A BookThug’s Guide to INSPIRE!—Toronto’s International Book Fair
November 13–16, 2014 @ the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (Tickets available, here)
INSPIRE! Toronto International Book Fair is Toronto’s brand new international book expo. This three-day affair will be “part exhibition, part market and part cultural festival, celebrating reading in all forms and embracing all facets of the book trade. It will be a place for readers to connect with those who write and produce the books they love—to learn, explore and be entertained, in all print and digital formats. INSPIRE! is a place for readers to connect in the most immediate ways with those who write and with those who produce the books they love; a place where people can reconnect with the passion and enchantment of the world of reading.”
Fair organizers have put together a staggering 300 hours of programming, featuring over 400 authors from across Canada and around globe-including Alisha Piercy, Bertrand Laverdure, and Beatriz Hausner–all this spread across eight feature areas. To help you traverse this deluge of booksellers, author events, and panel discussions, your friends at BookThug have prepared A BookThug’s Guide to INSPIRE! Toronto International Book Fair.
On Thursday evening, November 13, 2014, the BookThugs will be in attendance at the INSPIRE! Lift-Off Opening Party. Come get a sneak peak of the fairgrounds before doors open to the public. Enjoy a drink, live music, and some light refreshments with fellow book lovers.
BookThug will be joining twenty-two independent publishers from across Ontario in the Discovery Pavilion, located in the North Building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, to celebrate Ontario publishers. We’ll have books for sale,and author signings all weekend long, featuring a cavalcade of BookThug all-stars.
BookThug authors at INSPIRE!
Several members of the BookThug family will be presenting on various INSPIRE! feature stages. We are pleased to present Alisha Piercy, Bertrand Laverdure and Beatriz Hausner.
The Spark Stage is dedicated to “the year’s most talked-about books and the authors and illustrators behind them,” making it the perfect venue to host the bombastically talented Bertrand Laverdure, who will be reading from his brilliant novel Universal Bureau of Copyrights (recently translated into English by Oana Avasilichioaei and published by BookThug). Sparks will be flying Friday, November 14, from 3:00–3:30 pm.
On Saturday, November 15, from 10:30–11 am, Alisha Piercy will be on the Discovery Stage reading from her show-stopping new novel Bunny and Shark. If you have not yet discovered this hugely entertaining middle-aged coming-of-age story-cum-shark-adventure, now is quite clearly the time.
Last but certainly not least, Beatriz Hausner, author of the raucously erotic Enter the Raccoon, will be part of a panel discussion entitled “Unifying Threads in Latin American Literature”, and will read from Enter the Racoon and a Spanish translation of her work. The event will be presented on the From the Four Corners Stage on Sunday, November 16, at 10:15 am. Presented by the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the From the Four Corners Stage is dedicated for programming that celebrates international literature accompanied by literature that reflects the linguistic and cultural diversity of Canada with a unique focus on South Asia, Europe and Pan America.
Author signings in the Discovery Pavilion: Come meet your favourite BookThugs in person at P19 in the Discovery Pavilion and get them to sign your books!
Friday, November 14
R. Kolewe, author of Afterletters (2-2:3 pm)
Julie Joosten, author of Light Light (4-4:30 pm)
Saturday, November 15
Aisha Sasha John, author of THOU (2:30-3 pm)
Beatriz Hausner, author of Enter the Raccoon (3-3:30 pm)
Alisha Piercy, author Bunny and Shark (7-7:30 pm)
Sunday, November 16
David B. Goldstein, author of Laws of Rest (12-12:30 pm)
Sandra Ridley, author of The Counting House (2:30-3 pm)
We’re thrilled to have so many awesome BookThug authors coming together under one roof! There’s going to be tons of book fun happening all weekend long, and we look forward to seeing you there!
