16. SCHOOL GROUPS: TELLING TRUTHS - The FOLD
Donate FOLD Apparel FOLD Kids Festival & Events

Home Festival & Events The Festival of Literary Diversity Schedule 16. SCHOOL GROUPS: TELLING TRUTHS

16. SCHOOL GROUPS: TELLING TRUTHS

Virtual Event

Description

Writing nonfiction can be tricky, especially for emerging writers. In this panel for young people, three nonfiction writers discuss how they turned their real-life stories and historical research into a book. How do you share those difficult personal moments? How do you turn research into something interesting to read?

Date: May 2, 2023
Time: 12:30pm – 1:30pm ET

GET YOUR FESTIVAL PASS NOW

How to Register

The 2023 festival will run from April 30 – May 7. Dedicated virtual programming on our innovative, online platform will run April 30 – May 3, while in-person events — many of which will also be live-streamed and available on-demand for virtual audiences — will run May 4-7.

A Virtual Festival Pass gives guests access to more than 20 virtual events which can be viewed from the website or through our festival app designed for mobile devices. In addition to festival events, virtual passes provide users with direct access to more than a dozen vendors in our festival exhibitor hall. Guests who purchase a virtual pass can also participate in trivia times, roundtable discussions and our new festival after-parties, which will follow all of our evening events.

An In-Person Festival Pass gives users access to all of our virtual events as well as our standard in-person events in Brampton, Ontario on Saturday, May 6.

This year, the festival includes three in-person Specialty Events – the Dine N’ Draw on May 4, the Literary Cabaret on May 5 and our Historical Fiction High Tea on May 7. Tickets for these events are not covered with our passes and are only available until April 30.

REGISTER NOW

On a Budget? Check out our Patron Pass program.

Featured Speaker(s)

A young Indigenous man with a shaved head and a dark mustache. He wears a white button-up shirt under a black sweater and stands against a wall filled with books.
Cody Caetano
Bio
A middle-aged Asian Canadian woman with shoulder-length dark hair, wearing a dark printed dress and standing against a black background with her arms crossed. She wears bright red lipstick.
Jen Sookfong Lee
Bio
A light-skinned Black woman with long curly dark hair, sitting at a desk. She cups her head in her left hand and the wall behind her is blue and dotted with shelves.
Lindsay Ruck
Bio
A middle-aged Black woman kneels on the grass reading a book. She wears dark pants and a white shirt.
Alyssa Gray-Tyghter
Bio
A young Indigenous man with a shaved head and a dark mustache. He wears a white button-up shirt under a black sweater and stands against a wall filled with books.

Cody Caetano

Cody Caetano is the author of Half-Bads in White Regalia (Hamish Hamilton). He works as a literary agent with CookeMcDermid.

A middle-aged Asian Canadian woman with shoulder-length dark hair, wearing a dark printed dress and standing against a black background with her arms crossed. She wears bright red lipstick.

Jen Sookfong Lee

Jen Sookfong Lee was born and raised in Vancouver’s East Side, and she now lives with her family in North Burnaby. Her books include The Conjoined, nominated for International Dublin Literary Award and a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, The Better Mother, a finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Award, The End of East, The Shadow List, and Superfan. Jen acquires and edits for ECW Press and co-hosts the literary podcast Can’t Lit.

A light-skinned Black woman with long curly dark hair, sitting at a desk. She cups her head in her left hand and the wall behind her is blue and dotted with shelves.

Lindsay Ruck

Lindsay Ruck is a mother, author, and editor from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. She studied journalism at Carleton University’s School of Journalism in Ottawa before returning to her home province to continue her writing career. Lindsay’s first published book, Winds of Change: The Life and Legacy of Calvin W. Ruck, is a biography of her grandfather. Her first book for younger readers, Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians, is nominated for a Hackmatack Children’s Book Award. My Favourite Colour, a rhyming children’s picture book, will be released Fall 2023.

A middle-aged Black woman kneels on the grass reading a book. She wears dark pants and a white shirt.

Alyssa Gray-Tyghter

Alyssa Gray-Tyghter (she/her) is an educator, writer, speaker, and PhD student. For over 10 years, she has taught a variety of subjects in a public middle school in Peel where she is now an Equity Resource Teacher. In 2020, She began a series on Instagram (@AlyssaGTyghter) titled #HerstoricallySpeaking where she tackles Canadian Black History, Indigenous Stories, and other racialized communities in Canada. Her current research focuses of Black girlhood, identity, and belonging in Canada.

The FOLD is a remarkable and wonderful event for authors and attendees alike. What an amazing community, dedicated to the vital need for inclusive stories and the critical role they play in building a better world.

Soraya Chemaly, author of Rage Becomes Her

Field Guide to the North American Teenager is my first novel and FOLD was my first Canadian literary festival. While American and Canadian culture overlap quite a bit, especially when it comes to bookshelves, Canadian literature is unique and I was very heartened by to be embraced by that community I consider home despite residing in the US. It was a homecoming I didn’t know I needed!

Ben Philippe, author of Field Guide to the North American Teenager

The Festival of Literary Diversity was an absolute joy–the organizers thought of *everything* and by anticipating authors’ needs, they freed us to focus on connecting with the audience and each other. There was no pretension, no posturing–just very genuine conversations with invested writers and engaged readers.

Zetta Elliott, author of Dragons in a Bag

I have been to a lot of writers festivals and the FOLD is definitely near the top of the list of those I want to be invited back to.

Harold Johnson, author of the memoirs Clifford and Firewater

Being part of such a clearly diverse, inclusive and mutually respectful group was thrilling and inspiring: a glimpse of a better world.

Kathy Page, author of Dear Evelyn, winner of the 2018 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize

Wherever I go in Canada and find another writer of colour, we eventually end up gushing about how great the FOLD is, how by normalizing diversity it liberates us to talk to audiences about craft. It’s hard to imagine the literary landscape returning to a prehistoric pre-FOLD era.

Ian Williams, Author of the Giller Prize-winning novel Reproduction

FOLD is a festival experience unlike any other I’ve had. The FOLD team strive to create a space that’s welcoming and engaging, while allowing for curiosity, ingenuity and the fostering of real community – and they succeed, every year.

Alicia Elliott, author of A Mind Spread Out On The Ground

The FOLD is one of the most important literary events on this continent. By focusing on diverse voices and giving authors space to share their stories and speak their truths, it is revolutionizing the writing and storytelling realm as we know it.

Waubgeshig Rice, author of Moon Of The Crusted Snow

Being part of the FOLD community has provided me with a strong sense of belonging. Sharing diverse stories and listening to different voices that broaden my understanding of the world has impacted me as a person and motivated me as a writer.

Ann Y.K. Choi, author of Kay’s Lucky Coin Variety

Stay connected

Follow us on social media

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
Error: Access Token is not valid or has expired. Feed will not update.

Stay Informed

Sign up for our newsletter