23. SCHOOL GROUPS: COMPLICATED FAMILIES - The FOLD
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Home Festival & Events The Festival of Literary Diversity Schedule 23. SCHOOL GROUPS: COMPLICATED FAMILIES

23. SCHOOL GROUPS: COMPLICATED FAMILIES

Virtual Event

Description

Families are messy — which makes them perfect subject matter for great stories and story-telling. In this panel discussion designed for school groups and readers and writers of young adult fiction, three authors discuss the family dynamics in their most recent novels and the process for creating and cultivating believable relatives and relationships.

Date: May 3, 2023
Time: 12:30pm – 1:30pm 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)

A young Mexican man with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a white t-shirt, standing against a reddish wooden wall.
Daniel Aleman
Bio
A white-passing Métis woman with blonde hair in a ponytail, wearing bright red lipstick. She wears beaded earrings and her mouth is open in a wide smile.
Jen Ferguson
Bio
A young Black woman sits on a yellow couch. She wears glasses and a dark green top, and the wall behind her is a rich dark blue.
Talia Hibbert
Bio
A young dark-haired Latinx woman wearing a warm yellow sweater.
Yeli Cruz
Bio
A young Mexican man with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a white t-shirt, standing against a reddish wooden wall.

Daniel Aleman

Daniel Aleman is the award-winning author of Indivisible. He was born and raised in Mexico City. A graduate of McGill University, he is passionate about books, coffee, and dogs. After spending time in Montreal and the New York City area, he now lives in Toronto, where he is on a never-ending search for the best tacos in the city. His second novel, Brighter Than the Sun, was published this past March.

A white-passing Métis woman with blonde hair in a ponytail, wearing bright red lipstick. She wears beaded earrings and her mouth is open in a wide smile.

Jen Ferguson

Jen Ferguson (she/her) is Métis and white, an activist, a feminist, an auntie, and an accomplice armed with a PhD. She believes writing, teaching and beading are political acts. Her debut YA novel, The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, is out now from Heartdrum / HarperCollins and won the 2022 Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature. Her latest novel, Those Pink Mountain Nights, is forthcoming in September 2023.

A young Black woman sits on a yellow couch. She wears glasses and a dark green top, and the wall behind her is a rich dark blue.

Talia Hibbert

Talia Hibbert is a New York Times bestselling romance author who lives in a bedroom full of books. Supposedly there is a world beyond that room, but she has yet to drum up enough interest to investigate. Talia writes diverse and indulgent love stories because marginalised people deserve honest and joyous representation. She enjoys tea and biscuits, the colour pink, and unnecessary sarcasm.

A young dark-haired Latinx woman wearing a warm yellow sweater.

Yeli Cruz

Yeli Cruz (she/her) is a voracious reader, a writer, and a publishing professional. In her free time she loves playing video games and wearing cozy sweaters.

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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