This year’s Tam Fam Lit Jam event ‘Home/Safe’ takes on TIFA’s theme of ‘Writing Home’ with authors Padma Viswanathan and Catherine Hernandez, whose respective works The Charterhouse of Padma and Behind You delve into deep layers of what it means to be ‘at home’. Their women protagonists confront racism, sexism, homophobia and daily microaggressions even […]
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For Canadian readers, David Shribman’s columns and articles are essential in making sense of the machinations of US politics. As contributing writer for The Globe and Mail and Executive Editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Shribman shaped his career reporting on US politics, winning a Pulitzer Prize for his work in 1995. The 2024 US election […]
What happens when you return to your hometown after achieving fame and fortune? Greg Kearney and Timothy Taylor might know! In An Evening with Birdy O’Day, Kearney’s main character, Roland, reflects on his relationship with his childhood friend with pop superstar Birdy O’Day, before Birdy arrives in their hometown for his first concert in decades. […]
TIFA’s World in Other Words event series is back. Changing language or regional focus every few years, this is the second year spotlighting Arabic writers. In an increasingly complex and turbulent world, what role do Arab writers in the West play? Are they inevitably drawn into activism? Do they bear the responsibility of translating their […]
Join us for an engaging literary discussion with Chido Muchemwa, author of the upcoming short story collection Who Will Bury You?, intimate stories about loss, identity and inequality, with characters in the liminal space between Toronto and Harare (Zimbabwe). Amal Elsana Alh’jooj is a key shaper of public opinion on marginalized minorities in Israel, Canada, […]
Join us for an evening of literary exploration featuring Tasneem Jamal, author of I Never Said That I Was Brave, and Nazneen Sheikh, presenting her poignant collection I Left You Behind. Moderated by Ryan B. Patrick, this event promises insightful discussions on courage, loss and the power of storytelling. Don’t miss this opportunity to delve […]
Join us for an engaging discussion featuring Sadi Muktadir, author of Land of No Regrets, and Edward Y. C. Lee, author of The Laundryman’s Boy, moderated by Shyam Selvadurai. The event will explore the multifaceted concept of home, touching on themes of diaspora and community. Delve into critical issues impacting the notion of home, political […]
Calling all crime lovers! Join Nicola Lagioia and Michael Melgaard as they discuss their latest novels, both of which explore our fascination with true crime. Based on months of interviews, court documentation and correspondence with the killers themselves, Lagioia’s The City of the Living takes one of the most violent crimes in recent Italian history […]
Join Kate Heartfield and Anna Rasche as they discuss their new novels. In Heartfield’s The Tapestry of Time, Paris is in the throes of World War II and Kit Sharp is faced with a love affair and a family tradition involving psychic powers. The Stone Witch of Florence follows Rasche’s main character, Ginevra di Gasparo as […]
Longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, Colin Barrett‘s novel Wild Houses explores the small town lives of deeply flawed and complex characters grappling with their pasts and uncertain futures. Blending elements of dark humour, social commentary and a raw portrayal of the human experience, Barrett’s writing is sharp and vivid, capturing life with both empathy […]
Get ready for an enlightening event with award-winning columnist Niigaan Sinclair! Sinclair’s debut collection, Wînipêk, dives into Winnipeg’s complex role in reconciliation, mixing powerful insights on Indigenous heritage and the harsh realities of colonialism. Join us as he discusses his book, shares his own journey and explores resilience, justice and the search for truth. Moderator: […]
Join us for a captivating conversation with powerhouse authors Brandi Morin and Angela Sterritt! Morin’s memoir, Our Voice of Fire, and Sterritt’s Unbroken explore their remarkable journeys from adversity to acclaim. These award-winning journalists will share their experiences navigating systemic oppression, finding their purpose and the transformative power of writing. Discover how they use their […]
TIFA’s most provocative conversation series returns, bringing together authors and industry experts to examine the culture and politics that shape the world around us and the books we read. In this talk, A.G.A. Wilmot discusses Withered, a queer, paranormal fiction novel showing the complex real-life terror inherent in grief and mental illness. In The Monster […]
In Saad T. Farooqi‘s White World, the protagonist finds himself in the center of a civil war set in Pakistan, 2083 AD, taking a stand against the army, the mob, and Pakistan itself. In Jacob Wren‘s Dry Your Tears to Perfect Your Aim, a depressed writer obsessed that his tax dollars help to pay for […]
Adventure awaits the young protagonists in Cheryl Isaacs’ debut novel The Unfinished and Efua Traore’s Children of the Quicksands and Sister Spirit. These mysterious tales chart their own paths in the horror and young adult genres, intersecting through their exploration of ancestral cultures, the supernatural and the discovery of one’s identity. Fans of these genres […]
Andrew O’Hagan‘s novel Caledonian Road, a finalist for the 2024 Orwell Political Fiction Book Prize, has garnered the attention of readers around the globe due to the Scottish author’s masterful storytelling and sharp analysis of British class, politics and money. Set in London, Caledonian Road weaves together the lives of five interconnected families. At the […]
One of Canada’s best loved writers, Jane Urquhart, brings her newest novel to the TIFA stage in an interview about the profound and moving In the Winter I Get Up at Night. The novel charts an unforgettable life as a Saskatchewan woman revisits the journey of her life, the figures who shaped as the world’s […]
TIFA’s most provocative conversation series returns, bringing together authors and industry experts to examine the culture and politics that shape the world around us and the books we read. Our daily lives in 2023 were shaped by inflation rises and a cost-of-living crisis. Why was this such a shock and why did our governments struggled […]
Join us for an exciting event with award-winning authors Carleigh Baker and Amanda Peters as they share the inspirations behind their latest short story collections and discuss how fiction can be a powerful tool for dissecting and understanding the world around us. Carleigh Baker’s Last Woman delivers 13 character-driven stories that tackle contemporary issues such […]
Join authors Jean Marc Ah-Sen and Alex Pugsley as they talk about writing books about writers falling in love with other writers and the emotional turmoil that comes from it. In Ah-Sen’s Kilworthy Tanner, Jonno befriends provocative writer Kilworthy Tanner and they begin writing novels together—and Jonno has to learn how to cope with their […]
Join authors Gloria Blizzard and Jenny Heijun Wills as they discuss their essay collections and community, culture and chosen families. In Black Cake, Turtle Soup and Other Dilemmas, Blizzard examines the complexities of belonging within your family, society and a country. Wills’ first book Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related won the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust […]
Canadian author and journalist Bob McDonald has been making science accessible to the public for over 50 years. From his start as a demonstrator at the Ontario Science Centre to hosting the widely popular CBC Radio show Quirks and Quarks, his love of science has burned bright. McDonald joins the TIFA stage to discuss his […]
TIFA’s most provocative conversation series returns, bringing together authors and industry experts to examine the culture and politics that shape the world around us and the books we read. The challenges of modern life can feel overwhelming, how can we act in our everyday lives to make our collective future better? This deeply personal memoir […]
As a revolutionary voice in the food industry, Geraldine DeRuiter dives boldly into If You Can’t Take the Heat, a clever book of essays on how food and cooking stoke the flames of her feminism. She shares stories about her adventures in gastronomy, her debilitating anxiety and how she learned to embrace her hanger (a […]
