Toronto Lit Up Book Launches
About the Programme
Meet local authors and join them in celebrating the launch of new books! The Toronto International Festival of Authors has partnered with the Toronto Arts Council (TAC) on Toronto Lit Up: a multi-year initiative designed to spotlight local writers and empower them with career-building opportunities.
Toronto Lit Up book launches are open to the public and free to attend. They take place throughout the year, usually held at Harbourfront Centre and other venues across the city, however, since the spring of 2020, book launches have been delivered digitally in response to government and community safety measures against Covid-19.

Selection Committee
The committee, made up of Ayesha Chatterjee (past president, League of Canadian Poets), Alison Jones (Quill and Quire) and Hazel Millar (Literary Press Group) will adjudicate all selections.
Submissions
Toronto Lit Up features works from various genres. The committee will be looking to include published works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, short story, graphic novels, works for children and young adults, as well as cookbooks, gardening books, sports-related stories, satire and much more. Publishers can submit more than one author for committee consideration for this programme. All programmes funded by the Toronto Arts Council are designed to represent the residents of the City of Toronto and its equity priority groups, which include those who identify as persons of colour, deaf persons, persons with disabilities and persons living with mental illness, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIAP, as well as other historically under-served writers. Self-published authors who identify with one or more of these groups and are members of The Writers Union of Canada are also welcome to apply.
All authors must meet all of the following criteria:
- Must be a resident of the city of Toronto, living in the city for at least 8 months of the year.
- Must also have been a Toronto resident for at least 1 year prior to the launch date.
- The book publication date must be within 3 months of the anticipated launch event date
What to include with your submission?
- Author name and bio
- Title of the book and genre
- Book summary or synopsis
- Publication date
- Anticipated event details, including the type of event, venue, possible dates and time
Submissions for Toronto Lit Up are currently closed. Please check back later for details about our next submission period.
Questions?
Email: TorontoLitUp@festivalofauthors.ca
Follow along on social media through #TorontoLitUp








