7. CANADA READS REUNION - The FOLD
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Home Festival & Events The Festival of Literary Diversity Schedule 7. CANADA READS REUNION

7. CANADA READS REUNION

Virtual Event

Description

Finalists from Canada Reads discuss the process of being selected for the show and the process of navigating the debates. In conversation with FOLD Executive Director and Canada Reads superfan Jael Richardson, this is a panel you definitely do not want to miss.

Date: April 30, 2023
Time: 7:30pm – 8:30pm 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.

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On a Budget? Check out our Patron Pass program.

Featured Speaker(s)

A white woman with long light brown hair and bangs, sitting with her arms crossed. SHe wears a blue shirt with white flowers on it, covered by a light ivory cardigan.
Kate Beaton
Bio
A white man with short brown hair, standing against a lush green background.
Michael Christie
Bio
A young Mexican-Canadian woman with long curly dark hair, standing against a light outdoor background. She wears a dark blue blazer.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Bio
A brown Lebanese Canadian man with short dark hair and a goatee wearing a collared multi-coloured shirt.
Dimitri Nasrallah
Bio
JRichardon_SimonRemarkPhotography
Jael Richardson
Bio
A white woman with long light brown hair and bangs, sitting with her arms crossed. SHe wears a blue shirt with white flowers on it, covered by a light ivory cardigan.

Kate Beaton

Kate Beaton was born and raised in Cape Breton, where she lives with her family. After graduating from Mount Allison University, she moved to Alberta to pay down student loans. During the years she spent out West, Beaton began her webcomic Hark! A Vagrant, quickly drawing a worldwide following. She has published five books: Hark! A Vagrant, Step Aside Pops, King Baby, The Princess and the Pony, and the graphic memoir Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands which was named a New York TImes Notable Book and one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2022.

A white man with short brown hair, standing against a lush green background.

Michael Christie

Michael Christie is the author of the internationally best-selling novel Greenwood, which was a finalist for Canada Reads, was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and has been translated into 10 languages. His previous novel, If I Fall, If I Die, was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and selected as a New York Times Editors’ Choice Pick. His linked collection of stories, The Beggar’s Garden, was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, shortlisted for the Writers’ Trust Prize for Fiction, and won the Vancouver Book Award. A former carpenter and homeless shelter worker, he lives in Victoria, BC, on the unceded territory of the Lkwungen speaking people, and the Songhees, Esquimalt, and WSÁNEC First Nations.

A young Mexican-Canadian woman with long curly dark hair, standing against a light outdoor background. She wears a dark blue blazer.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic. She won the Locus and British Fantasy awards for her work as a novelist, and the World Fantasy Award as an editor.

A brown Lebanese Canadian man with short dark hair and a goatee wearing a collared multi-coloured shirt.

Dimitri Nasrallah

Dimitri Nasrallah is the author of four novels. His most recent, 2022’s Hotline, is a national bestseller that’s been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and CBC’s Canada Reads. He was born in Lebanon in 1977, and moved to Canada in 1988. His previous books include The Bleeds, Niko, and Blackbodying. He lives in Montreal, where he serves as fiction editor for Véhicule Press’s Esplanade Fiction imprint and teaches creative writing at Concordia University.

JRichardon_SimonRemarkPhotography

Jael Richardson

Jael Richardson is the author of Gutter Child, The Hockey Jersey, Because You Are, The Stone Thrower, and the founder and Executive Director of the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) in Brampton, Ontario. Gutter Child was shortlisted for the Amazon First Novel Award and was a finalist for the Forest of Reading White Pine Award. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph and lives in Brampton, Ontario.

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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