The board of directors for the Toronto International Festival of Authors is composed of Charles Baillie (President), Harriet Lewis (Vice President/Secretary), Cam di Prata (Treasurer), Gail Appel, Randy Boyagoda, Marah Braye, Shagorika Easwar, John Macfarlane, Malcolm McLean, Beth Nowers, Valerie Pringle, Nalini Stewart and Iris Tupholme.