Wind down for the evening with a real-time conversation with thriller writer Scott Turow. The bestselling author of Presumed Innocent returns with his highly anticipated legal drama The Last Trial, recounting the final case of Kindle County’s most revered courtroom advocate, Sandy Stern. Interviewer: Timothy Taylor English captioning is available for this video. Please click […]
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The Toronto International Festival of Authors presents writers in candid, live conversation in reflection on the topics that matter most during this unprecedented time. In this archived Festival presentation (originally aired on October 24, 2020), authors and experts weigh in on the Black Lives Matter political and social movement that dominated headlines in 2020. They […]
Join indie musician and writer Jonny Dovercourt any night of the week for this audio walking tour through Toronto’s most musical neighbourhoods. Episodes explore historic musical venues through revealing interviews paired with recordings of the sounds that shaped them. Dovercourt draws on over 20 years of experience as a veteran in the Toronto music community […]
Explore and engage with the Indigenous history of Toronto and reflect on its heritage in real time. Between the old shoreline of Lake Iroquois, and the contemporary shoreline of Lake Ontario and the Harbourfront, this series of virtual story tours will bring to the fore the importance of sharing, listening and witnessing Indigenous oral histories […]
Spoken word, beatboxers, dancers, DJs & street art. Come celebrate the launch of Michael ‘Piecez’ Prosserman’s latest book, Building Unity: Leading a Non-Profit from Spark to Succession (ECW Press) with a virtual live-streamed event from Small World Music Venue. A portion of the proceeds will support Unity Charity. Prosserman is a university instructor and professional speaker who […]
Explore the Interactive Map Find over a sixty of Canada’s independent presses on this interactive map, and learn about these small institutions that publish big ideas. This project was created especially for TIFA’s 41st edition and was curated by the co-founder of Gap Riot Press, Kate Siklosi.
Award-winning Japanese poet and writer Mieko Kawakami published her first novel in English this year. Hear from the author of Breasts and Eggs, an exploration of identity and womanhood that awarded Kawakami with Japan’s most prestigious literary honour, the Akutagawa Prize. Interviewer: Madeleine Thien English captioning is available for this video. Please click the ‘CC’ […]
Performing from Harlem, NY, meet The Last Poets: spoken word legends, musicians and the “godfathers of hip-hop.” 50 years since releasing their eponymously titled album, The Last Poets have been producing protest poetry and championing civil rights, from 1960s Harlem to their 2018 album Understand What Black Is. They are joined by Dutch novelist and […]
Two master Canadian storytellers describe the essential need for human connection in times of crisis, as told in their latest works of fiction. Join bestselling international author and ER physician Daniel Kalla (The Last High) and Canada Reads-shortlisted author of Bread and Bone, Saleema Nawaz (Stories for the End of the World), for a riveting discussion about the […]
Meet Damian Rogers, a poet, creative writing instructor, former journalist and the founding director of Poetry in Voice. Rogers will discuss her gripping memoir, An Alphabet for Joanna, and her story of being raised by a loving but erratic single mother, and their present day battle with her mother’s diagnosis with a rare form of frontal-lobe […]
Irish-America author Colum McCann brings us Apeirogon, the eagerly awaited follow up to his 2009 international success, Let the Great World Spin, in 2009. Longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, Apeirogon accounts the real-life story of an unlikely friendship between two men in conflict. A Palestinian and an Israeli are brought together by shared traumas, and joint motivation […]
Join award-winning performing and recording artist, writer and broadcaster Christa Couture for a Q&A and reading from her debut non-fiction book and memoir, How to Lose Everything. Couture is proudly Indigenous (Cree and Scandinavian), queer, an amputee and a mom. This event originally took place on Instagram at @festofauthors.
The TIFA/Humber Creative Writing Masterclass Series is a partnership between the Humber School for Writers and the Toronto International Festival of Authors. Launching in the Fall or 2020 as part of the Festival’s digital slate, the series will provide an exclusive array of virtual writing masterclasses for the Festival’s audience. Classes will be led by […]
American-Canadian author Emily St. John Mandel returns to the Festival with her fifth and latest novel, The Glass Hotel, Mandel’s acclaimed follow up to Station Eleven, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Toronto Book Award and The Morning News Tournament of Books. In this conversation, Mandel will discuss the haunted visions of a global crisis, which […]
An empowering conversation about gender, power and why it’s time for women to stop playing by the rules, as per the title of national award-winning editor Lauren McKeon’s book, No More Nice Girls. McKeon is joined by Michelle Parise, the author of Alone: A Love Story (the book behind the international hit CBC podcast of the same name), […]
Reflections on Food, Community and the Meaning of Generosity is her latest book. From the symbolism of the dinner invitation to how we cook and sharing our food, Priya Basil explores through the prism of food how and when we extend our hospitality, to individuals and to communities and what it says about our relationships and […]
The Power Plant and the 41st edition of the Toronto International Festival of Authors co-present this conversation between Haitian-born, Montreal-based artist Manuel Mathieu and award-winning Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat. Mathieu’s painterly work reflects on the fraught history of Haiti, on diasporic identity, and on the writings of Frantz Fanon. Danticat’s novels and non-fiction works explore […]
Take a literary walk through the neighbourhoods that inspired your favourite Toronto stories. In each episode, local authors bring their neighbourhoods to life through readings, interviews and ambient recordings. Featuring Natasha Ramoutar, Sidura Ludwig and more. Episode 1.1: Parkdale with Jillian Tamaki Travel to Parkdale with Jillian Tamaki, author and illustrator of Our Little […]
Keeping in touch, both figuratively and physically, is a challenge during times of isolation; while physical touch – and what we touch – is now a source of fear and anxiety for many. The Dutch phrase “skin hunger” has come to prominence in recent months, encapsulating these feelings. TIFA is proud to present Skin Hunger: […]
Join TIFA for a powerful conversation about how a new wave of online activism is empowering ordinary citizens to take back democracy. Labour lawyer, human rights activist and author Maureen Webb presents Coding Democracy: How Hackers Are Disrupting Power, Surveillance, and Authoritarianism, a book offering new perspective on hackers as vital disruptors, rather than shady destroyers. […]
Hear from one of Britain’s most acclaimed historians and bestselling authors, Ben Macintyre. The Times columnist and editor has worked as a correspondent in New York, Paris and Washington. Don’t miss this conversation about his latest book, Agent Sonya, the incredible story of the greatest female spy in history. Interviewer: Michelle Shephard English captioning is available for […]
Alain De Botton is a London-based British-Swiss author of essayist books that have been bestsellers in 30 countries. He is the co-founder of The School of Life in London, a new vision of education and Living Architecture, which is dedicated to the promotion and enjoyment of world-class architecture. His books have inspired multiple documentaries. Join […]
The Elements of Story series, spearheaded by Canadian Stage, delves into the work and ideas of internationally celebrated authors and cultural thinkers. This fall, participants will embark on a six-week exploration into Khaled Hosseini’s captivating bestselling novel A Thousand Splendid Suns. Hosted by the winner of the 2020 Canada Reads competition, Samra Habib (We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir), this […]
In this not-to-be-missed event, Toronto International Festival of Authors Director Roland Gulliver will interview internationally acclaimed American novelist and short story writer Richard Ford. His Bascombe novels The Sportswriter and its sequels, Independence Day, The Lay of the Land and Let Me Be Frank With You have become contemporary classics. Sorry For Your Trouble is his latest collection of stories, which explore memory, […]