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On April 13, 2023, the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) announced the 26 new titles that have been selected to be part of the latest season of Toronto Lit Up, a joint initiative with Toronto Arts Council that spotlights Toronto writers and provides career-building opportunities through book launch celebrations. The upcoming season will take place between April 2023 and March 2024, and feature new works of fiction and non-fiction for adults and young people, poetry, memoir and drama, by debut and established Toronto authors. Between April 2016 and March 2023, Toronto Lit Up has presented 165 events featuring over 200 Toronto authors and illustrators. 

The following new books by Torontonians will be featured during this season of Toronto Lit Up: 

Book launch events to celebrate these titles will take place in person across Toronto from April 2023-March 2024. All events will be free to attend and open to the public. The first events of the season will be: 

  • April 15, 2023 at 2pm ET — Thao Lam, Happy Birthday to Me, & Carey Sookocheff, The Remembering Stone (Groundwood Books) at Queen Books (914 Queen St. East, Toronto, ON)  
  • May 1, 2023 at 6:30pm ET — Natasha Adiyana Morris, The Negroes are Congregating (Playwrights Canada Press) at the Blackhurst Cultural Centre (777 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON)  
  • May 4, 2023 at 7pm ET — Brooke Lockyer, Burr (Nightwood Editions) at Larry’s Folly (1462 Queen St. West, Toronto, ON) 

From the Toronto Arts Council 

“Partnering with TIFA to amplify the work of Toronto authors and illustrators is something we are very proud to do. Toronto Lit Up not only generates excitement for published work, but it promotes and further strengthens our city’s rich literary community. Congratulations to the 25 authors and illustrators who are taking part in this season of Toronto Lit Up!” – Kelly Langgard, Director & CEO, Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation. 

The Committee 

Each submission is reviewed by the Toronto Lit Up Committee, composed of Ayesha Chatterjee (past president, League of Canadian Poets), Alison Jones (Quill and Quire), Ian Keteku (OCAD U) and Hazel Millar (Book*hug). 

This is Ian Keteku’s first year on the committee. He is a writer, performer and multimedia artist. He has written and directed projects for TVO, CBC, PBS and Sesame Street. An award-winning poet, Keteku is the 2010 World Poetry Slam Champion. Keteku’s work follows in the lineage of ancient African storytellers by paying homage to the past and revisiting themes and lessons from previous generations. Keteku teaches creative writing at OCAD University.

Toronto Lit Up is produced with the support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.

ABOUT TORONTO LIT UP

Toronto Lit Up is a multi-year initiative, started in 2016 by the Toronto International Festival of Authors and Toronto Arts Council, to spotlight Toronto writers and empower local artists with career-building opportunities. Between April 2016 and June 2022, Toronto Lit Up has presented 137 events to launch 161 books by 236 Toronto authors. Launches are always open to the public and free to attend.

See Events

Learn More

On July 26, 2022, the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) announced that 21 new books have been selected to be part of the latest season of Toronto Lit Up, a joint initiative with Toronto Arts Council that spotlights Toronto writers and provide career-building opportunities through book launch celebrations. The latest Toronto Lit Up season will take place between July 2022 and March 2023, and feature new works of fiction and non-fiction for adults and young people, poetry, memoir and drama, by debut and established Toronto authors.

The authors and new books selected for the new Toronto Lit Up season are:

Didier Leclair, Toronto, I Love You (translated to English by Elaine Kennedy) (Mawenzi House)
Pamela Mordecai, de Book of Joseph (Mawenzi House)
Curtis Carmichael, Butterflies in the Trenches: The Hood, an Epic Bike Ride, and Finding Inspiration (Synergy)
Sophie Jai, Wild Fires (HarperCollins Canada)
Khashayar Mohammadi, WJD (Gordon Hill)
Emily Saso, Nine Dash Line (Freehand Books)
Diane Borsato with illustrations by Kelsey Oseid, Mushrooming: The Joy of the Quiet Hunt – An Illustrated Guide to the Fascinating, the Delicious, the Deadly and the Strange (Douglas & McIntyre)
Tanya Turton, Jade Is a Twisted Green (Dundurn Press)
Nancy Lam, The Loyal Daughter (At Bay Press)
Robert Priest, If I Didn’t Love the River (ECW Press)
Daniel Scott Tysdal, The End Is in the Middle: MAD fold-in poems (Icehouse Poetry)
Sam Shelstad, Citizens of Light (TouchWood Editions)
Danee Wilson, Murder at San Miguel (Radiant Press)
S.K. Ali, Love from Mecca to Medina (Simon & Schuster Canada)
Jon S. Dellandrea, The Great Canadian Art Fraud Case: The Group of Seven & Tom Thomson Forgeries (Goose Lane Editions)
Elaine Kachala, Superpower? The Wearable-Tech Revolution (Orca Book Publishers)
Chris MacDonald, The Things I Came Here With: A Memoir (ECW Press)
Elizabeth Gillian Muir, An Unrecognized Contribution: Women and Their Work in 19th-Century Toronto (Dundurn Press)
Natasha Adiyana Morris, The Negroes Are Congregating (Playwrights Canada Press)
George Elliott Clarke, Canticles III (MMXXII) (Guernica Editions)
Brooke Lockyer, Burr (Nightwood Editions)

Book launch events will take place at venues throughout Toronto. Event dates and details will be posted throughout the season at FestivalofAuthors.ca/Toronto-Lit-Up. As always, Toronto Lit Up events are open to the public and free to attend.

“Toronto Lit Up continues to provide invaluable opportunities for Toronto writers to enjoy well-deserved time in the spotlight, along with the resources to celebrate and promote their publishing accomplishments. Toronto Arts Council is pleased to partner with TIFA as we applaud twenty-one accomplished authors participating this season, reflecting a wealth of diverse and compelling stories” – Claire Hopkinson, Director & CEO, Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation

“It’s an honour for us to continue to celebrate local Toronto authors and be a part of showcasing the diversity of the city’s vibrant literary landscape. We are particularly delighted that many of this season’s launches are scheduled to be in-person after many, many months of virtual launches. Congratulations to all the authors launching new books this year. We look forward to receiving – and greatly encourage – new submissions when the next call opens this fall.” – Ayesha Chatterjee, Toronto Lit Up committee member.

This is an extended season of Toronto Lit Up, which takes into account that many book launches were delayed during the past two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All submissions were reviewed by the Toronto Lit Up Committee, composed of Ayesha Chatterjee (past president, League of Canadian Poets), Alison Jones (Quill and Quire) and Hazel Millar (Literary Press Group).

Toronto Lit Up is produced with the support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.

ABOUT TORONTO LIT UP

Toronto Lit Up is a multi-year initiative, started in 2016 by the Toronto International Festival of Authors and Toronto Arts Council, to spotlight Toronto writers and empower local artists with career-building opportunities. Between April 2016 and June 2022, Toronto Lit Up has presented 137 events to launch 161 books by 236 Toronto authors. Launches are always open to the public and free to attend.

See Events

Learn More