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Jul 25, 2023

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TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF AUTHORS TAKES FLIGHT WITH ENTERTAINING LINEUP OF EVENTS

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF AUTHORS TAKES FLIGHT WITH ENTERTAINING LINEUP OF EVENTS

TIFA takes place September 21 – October 1, 2023

TORONTO, July 25, 2023 – The Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA), Canada’s largest and longest-running festival of words and ideas, is pleased to share a programme preview for its flagship festival. This year, TIFA has created a programme with “taking flight” as its festival theme to bring together hundreds of authors from diverse cultures, communities and perspectives to give audiences 11 days of literary excitement. From September 21 to October 1, festival-goers will see new innovative streams of programming as well as the return of popular events, with interviews, readings, masterclasses, critical conversations, poetry slams, and a full slate of TIFA Kids offerings. Tickets go on sale August 22 at FestivalOfAuthors.ca.

“Each year, we are excited to create new ways to connect audiences with creative storytelling experiences. This year’s Festival explores and celebrates the idea of taking flight: the remarkable flights of the imagination books and stories offer us, the joy of play and creativity, alongside the more serious aspect of the human need to find safety and freedom of expression,” said Roland Gulliver, Director of Toronto International Festival of Authors. “We will explore these themes and more with new, exciting programme streams to welcome new and returning audiences with music, food, performance, provocative conversations and the best stories from Toronto and around the world.”

As a special Festival kick-off, The Moth Mainstage presented by TIFA will take place on September 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Koerner Hall in the Telus Centre for Performance & Learning (273 Bloor St. W.). The internationally renowned storytelling phenomenon will return to Toronto for an evening of true stories told live and without notes. The Mainstage is the quintessential Moth experience, a two-act show - featuring a musical act - where where the storytellers and a notable host share true personal stories, without notes. Through live and virtual shows, storytelling workshops, a podcast, Peabody Award-winning radio show, and New York Times bestselling books, The Moth brings the power of personal storytelling to millions of people each year. The show will dance between documentary and theatre, creating a unique, intimate and enlightening experience. Tickets are now on sale for donating TIFA Friends and Patrons at FestivalOfAuthors.ca, and will go on sale to the public on August 1 (ticketing services provided by RCM Tickets).


TIFA is thrilled to introduce several new programmes this year including:

  • Bite the Book: A food-focused event blending food and book cravings with delicious tastings, conversations, readings, workshops and food-writing experiences.

  • Taking Flight – Dreams of Democracy: Spotlight on Arabic writers including author, journalist and freedom of speech advocate Kamel Riahi, whose latest book Tunisian Frankenstein was banned by the Tunisian government causing him to flee to Canada, with the support of the Canadian literary community.

  • A Literary Kitchen Party with acclaimed novelist Michael Crummey: A free in conversation with Carol Off on September 28 at Supermarket Toronto, where attendees can enjoy a night of great prose, music, food and drink to launch his enthralling new novel The Adversary. Partnered with Penguin Random House Canada. More info here.

  • Diaspora Dialogues’ annual TOK Symposium

 

The culturally curious can look forward to the return of many fan-favourite events, including:

  • TIFA Kids: A free series of family-friendly events and activities to introduce celebrated story creators to young readers, including the TIFA debut of CBC Kids popular musical duo Jeremy & Jazzy.

  • Critical Conversations: Each day of the Festival, authors and experts will examine an aspect of culture and politics that shapes the world around us and the books we read.

  • The Re-Read: Contemporary writers will discuss their favourite book or author, offering their insight as an author and sharing their joy as a reader.

  • The World In Other Words: Multilingual events that unite storytellers and translators to explore languages from various communities in Toronto and around the world. 2023 will see events in Arabic, Bengali, Tamil and more.

  • Professional development for aspiring writers: Including masterclasses led by the Humber School for Writers and the University of Guelph; TIFA Backstage (with University of Toronto); and the ninth annual Humber Liberal Arts Academic Conference at TIFA.

  • Toronto Poetry Project: Brings back its lively poetry slam for the seventh year, with some of Canada’s best and most engaging spoken word artists and next generation stars.

  • Theater of War Productions: Leading actors will present dramatic readings of seminal texts followed by town hall-style discussions.

  • PEN Canada’s annual Graeme Gibson Talk: An annual event honouring the legacy and creative spirit of renowned author and writers’ advocate Graeme Gibson through insightful conversation on the moral power of writing.

  • and much more, including an array of free events to enjoy!

The full programming slate for TIFA’s 2023 flagship Festival will be announced August 22, with tickets on sale that date. For more information visit FestivalOfAuthors.ca.

 

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