MOTIVE 2025 Events

From award-winning authors to new voices, here are the storytellers joining us this year

Festival Schedule
↑
 
 

MOTIVE 2025 Events

From award-winning authors to new voices, here are the storytellers joining us this year

Festival Schedule
↑

Featured events

Full lineup

Filter by category
Filter by programme stream

June 27, 2025

June 27, 2025  •  1:30pm

Finding Your Writing Voice with Maureen Jennings

Maureen Jennings

Learn from the best in a Creative Writing Masterclass
Masterclass
Writer's Craft
June 27, 2025  •  4:00pm

The Success of a Story: Finding Character, Setting and the Narrative Hook

Ramona Emerson

Learn from the best in a Creative Writing Masterclass
Masterclass
Writer's Craft
June 27, 2025  •  5:30pm

Location, Location: Eliza Reid & Catherine Mack

Catherine Mack and Eliza Reid

Sometimes a vacation is more than just a backdrop for a book...
Conversation
Fiction
June 27, 2025  •  6:30pm

True Crime’s Influence: Inside the Stories That Obsessed Us

Barry Avrich, Anaïs Renevier, and Michelle Shephard

Learn the stories behind the headlines and why we’re so compelled to look
Conversation
True Crime
June 27, 2025  •  7:30pm

Friend Turned Nemesis: Gregg Hurwitz

Gregg Hurwitz

Frenemies Forever
Conversation
Fiction

June 28, 2025

June 28, 2025  •  11:00am

Tea, Cake & Murder: Fatal Friendships, Deadly Acts: Hannah Mary McKinnon and Eliza Reid

Hannah Mary McKinnon and Eliza Reid

Start your day with tea, cake... and murder!
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  11:00am

The Answer at your Fingertips: Ridge Patterns in Criminal Investigation

Forensic science workshop presented by University of Toronto Mississauga
Workshop
True Crime
June 28, 2025  •  11:00am

Exploring Toronto’s Victorian Underworld

Adam Bunch

Join Adam Bunch for an outdoor story time
Presentation
True Crime
June 28, 2025  •  11:30am

Voices of the Vanished: Ramona Emerson & Órjan Karlsson

Ramona Emerson and Ørjan Karlsson

From New Mexico to Norway, join these two master storytellers as they dig deep into the darkness.
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  12:00pm

Pitch Perfect!

Learn from the pros about how to get published
Panel Discussion
Writer's Craft
June 28, 2025  •  12:15pm

Unreliable Narrators, Unforgettable Crimes: Sash Bischoff & You-Jeong Jeong

Sash Bischoff and You-Jeong Jeong

Memory deceives, truth hides in plain sight and justice is dangerously subjective...
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  12:30pm

Shaping Your Investigation into a Narrative with Anaïs Renevier

Anaïs Renevier

Learn from the best in a Creative Writing Masterclass
Masterclass
Writer's Craft
June 28, 2025  •  1:00pm

Puzzle Me This: Max Nightingale & Bianca Marais

Bianca Marais and Jonathan Whitelaw

Join the authors for a discussion on discuss puzzle-making and plot twists and the art of the whodunit
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  1:30pm

Canada’s Secret Wars: Cold War Spies to Digital Surveillance with Ronald Deibert & Donald Mahar

Ronald Deibert and Donald G. Mahar

Learn from the experts about the Cold War and ever-expanding battleground of digital surveillance
Conversation
Critical Conversations
June 28, 2025  •  1:30pm

From Killers to Kissers: Writing Crime and Romance

Uzma Jalaluddin and Hannah Mary McKinnon

What happens when a crime writer turns to love—and a romance writer turns to murder?
Panel Discussion
Writer's Craft
June 28, 2025  •  2:15pm

Small Towns, Big Secrets: Graeme Macrae Burnet, Kate Hilton & Elizabeth Renzetti

Graeme Macrae Burnet, Kate Hilton, and Elizabeth Renzetti

Things aren't always what they seem...
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  2:30pm

The Answer at your Fingertips: Ridge Patterns in Criminal Investigation

Forensic science workshop presented by University of Toronto Mississauga
Workshop
True Crime
June 28, 2025  •  3:00pm

Discovering Korean Crime Fiction Today

Mi-ae Seo and You-Jeong Jeong

Discover how a uniquely Korean lens is shaping crime fiction
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  3:00pm

Double Lives & Digital Lies: Denise Mina & Liann Zhang

Denise Mina and Liann Zhang

Step behind the filters and façades with these two mystery masters
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  3:30pm

Code Name: Pale Horse: Scott Payne with Michelle Shephard

Scott Payne and Michelle Shephard

Join the former FBI Special Agent as he discusses his investigation into America’s most dangerous hate groups
Conversation
True Crime
June 28, 2025  •  4:00pm

Small-Town Secrets, Big-Time Consequences: Shari Lapena

Shari Lapena

Could your neighbour be a killer? Shari Lapena wants to discuss in her latest novel
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  4:15pm

Memory and Method: Gastón Intelisano & Ji Hong Sayo

Gastón Intelisano and Ji Hong Sayo

Two authors, two continents, and one unflinching look at how crime reshapes lives – and stories
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  4:30pm

How to Craft the Perfect Plot Twist

Jane Corry

Learn from the best in a Creative Writing Masterclass
Masterclass
Writer's Craft
June 28, 2025  •  4:30pm

Toronto Crime Tours

Learn about the dark history of Toronto in the story series!
Free
True Crime
June 28, 2025  •  5:00pm

Murder, Mystery & Mistaken Identities: Melodie Campbell & Maureen Jennings

Melodie Campbell and Maureen Jennings

Two Canadian mystery icons come together for a historical conversation
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  5:30pm

Dangerous Influences: Adnan Khan & Mi-Ae Seo

Adnan Khan and Mi-ae Seo

Delve into two bold and quietly haunting thrillers that explore the slippery line between performance and identity
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  5:30pm

One Year Later: The Journey from Manuscript to Published Book

Panel discussion with the members of the Crime Writers of Canada
Panel Discussion
Writer's Craft
June 28, 2025  •  6:00pm

Policing Fact and Fiction: Ed Adach, Gaston Intelisano & Des Ryan

Ed Adach, Gastón Intelisano, and Desmond P. Ryan

Learn from the pros how real-life law enforcement experience shapes the crime fiction we read
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  6:30pm

Game Over?: Lisa Unger

Lisa Unger

Ready or not, here she comes!
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  7:30pm

You Like It Darker: The Phenomena of Nordic Noir

Thomas Enger and Ørjan Karlsson

Two Mystery Masters discuss the genre and why Nordic authors do mystery so well
Conversation
Fiction
June 28, 2025  •  7:30pm

A Murder Most Proper: An Immersive Murder Mystery

Put on your detective hats and immerse yourself in this 1930s evening full of scandal and secrets
Performance
The Performance Series

June 29, 2025

June 29, 2025  •  11:00am

University of Toronto Forensic Anthropology Workshop

Forensic science workshop presented by University of Toronto Mississauga
Workshop
True Crime
June 29, 2025  •  11:00am

Tea Cake and Murder: Till Death Do Us Part with Sue Hincenbergs & Catherine Mack

Sue Hincenbergs and Catherine Mack

Start your day with tea, cake... and murder!
Conversation
Fiction
June 29, 2025  •  11:00am

Toronto Crime Tours

Learn about the dark history of Toronto in the story series!
Free
True Crime
June 29, 2025  •  11:30am

The Hitman: Julian Sher & Lisa Fitterman

Julian Sher and Lisa Fitterman

Join the authors for a look into the mind of a killer – and the justice system that struggled to contain him.
Conversation
True Crime
June 29, 2025  •  12:00pm

A Brief History of Canadian Duels

Adam Bunch

Join Adam Bunch for an outdoor story time
Presentation
True Crime
June 29, 2025  •  12:00pm

Introducing Tension and Pace to Narrative Storytelling with Denise Mina

Denise Mina

Learn from the best in a Creative Writing Masterclass
Masterclass
Writer's Craft
June 29, 2025  •  12:15pm

Dark Secrets, Rural Crimes: Thomas Enger & Marcie R. Rendon

Thomas Enger and Marcie Rendon

Thrillers aren't just exclusive to big cities...
Conversation
Fiction
June 29, 2025  •  1:00pm

Trope and Dagger: Playing (and Breaking) the Rules in Mystery Novels with Margaret Cannon, Karen Sullivan & Gregg Hurwitz

Gregg Hurwitz

Learn the pros favourite mystery tropes!
Panel Discussion
Writer's Craft
June 29, 2025  •  1:00pm

Time Will Tell: Jane Corry

Jane Corry

Could you keep a deadly secret for twenty years?
Conversation
Fiction
June 29, 2025  •  1:30pm

Cozy Crime Capers: Uzma Jalaluddin & Jonathan Whitelaw

Uzma Jalaluddin and Jonathan Whitelaw

Curl up with a cozy mystery
Conversation
Fiction
June 29, 2025  •  2:00pm

Writing the Detective: From Maigret to Marlowe

Graeme Macrae Burnet and Denise Mina

Join these two titans of tartan noir for a discussion on iconic detectives
The Re-Read
The Re-Read
June 29, 2025  •  2:00pm

Right Down to the Bone: The Identity of Jane Doe

Forensic science workshop presented by University of Toronto Mississauga
Free
True Crime
June 29, 2025  •  2:15pm

Truth & Consequences: Peter Edwards & Anaïs Renevier

Peter Edwards and Anaïs Renevier

What does it take to escape a life of crime?
Conversation
True Crime
June 29, 2025  •  2:30pm

Murder, She Chuckled: Writing Comedy in Crime

Sue Hincenbergs, Catherine Mack, and Jonathan Whitelaw

Dive into the art of writing crime fiction that’s as funny as it is suspenseful
Panel Discussion
Writer's Craft
June 29, 2025  •  3:30pm

Crime? It’s in Fashion

Katherine Ashenburg and Barry Avrich

Call the fashion police and the real police
Conversation
True Crime
June 29, 2025  •  3:30pm

Canadian Crime Writing with Margaret Cannon & Shari Lapena

Shari Lapena

From small-town secrets to icy thrillers, Canadian crime fiction has carved it's own identity
Conversation
Fiction
June 29, 2025  •  3:30pm

Turning Your Story Into A Book with Julian Sher

Julian Sher

Learn from the best in a Creative Writing Masterclass
Masterclass
Writer's Craft
June 29, 2025  •  4:00pm

Crime Writers of Canada in Conversation

Join us to hear the latest in Canadian crime fiction!
Exhibition
Fiction
June 29, 2025  •  4:30pm

All Aboard the Night Train: Linwood Barclay

Linwood Barclay

For fans of horror
Conversation
Fiction
To top