(L to R) Rinaldo Walcott, Vivek Shraya, Sarah Henstra and Rachel Giese at TIFA 2018
At #FestofAuthors18, Delegate Téa Mutonji had the opportunity to witness (for the very first time) two of her mentors perform their work on stage: poet Daniel Scott Tysdal, a former professor of Téa’s; and Vivek Shraya, a major figure in Téa’s writing career since she was signed to VS. Books, an imprint of Arsenal Pulp Press founded by Shraya herself.
Khalida Hassan
Attending #FestofAuthors18 as a Delegate, Khalida Hassan, who was a finalist for the 2018 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Authors, was drawn to events reflecting on certain questions that all writers are likely to encounter at some point during their creative process: Why this story? Why this form? Why write at all?
(L to R) Paige Cooper, Rawi Hage, Sarah Henstra and Carol Off at TIFA 2018
It’s said that the most important thing a writer can do to improve their craft is read, read, read. But when they’re on stage, it’s easy to forget that authors are avid readers themselves! While attending #FestofAuthors18, returning Delegate Alexandra Grigorescu spoke to several of this year’s featured authors about the importance of the Festival in that context.
This year, Andrea Scott was one of two #FestofAuthors18 Delegates with a background in comics and illustration (alongside Jason Loo), having recently contributed a short piece to Osgoode As Gold, a Toronto Comix anthology. As a Delegate, Andrea commemorated her Festival experience by sketching moments and participants from some of this year’s most exciting events. Have a look!
David Bradford
David Bradford was the only poet among this year’s Delegates, his work having appeared in Prairie Fire, Vallum, Poetry Is Dead, The Capilano Review, The Unpublished City (Book*hug, 2017) and more. In attending a variety of Festival events about poetry, prose and prizes, David saw an opportunity to reflect on the bargain between authors and readers.