24. LIFE AS AN EMERGING WRITER - The FOLD
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Home Festival & Events The Festival of Literary Diversity Schedule 24. LIFE AS AN EMERGING WRITER

24. LIFE AS AN EMERGING WRITER

Virtual Event

Description

Three emerging writers from Audible’s Indigenous Writers Circle discuss their plans and pursuits in a conversation about the real life challenges of navigating the publishing industry as an emerging writer. Moderated by January Rogers.

Date: May 3, 2023
Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm ET

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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.

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On a Budget? Check out our Patron Pass program.

Featured Speaker(s)

An Indigenous woman with long dark hair, wearing a dark long-sleeved shirt and standing against a pale grey wall. She wears bright red lipstick.
Jessie Conrad
Bio
A young two-spirit Indigenous man with short dark hair, wearing a dark blazer over a light collared shirt, and dark-framed glasses.
Julian Martin
Bio
An Indigenous woman with short grey hair in a mohwak and dark-framed glasses, standing against a red background. They wear a yellow t-shirt with a beaded design.
January Rogers
Bio
An Indigenous woman with long dark hair, wearing a dark long-sleeved shirt and standing against a pale grey wall. She wears bright red lipstick.

Jessie Conrad

Jessie Conrad is an emerging Author enrolled in an MA degree in community engagement. She was part of the Audible Indigenous Writers’ Circle 2022, a 2008 CBC Non Fiction Reader for CBC Books and published her first story, “Where They Belong“, in 2012. Currently she’s writing a speculative fiction novella, Fish Bait. Born in Windsor, Ontario she has also lived in Yellowknife, Vancouver and Edmonton. Being part of the communities she lives in is instrumental to her writing practice, as is receiving mentorship from established authors and peers.

A young two-spirit Indigenous man with short dark hair, wearing a dark blazer over a light collared shirt, and dark-framed glasses.

Julian Martin

Julian Martin is a Two-Spirited Indigenous Man. Julian has always been passionate about writing and storytelling from a very young age. Julian describes himself as an aspiring Author who strides to share the unheard voices of Indigenous people. His goals is to share knowledge and awareness of the Indigenous people of Turtle Island (Best known as North America) His stride is to encourage the younger generation to be open and proud to call themselves Indigenous. By sharing stories from the young age point of view and from the modern world.

An Indigenous woman with short grey hair in a mohwak and dark-framed glasses, standing against a red background. They wear a yellow t-shirt with a beaded design.

January Rogers

January Rogers is a Mohawk/Tuscarora poet, media producer, performance and sound art-ist. She lives on her home territory of Six Nations of the Grand River where she operates Ojistoh Publishing and Productions.

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

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