Іvan Baidak (born in 1990) is a daring Ukrainian fiction writer whose debut novel Personally Me Personally for You (2013) became a national bestseller and garnered excellent critical reviews. His two short story collections, Role Plays (2014) and The Shadows of Our Dates (2017), topped bookstore bestseller lists and have been translated into several different languages. In 2020, he wrote a novel about inclusion, (In)visible, which was recognized as one of the best in 2020 according to PEN Ukraine, has been the basis of a play and several photo exhibitions.
Each day of the Festival, authors and industry experts will come together for candid, live conversations to examine a new facet of the culture and politics that shape the world around us and the books we read.
Capitalism has infiltrated every aspect of our personal, social, economic and sexual lives. Patriarchy and classism are forms of systemic violence that ensure that the main commodity of capitalism – a large, disposable, cheap and ideally subjugated work force – is readily available. There is a lot wrong with the ways we live, work and treat each other. Learn more by joining this riveting conversation with Lori Fox, author of This Has Always Been A War: The Radicalization of a Working Class Queer, Luke Savage and Elizabeth Dhuey.
Moderated by Deborah Dundas.
Ticket Info:
Date & Time: September 27 at 7:30pm ET
Where: Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre
Duration: 75 minutes
Ticket prices: $17 – Regular; $12 – Youth; or Get a TIFA Pass
Each day of the Festival, authors and industry experts will come together for candid, live conversations to examine a new facet of the culture and politics that shape the world around us and the books we read.
The papal visit to Canada marks a significant moment in acknowledging the pain and trauma inflicted upon the Indigenous peoples of Canada through colonial rule, the Catholic church and the residential school system. Rather than drawing a line under the past, how can these political statements move to sustained, continued acts of reconciling to enable the personal wounds to heal? Through the presentation of their new books, Brandi Morin and Norma Dunning will discuss how two deeply personal stories lead to a journey of political change. Award-winning journalist Brandi Morin is one of Canada’s most prominent voices from the New York Times, CBC’s Power & Politics, and the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network National News; Our Voice of Fire: a Memoir of a Warrior Rising tells of Morin’s journey to overcome enormous adversity and find her purpose, and her power, through journalism. Dr. Norma Dunning is an Inuk writer, scholar, researcher, professor and grandmother. Kinauvit?: What’s Your Name? The Eskimo Disc System and a Daughter’s Search for her Grandmother is Dunning’s journey to tell the story of those Inuit community members who experienced the Eskimo Identification Tag System first-hand.
Moderated by Shiri Pasternak.
Ticket Info:
Date & Time: October 2 at 7pm ET
Where: Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre
Duration: 75 minutes
Ticket prices: $17 – Regular; $12 – Youth; or Get a TIFA Pass
*This event will be followed by a book signing
Each day of the Festival, authors and industry experts will come together for candid, live conversations to examine a new facet of the culture and politics that shape the world around us and the books we read.
We often think of the digital society in the future sense but it surrounds us right now, especially with the greater need for digital living and working during the pandemic. How much do we understand and how much do we want or need drone deliveries and driverless cars? With Facebook launching the Metaverse, what is the true potential and what are the real perils? Are we too late to choose change? Join our conversation featuring David Sax, a writer, reporter and speaker who specializes in business and culture. Sax is the author of The Future is Analog which shows how the pandemic inspired a move away from digital and argues for a more human future. Joining Sax will be Jacob Ward, technology correspondent for NBC News, previously science and technology correspondent for CNN and former editor-in-chief of Popular Science magazine. His book The Loop explores the threat AI already poses to humanity.
Moderated by Anthony Morgan.
Ticket Info:
Date & Time: October 1 at 7pm ET
Where: Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre
Duration: 75 minutes
Ticket prices: $17 – Regular; $12 – Youth; or Get a TIFA Pass
Sponsored by Baillie Gifford.
Each day of the Festival, authors and industry experts will come together for candid, live conversations to examine a new facet of the culture and politics that shape the world around us and the books we read.
With continuing gun violence, the repeal of Roe v. Wade and the enquiry into the January 6 riot, the United States is in the grip of challenges to long-held concepts of democracy, rights and freedoms that make many onlookers deeply concerned. These issues have ripple effects north to neighbouring Canada, and across the world, as nations look to the U.S. to set the precedent for defining future democracy. What is that going to look like? Our panel to explore these issues includes Stephen Marche, author of The Next Civil War, Wendy Cukier and Nic Sammond.
Moderated by Daniel Drache.
Ticket Info:
Date & Time: September 30 at 7:30pm ET
Where: Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre
Duration: 75 minutes
Ticket prices: $17 – Regular; $12 – Youth; or Get a TIFA Pass
Sponsored by Baillie Gifford.
Each day of the Festival, authors and industry experts will come together for candid, live conversations to examine a new facet of the culture and politics that shape the world around us and the books we read.
The call for systemic change was loud in 2020, but after two years, what do we hear – and what are we doing? How has the conversation moved on and where have the statements of action and equity gone? Does the re-assessment of our past offer future change for Canada? Our panel combines lived experience and academic expertise to explore these issues. Tajja Isen’s Some of My Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service is a fearless, comic essay collection about race and justice, which explores the gaps between what we say and what we do. Debra Thompson is a leading scholar on the politics of race; in The Long Road Home: On Blackness and Belonging, Thompson journeys across the continent, offering insight on what it is to be Black in North America. As a bilingual, biracial man, straddling Black and white, English and French Canada, Stephen Dorsey offers readers intimate and unfiltered access to his lived experience of anti-Black racism in Black and White: An Intimate, Multicultural Perspective on White Advantage and the Paths to Change.
Moderated by Angelyn Francis.
Ticket Info:
Date & Time: September 29 at 7:30pm ET
Where: Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre
Duration: 75 minutes
Ticket prices: $17 – Regular; $12 – Youth; or Get a TIFA Pass
Each day of the Festival, authors and industry experts will come together for candid, live conversations to examine a new facet of the culture and politics that shape the world around us and the books we read.
Healthcare systems have long been struggling to cope, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility of future iterations have placed unbearable stress on the system, which still has to deal with the challenges of complex healthcare demands for an ageing population, mental health needs and more as society’s needs change. How does the healthcare system fight a war on two fronts? Joining the conversation will be Dr. Brian Goldman, ER doctor, bestselling author and host of the popular CBC Radio show White Coat, Black Art, and Dan Werb, an epidemiologist at the University of California San Diego and the University of Toronto whose book The Invisible Siege investigates the origins of COVID.
Moderated by Wency Leung.
Ticket Info:
Date & Time: September 28 at 7:30pm ET
Where: Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre
Duration: 75 minutes
Ticket prices: $17 – Regular; $12 – Youth; or Get a TIFA Pass
Sponsored by Baillie Gifford.
Each day of the Festival, authors and industry experts will come together for candid, live conversations to examine a new facet of the culture and politics that shape the world around us and the books we read.
Canada and the Nordic countries are at the frontier of severe environmental change as well as being responsible for vast natural resource wealth in a time of limited accessibility. How do we balance the demand along with the short and long-term needs of people and the planet? How can Canada lead the way to develop a sustainable future? Join the conversation with a panel including Ryan Ness.
Moderated by José Etcheverry.
Ticket Info:
Date & Time: September 26 at 7:30pm ET
Where: Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre
Duration: 75 minutes
Ticket prices: $17 – Regular; $12 – Youth; or Get a TIFA Pass
Sponsored by Baillie Gifford.
Each day of the Festival, authors and industry experts will come together for candid, live conversations to examine a new facet of the culture and politics that shape the world around us and the books we read.
The city is our dominant social model, but if so few can afford to live well in cities, why is this the case? The pandemic shook up our relationship with work and living; is this an opportunity to reshape our cities? Taking Toronto as a starting point, this panel will discuss how can we offer access, amenities and affordable housing for all. Panelists include Diana Chan McNally, Shawn Micallef and John Lornic.
Moderated by Aditi Mehta.
Ticket Info:
Date & Time: September 25 at 7pm ET
Where: Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre
Duration: 75 minutes
Ticket prices: $17 – Regular; $12 – Youth; or Get a TIFA Pass
Sponsored by Baillie Gifford.
Each day of the Festival, authors and industry experts will come together for candid, live conversations to examine a new facet of the culture and politics that shape the world around us and the books we read.
The ongoing war in Ukraine has highlighted our global interconnectivity and dependency on particular nations to supply resources, from gas to grain, to Europe, North America and Africa. The conflict has also changed the rules on what is possible, creating tensions in Taiwan, the Middle East and the Balkans. Is the conflict about growing the impact of an ideology or growing control of global supplies? Join our discussion with a panel including Timothy Frye, author of Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putin’s Russia, Ivan Baidak and Ashleigh Stewart.
Moderated by Ksenya Kiebuzinski.
Ticket Info:
Date & Time: September 24 at 7pm ET
Where: Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre
Duration: 75 minutes
Ticket prices: $17 – Regular; $12 – Youth; or Get a TIFA Pass