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SUMMARY:Women in Translation Month 2026
DESCRIPTION:August is Women in Translation Month! Founded by Meytal Radzinski in 2014\, Women in Translation Month celebrates writing by women in languages other than English. \nHere in Quebec\, we are grateful for the care and labour of translators who bring important stories to English-speaking audiences around the world. \nCheck out some featured titles below\, translated from French\, Spanish\, Korean and more! \n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				Featured Books\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n					Together by the SeaFiction Marie-Claire Blais\, translated by Katia Grubisic Sailors Can’t SwimFiction Dominique Scali\, trans. Jessica Moore My Friend Kim Jong UnGraphic novel\, Nonfiction Keum Suk Gendry-Kim trans. Janet Hong Republic of GlassFiction Catherine Leroux\, trans. Katia Grubisic The Price of SilverFiction\, Graphic novel Sophie Bédard\, trans. Robin Lang Floating IslandsFiction Joyce Mansour\, trans. by Emilie Moorhouse Fragile Like a BombFiction Catherine Fred Lavarenne\, trans. by Natalia Hero The MongooseGraphic novel Joana Mosi MetadoggozGraphic novel Bérénice Motais de Narbonne\, trans. Montana Kane Beware Her FuryGraphic novel Mirion Malle Fruit SaladGraphic novel Cathon Between the Island and the TurtleFiction Karine Rosso\, trans. Anita Anand Blood BoundFiction Marie-Josée Poisson The Love of ManFiction Hélène Rioux\, translated by Jonathan Kaplansky School for GirlsFiction Ariane Lessard\, translated by Frances Pope PragueFiction Maude Veilleux\, translated by Aleshia Jensen and Aimee Wall The Old Man and the ChildKids Gabrielle Roy\, translated by Katherine Sehl The WaitingGraphic novel Keum Suk Gendry-Kim\, translated by Janet Hong HorseflyFiction Mireille Gagné\, translated by Pablo Strauss Baldwin\, Styron and MeMemoir\, Nonfiction Mélikah Abdelmoumen\, translated by Catherine Khorduc The FutureFiction Catherine Leroux\, translated by Susan Ouriou This Radiant LifePoetry Chantal Neveu\, translated by Erín Moure So Long Sad LoveFiction\, Graphic novel Mirion Malle\, translated by Aleshia Jensen Land of MirrorsFiction\, Graphic novel Maria Medem\, translated by Aleshia Jensen and Daniela Ortiz The BigamistFiction Felicia Mihali\, translated by Linda Leith Sugaring OffFiction Fanny Britt\, translated by Susan Ouriou Hekla and LakiKids Marine Schneider\, translated by Nick Frost and Catherine Ostiguy JournalMemoir Marie Uguay\, translated by Jennifer Moxley Club MicrobeKids Elise Gravel\, translated by Montana Kane Pale ShadowsFiction Dominique Fortier\, translated by Rhonda Mullins The JellyfishGraphic novel Boum\, translated by Robin Lang and Helge Dascher Nauetakuan\, a Silence for a NoiseFiction Natasha Kanapé Fontaine\, translated by Howard Scott youPoetry Chantal Neveu\, translated by Erín Moure Nights Too Short to DanceFiction Marie-Claire Blais\, translated by Katia Grubisic ValidFiction Chris Bergeron\, translated by Natalia Hero As the Andes DisappearedFiction Caroline Dawson\, translated by Anita Anand Dandelion DaughterFiction Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay\, translated by Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch Songs for AngelFiction Marie-Claire Blais\, translated by Katia Grubisic EmFiction Kim Thúy\, translated by Sheila Fischman No results found.
URL:https://readquebec.ca/event/women-in-translation-month-2026/
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SUMMARY:2026 Read Quebec Book Fair
DESCRIPTION:The Read Quebec Book Fair returns to Casa d’Italia December 5-6\, 2026! Join us for special events\, author signings\, and the latest releases from Canadian writers and publishers.  \nProduced by the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ)\, the Fair celebrates the vibrancy of English-language writing\, publishing\, and translation in Quebec.  \nTaking place in the historic Casa d’Italia\, the Fair will present a full weekend of programming\, including a Lightning Round with local poets\, an event with graphic novelists Lee Lai and Arizona O’Neill\, and a conversation with Everyday Reconciliation authors Derek Aronhie:nens Montour and Elin Sandberg Miller. We’ll also be hosting another edition of Speed-dating for Writers and Editors\, where up-and-coming and seasoned wordsmiths will have the opportunity to deliver their pitches directly to publishers\, as well as a panel discussion on publishing in translation. \nThe Fair will offer plenty of fun for young booklovers in the cozy\, book-filled Babar Kids’ Nook both days\, and a storytime reading with Gillian Sze. \nStick around for our 5 à 7 opening cocktail on Saturday for delicious hors d’oeuvres and a chance to connect with Montreal’s vibrant literary community. \nCasa d’Italia is located at 505 Jean-Talon East\, and is fully accessible to wheelchairs and strollers. The Fair takes place on the second floor\, accessible via stairs or elevator. Take the entrance on Berri Street\, across the street from Jean-Talon metro (exit Jean-Talon Nord). \n \n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				Apply to Exhibit\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				*Please note tables for the 2026 Read Quebec Book Fair are currently at capacity! New applications will be added to the waitlist. \n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				Schedule\nSaturday December 5\, 2026\n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				December 5\, 202611:15 am – 12:15 pmRotunda \nLinda Leith Publishing Showcase \n\nWith:Toula Drimonis\nAlex Costa\nDon Macdonald\nRebecca Morris\nMichael Foy\nOren Safdie\nJanet Torge\nDavid Homel\nNatalie Southworth\n\nModerated by Linda Leith \nLinda Leith Publishing will present their local authors of the season\, along with some recent stars. Short readings from a variety of genres will be followed by mingling and book signing.  \nAlex Costa has degrees in biology and dentistry from McGill University. Born and raised in the neighbourhood of North Toronto\, she grew up near the ravines that inspired this story. She now lives in Montreal with her husband Mark\, also a dentist\, her two sons\, and a big shaggy dog named Rookie who has excellent teeth. The first in a planned trilogy\, The Roughling is her first novel. www.alexcosta.ca  \nThe author of the 2022 bestseller We\, the Others\, Toula Drimonis is a Montreal-based opinion columnist\, writer and news producer. A former news director for TC Media\, she has reported and written on politics\, social justice\, and women’s issues for national and international publications. She has worked in television\, radio\, and print in all three of her languages\, and has appeared on TV as both panelist and contributor to English and French-language current-affairs and cultural news shows.  \nMichael Foy was born and raised in Surrey\, British Columbia. He holds degrees in psychology and education from Simon Fraser University. His fiction has appeared in Grain Magazine\, The Nashwaak Review\, QWERTY\, Literally Stories\, Blank Spaces\, Canadian Shorts II\, and other journals and anthologies. His story “The Questions Run” received an Honourable Mention in the Riddle Fence Fiction Contest. He lives in Montreal with his wife and two daughters. www.michaelfoy.ca \nDavid Homel was born in Chicago in 1952 and left the city in 1970 for Paris\, living in Europe the next few years on odd jobs. He has published ten novels\, from Electrical Storms (1988) to The Teardown\, which won the Paragraph Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction in 2019\, and most recently\, Private Number (2025). He has also written young adult fiction with Marie-Louise Gay\, directed documentary films\, worked in TV production\, been a literary translator\, journalist\, and creative writing teacher. He has translated four books for Linda Leith Publishing: Bitter Rose (2015)\, The Last Bullet Is For You (2016)\, Nan Goldin: The Warrior Medusa (2017) and Taximan (2018). Lunging into the Underbrush (2021)\, also with LLP\, was his first book of non-fiction. He lives in Montreal. \nDon Macdonald worked for over 20 years as a journalist in Winnipeg\, Montreal and Quebec City. His first novel\, Omand’s Creek\, was an Amazon bestseller that the Montreal Gazette praised as “the best Canadian crime debut in recent memory.” He lives in Montreal. www.donmacdonald.ca \nOriginally from Guelph\, Rebecca Morris lives in Montreal. She earned an M.A. in French from Dalhousie\, had three children in three years and taught high school before turning to writing full time. Rebecca’s short stories have won several awards\, including the Malahat Review Open Season Award and the Humber Literary Review Emerging Writers Fiction contest. She is a Banff Centre alumna\, recipient of a Canada Council Arts grant and an active member of the Quebec Writers’ Federation\, where she has taught workshops on short fiction and narrative structure. Other Maps is her first novel. \nOren Safdie was born in Montreal where he attended St George’s School and Marianopolis College. Following graduate studies in Architecture and Creative Writing at Columbia University\, Oren has worked as a playwright\, screenwriter\, and professor of Dramatic Writing & Literature. Five of his plays were New York Times Critic’s Picks. Beyond Ken Dryden\, which is his first book\, was produced as a play in Montreal in 2024 and Toronto in 2025. He divides his time between LA and Montreal. \nNatalie Southworth’s award-winning stories have appeared in literary journals in Canada\, the UK and the US\, including The North American Review\, The Moth Magazine\, The New Quarterly\, Canadian Notes & Queries\, The Brooklyn Review and more. She lives in Montreal. \nJanet Torge lives in Montreal and is always looking for new adventures. She’s been a television documentary producer\, a prenatal teacher and Birth Doula\, an overnight talk-show host at CFCF Radio\, traffic reporter and Radio Noon host at CBC Montreal\, a columnist at the Montreal Gazette\, and co-founder of the first rape relief centre in Canada. She recently trained as a Death Doula and is also the author of Dear Sam\, a book about the death of her son. \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				December 5\, 202612:30 pm – 1:30 pmRotunda \nEveryday Reconciliation with Derek Aronhie:nens Montour and Elin Sandberg Miller \nWith:Derek Aronhie:nens Montour Elin Sandberg Miller \nModerated by Lisa Byer-de Wever \nMany of us are committed to the idea of Reconciliation – but what can we do about it? Derek Montour is an Indigenous man who grew up on the Kahnawà:ke Kanien’kehá:ka Territory. Originally from Sweden and now based in Canada\, Elin Sandberg Miller\, brings a fresh perspective to the issues. Together they share their conversation between friends\, bringing warmth and insight on how Reconciliation can be part of our everyday lives. \nDerek Aronhie:nens Montour joined the armed services after high school—first the Canadian Royal Montreal Regiment and later the United States Marine Corps. After leaving the services\, he moved back to Kahnawà:ke to work with the Kahnawà:ke Shakotiia’takehnhas Community Services\, and today he is the organization’s executive director. He also serves on the board of directors for the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission and has assisted at the national level on the Child and Family Services Reform National Advisory Committee. He also served on the Minister of National Defence’s Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination\, which submitted their final report in December 2021. Derek grew up in Kahnawà:ke and has two children and a grandchild. \nBorn and raised in Tiotià:ke\, otherwise known as Montreal\, Lisa Byer-de Wever is a Diaconal Ministry in the United Church of Canada. As someone who has navigated the many worlds of colour\, culture\, gender\, religion\, spirituality and language her whole life\, she is passionate about creating space for dialogue\, learning and deep listening where everyone can share their authentic self.   \nShe identifies as having mixed West Indian and Indigenous heritage. She has served as the minister for Kahnawake United Church\, as the Executive Director to Saint Columba House\, and more recently Merging Waters United Church on the West Island of Montreal.  \nShe co-chairs the United Church’s Regional Right Relations Circle and has facilitated the Kairos Blanket Exercise for about 15 years. She has long been a social justice activist\, involved in issues around Indigenous and LGBTQ2sIA+ justice\, food insecurity and Gaza.    \nIn a world where siloed narratives and resistance to the “other” is the norm\, she believes we have the opportunity and responsibility to not only foster coexistence but co-resistance. Not only because our faith invites us to do so but our humanity compels us to.  \nElin Sandberg Miller hosted the podcast Everyday Reconciliation in 2021–22\, which she created and co-produced with the think tank Canada 2020. Her work has been published in various newspapers and magazines\, including the Montreal Gazette. She spent most of her working life in the Swedish Foreign Service and more recently at Global Affairs Canada\, working on issues of international law\, human rights\, gender equality\, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. She immigrated to Canada in 2008\, currently lives in Ottawa\, has three children and a grandchild\, and is a dual Swedish-Canadian citizen. \n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				December 5\, 20261:45 pm – 3 pmRotunda \nHow I(t) Work(s): Literary Translation \n\nWith:Chloé Savoie-Bernard\nRachel Martinez\nPablo Strauss\n\nModerated by Katia Grubisic \nQuebec is a hotbed of literary translation. Many of our best translators are also writers\, and many of our writers want to see their books translated\, wanting to reach their fellow Quebecers who read in the other official language. But how does it work? If you have a translation project in mind\, how do you get it onto the page? And how do you get your new book\, published in English\, translated and published in French? Winner of the Governor-General’s Literary Award for French-to-English Translation\, local poet and editor Katia Grubisic will lead a discussion with three established translators working from French to English (Pablo Strauss) and English to French (Rachel Martinez and Chloé Savoie-Bernard). Learn how both the business and the art of translation work. Bring your curiosity to the Q&A. \nKatia Grubisic is a writer\, editor\, and translator. Her work has won the Gerald Lampert award\, the Cole Foundation Prize for Translation\, and the Governor General’s Award for translation\, and been shortlisted for the A.M. Klein Prize. \nRachel Martinez worked for many years in the fields of arts and communications before devoting herself exclusively to translation. A polyglot\, she has translated (from English\, Spanish\, and Italian) more than 130 works in a variety of genres for renowned French-language publishers\, including novels\, short stories\, non-fiction\, arts catalogues\, biographies\, essays\, and children’s literature. She has organized events and served on numerous literary prize juries\, roundtables\, conferences\, and translation residencies both in Canada and abroad. Rachel Martinez represented the Literary Translators’ Association of Canada on the advisory committee of the Banff International Literary Translation Centre from 2018 until its dissolution in 2020. Among other awards and honors\, she was a two-time finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award in French Translation\, which she won for Glenn Gould\, une vie (Boréal) in 2005. \nChloé Savoie-Bernard occupe un poste de professeure de littérature à l’Université du Québec à Montréal. Chercheuse\, autrice et traductrice\, elle a entre autres\, publié Des femmes savantes (Triptyque\, 2016) et Sainte Chloé de l’amour (Hexagone\, 2021). Parmi ses traductions\, notons Voix/Éclairs/Tonnerres\, de Myriam Chancy (Remue-ménage\, 2023)\, de même que Sister Love\, une correspondance entre Audre Lorde et Pat Parker\, (Points\, 2024). Sa dernière traduction est la pièce de Ntozake Shange\, Aux filles de couleur qui ont déjà pensé au suicide (Payot\, 2026).  \nPablo Strauss’s many translations from Quebec include novels\, personal essays\, nonfiction\, and comics. He is a three-time finalist for the Governor General’s Award for translation\, and has published book reviews\, shorter translations\, and personal essays in Harpers\, Geist\, Granta\, and the Montreal Review of Books. Pablo grew up in Victoria\, B.C.\, and has now lived in Quebec City for two decades. \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				December 5\, 20262:30 – 4 pmSalle des célébrations \nTomorrow\, but Tonight: Experiments in Flash Fiction  \nA 90-minute workshop for writers ages 14 to 20 with Jen DeLeskie\, fiction writer and Editor-in-Chief of Quist\, the youth literary journal of the Quebec Writers’ Federation. \nEven the shortest stories need a turn: a moment when something changes. Flash writers have tricky ways of getting there fast. Although technically a poem\, Laura Gilpin’s “The Two-headed Calf” pivots on “tomorrow” and “tonight” and shows one way to capture a full arc in a few lines. We’ll discuss Gilpin’s poem and a few other very short pieces\, borrow forms like recipes and lists\, and write our own flash fiction using prompts. No experience necessary! Bring a notebook or a laptop. You’ll leave with a draft\, some new tools for writing flash\, possibly some new friends\, and an invitation to submit your work to Quist. Limited to twelve participants. \nJen DeLeskie (she/her) is a writer based in Tiohtià:ke (Montréal). Her work\, which spans literary\, horror\, science fiction\, and fantasy\, has appeared in Prairie Fire\, The Globe and Mail\, Beneath Ceaseless Skies\, The Dalhousie Review\, and elsewhere. Her debut novel\, Everclear\, a YA adventure set in near-future northern Quebec\, was published by Flame Arrow in 2026. She edits Quist\, the Quebec Writers’ Federation youth literary journal. \n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				December 5\, 20264 pm – 5 pmRotunda \nGuernica Editions’ Montreal Book Launch 2026 \n\nWIth:Marie-Josée Poisson\, Blood Bound: Unlacing Secret Ties\nRobin Blackburn McBride\, River of Dreams\nJay Quint\, Village Dreams\nH. Nigel Thomas\, And Then Again Begin\nHélène Rioux / Jonathan Kaplansky\, The Love of Man\n\nModerated by Connie Guzzo-McParland \nA vibrant literary celebration and collaborative book launch of Guernica Editions’ Montreal-based authors and releases from the past year. Enjoy lively readings from authors\, browse and buy fresh new titles\, and enter the book‑bag raffle. After the readings\, join us for a friendly AELAQ‑ and QWF-sponsored cocktail\, where writers\, publishers\, and book lovers gather to mingle\, toast\, and celebrate Montreal’s literary scene. \nConnie Guzzo McParland\, President and Co-director of Guernica Editions\, holds a BA in Italian Literature and an MA in Creative Writing from Concordia University. She is the author of the novels The Girls of Piazza d’Amore (2013) and The Women of Saturn (2017)\, the latter translated into Italian as Le donne di Saturno (2019). Her nonfiction work includes the biography An Opera in 3 Acts\, translated into French as Un opéra en 3 actes (2021). She also translated The Twelfth Room\, the English edition of La Dodicesima Stanza. Her latest work\, Stitch by Stitch\, Punto per punto\, De fil à aiguille\, launching in March 2027\, is a collection of stories and testimonials about Italian immigrant women who laboured in the garment industry in Quebec.  \nHer writing has been recognized with numerous distinctions\, including the Concordia University David McKeen Award in Creative Writing (2008) for her thesis Girotondo; a shortlist nomination for the Quebec Writers’ Federation First Book Award for The Girls of Piazza d’Amore (2013). \n \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				December 5\, 2026 5 pm – 6 pmSalle des mémoires \nOpening Cocktail and Raffle \nIn partnership with the Quebec Writers’ Federation \nJoin us for a special edition of our annual Opening Cocktail\, celebrating longtime partner\, the Quebec Writers’ Federation\, where you’ll hear from new Executive Director Remy Attig and Director of Operations and Zac Remple. Stay for the raffle\, raising funds for the QWF’s Writers in the Community program\, supporting teens in partnership with schools\, community organizations\, and group facilities across Quebec. Prizes include theatre tickets\, bookstore gift certificates\, Raymond Biesinger prints\, and more!  Come for a drink\, an hors d’oeuvre\, and friendly conversation. \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				Sunday December 6\, 2026\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				December 6\, 202611 am – 12:30 pmGallery \nSpeed Dating for Writers and Publishers! \nWriters\, bring your pitch and get ready to present it to a range of local publishers. This edition will feature be on poetry\, fiction and nonfiction. Introduce yourselves\, and then you’ll have three minutes to tell your publisher “date” what your book is all about. Don’t forget to leave time for questions or a little discussion. When the bell dings\, move to the next available seat and do it again. Whether you find a home for your manuscript or not\, you’ll make contacts and gather information that may serve you now and in the future. Limited number of participants\, preregistration is required and will open on November 23rd\, check readquebec.ca for updates.  \n\n\n\nWith:Noelle Allen\, Wolsak & Wynn\nManahil Bandukwala\, Brick Books \nFiona Jeffries\, Fernwood Publishing\nLis McLoughlin\, NatureCulture\nConnie McParland or Michael Mirolla\, Guernica Editions\nModerated by Remy Attig\n\nRemy Attig\, PhD\, is the executive director of the Quebec Writers’ Federation. Prior to joining QWF\, Remy worked as an associate professor of sociolinguistics and translation\, where their research focused on minority/minoritized language communities. In a pre-academic life\, they worked as the senior director of operations at the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE)\, the operations manager of the David Suzuki Foundation\, and the executive director of Projet 10 / Project 10\, Montreal’s longest-running organization supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. Through their research\, teaching\, writing\, and activism\, Remy demonstrates that the way people tell their stories\, and the language(s) they choose to use\, are often as important as the message they share with the world. \nNoelle Allen is the owner and publisher of Wolsak and Wynn. She has served on many boards and committees within the industry\, including as the Chair of the Literary Press Group\, the Co-chair of gritLit: Hamilton’s Readers and Writers Festival and as the Chair of the Literary Advisory Committee for the Hamilton Arts Council. Currently she is working with Supercrawl\, Hamilton’s Music and Arts Festival to organize the festival’s literary programming. She recently founded Sharp Words: Hamilton’s Winter Book Fair and in 2024 received the Arts Champion Award from the City of Hamilton. \nManahil Bandukwala is the author of Heliotropia (Brick Books 2024; shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Award\, the Raymond Souster Award\, and the Ottawa Book Award\, and winner of the Archibald Lampman Award) and MONUMENT (Brick Books 2022). She was selected as a Writer’s Trust of Canada Rising Star in 2023. She is currently Managing Editor for Brick Books. See her work at manahilbandukwala.com. \nConnie Guzzo McParland\, President and Co‑director of Guernica Editions\, holds a BA in Italian Literature and an MA in Creative Writing from Concordia University. She is the author of the novels The Girls of Piazza d’Amore (2013) and The Women of Saturn (2017)\, the latter translated into Italian as Le donne di Saturno (2019). Her nonfiction work includes the biography An Opera in 3 Acts\, translated into French as Un opéra en 3 actes (2021). She also translated The Twelfth Room\, the English edition of La Dodicesima Stanza. Her latest work\, Stitch by Stitch\, Punto per punto\, De fil à aiguille\, launching in March 2027\, is a collection of stories and testimonials about Italian immigrant women who laboured in the garment industry in Quebec. \nHer writing has been recognized with numerous distinctions\, including the Concordia University David McKeen Award in Creative Writing (2008) for her thesis Girotondo; a shortlist nomination for the Quebec Writers’ Federation First Book Award for The Girls of Piazza d’Amore (2013). \nFiona Jeffries (she/her) is an Acquisitions and Development editor at Fernwood Publishing\, a worker-run independent book publisher that focuses on critical perspectives across a range of subjects and voices. In keeping with Fernwood’s mission\, her editorial work is wide ranging and informed by her academic training and activist commitments. \nLis McLoughlin\, PhD is the founder and director of NatureCulture® www.nature-culture.net\, a publishing company through which she directs the Writing the Land® Project www.writingtheland.org\, which pairs poets with conserved lands\, and creates anthologies sold for land conservation. Lis has degrees in Civil Engineering\, Education\, and Science and Technology Studies. She lives off-grid in Northfield\, Massachusetts and part-time in Montréal\, Québec. \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				December 6\, 202611:15 am – 12:15 pmRotunda \nSpace Cases: Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau and Francis Desharnais in Conversation \nModerated by François Vigneault \nTwo superpowers. Billions of dollars. One very confused dog. In The Conquest of the Cosmos\, writer Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau (Vampire Cousins) and artist Francis Desharnais (Little Russia) turn the Space Race into a rocket-fueled comedy of massive egos\, clashing ideologies\, and extremely questionable decisions. Join the duo for a conversation about finding the funny side of the Cold War\, the power of minimalism in art\, and the fact that bilious billionaires and international tensions keep this satirical graphic history surprisingly relevant. No scientific knowledge required! Featuring a full-cast reading from the book! Moderated by François Vigneault. \nFrancis Desharnais is one of the most prolific authors in Quebec’s growing comics scene\, with titles including Art Wars\, the Motel Galactic trilogy (with Pierre Bouchard)\, and Burquette\, which was adapted as an animated series by the National Film Board of Canada. His book Little Russia has won numerous awards\, including the prestigious Prix des libraires du Québec and the Grand prix de la ville de Québec for best graphic novel. Also active in animated film\, he won the Young Audience Award at the Annecy Festival in 2025 for his film The Great Annual Party of the Creatures of the Moon. \nAlexandre Fontaine Rousseau does not draw\, but he does write comic book scripts… Quite a lot of them\, in fact. His graphic novel collaborations include Vampire Cousins with Cathon\, The Conquest of the Cosmos and Les premiers aviateurs with Francis Desharnais\, and La pitoune et la poutine and Les canots de Satan with Xavier Cadieux. He is also the author of non-fiction books Musiques du diable and Vieille école. He lives and works in Montreal. \nFrançois Vigneault is an American-born cartoonist and illustrator living in Québec. His wide-ranging creative practice also encompasses book design\, lettering\, translation\, publishing\, curation\, and festival organization. He is notably the creator of the science-fiction graphic novel TITAN (Oni Press\, 2020/Éditions Pow Pow\, 2017) and the illustrator of books including Le Gâteau empoisonné by André Marois (Éditions de la Pastèque\, 2025) and Extraordinary Eyeglasses by Caroline Stevan (Helvetiq). His work has been nominated for numerous awards—and has even won a few of them. \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				December 6\, 202612 pm – 1pmBabar Books Kids’ Nook \nAh-Ma’s Home with Gillian Sze \nPoet and children’s book author Gillian Sze will read her beautiful new book\, Ah Ma’s Home\, to kids of all ages in the Babar Kids’ Book Nook. The story of a child whose grandmother tells enchanting stories of her own childhood in China\, Ah Ma’s Home tenderly engages with immigration\, relationships bridging generations\, and the way a child’s imagination helps her understand how to fit into her world. Gillian will be available to sign books following the reading at the Babar Books table. \nGillian Sze is a poet and children’s writer. She is the recipient of the Pat Lowther Memorial Award for Quiet Night Think and the QWF’s A. M. Klein Poetry Prize for her latest book\, An Orange\, A Syllable. Her books for children have been shortlisted for the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards and CBC Kids Read. She teaches creative writing and literature at Concordia University. \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				December 6\, 202612:30 pm – 1:30 pmRotunda \nPoetry Lightning Round \n\nWith:\n\nTanya Bellehumeur-Allatt\, The Hospitality of Trees\nAlexei Perry Cox\, Space \nRobin Durnford\, At Beckett’s Grave\nValerie Free\, On Occasion contributor\nLeigh Kotsilidis\, Some of Us May Live\nErín Moure\, On Occasion contributor\nSina Queyras\, On Occasion (ed.)\nNicole Rayiza Fong\, SUBTEXT\nSabyah Seyam\, On Occasion contributor\nMisha Solomon\, My Great-Grandfather Danced Ballet\nChanel Sutherland\, On Occasion contributor\n\nModerated by Jason Camlot \nLocal poets will share tasty snippets from their new books in a fun\, fast-paced and festive Lightning Round featuring  some of the most current Quebec poetry in English. Authors of new books and contributors to the anthology On Occasion will give you just enough to whet your appetite for more. Stay and get your new books signed after the event. \nTanya Bellehumeur-Allatt is the author of the critically acclaimed Carrying War (Dundurn\, 2026)\, featured in The Globe and Mail as one of the 36 Best Books of Summer. Her debut memoir\, Peacekeeper’s Daughter (Thistledown\, 2021)\, was a finalist for the Mavis Gallant Nonfiction Award. Tanya has two poetry collections: Chaos Theories of Goodness (Shoreline\, 2022) and The Hospitality of Trees (Shoreline\, 2025). She lives in North Hatley\, QC. \nJason Camlot is the author of five collections of poetry including The Animal Library (DC Books\, 2000)\, What The World Said (Mansfield\, 2013)\, and Vlarf (McGill Queen’s\, 2021)\, and most recently\, a constellation of chapbooks (released by Vallum\, Apartment 9\, above/ground\, No Press\, and Turret House Press) presenting sections from the Shooky sessions\, collaboratively composed by listening and writing\, with Stuart Ross. Jason’s critical works include Phonopoetics: The Making of Early Literary Recordings (Stanford\, 2019) and the co-edited collections\, Collection Thinking (Routledge\, 2024)\, Unpacking the Personal Library (Wilfrid Laurier UP\, 2023)\, and CanLit Across Media (McGill-Queen’s UP\, 2019). He is Professor of English at Concordia University. \nRobin Durnford has published poetry and prose in several Canadian literary magazines\, including The Antigonish Review\, Grain\, Vallum\, Canadian Literature\, and CV2. The author of four books of poetry\, her latest At Beckett’s Grave was a finalist for the 2026 Derek Walcott Poetry Prize. \nLeigh Kotsilidis has written two full-length collections of poetry\, Hypotheticals (2011) and Some of Us May Live (2026)\, both with Coach House Books. Her poems have also appeared in journals and magazines\, including The Malahat Review\, Prism international\, EVENT\, The Fiddlehead\, Prairie Fire\, and Hazlitt\, as well as being anthologized in The Best Canadian Poetry in English and IV Lounge Nights\, among others. She is also an intermedia artist. Kotsilidis lives and works in Tiohtiá:ke (Montreal). \nErín Moure is a poet and translator. She has published 19 books of poetry\, and translations of more than 25 books of poetry by others from Galician\, Spanish\, French\, and Portuguese (including Nicole Brossard\, Andrés Ajens\, Chantal Neveu\, Rosalia de Castro\, Chus Pato\, Fernando Pessoa). Her most recent book is Theophylline: a poetic migration via the modernisms of Rukeyser\, Bishop\, Grimké (Anansi\, 2023)\, and her most recent translation is of Galician poet Chus Pato’s Sonora (Veliz Books\, 2026).  \nSina Queyras is a Montreal/Tiohtià:ke-based writer\, professor\, editor\, and literary organizer. Recent work includes Rooms (2022)\, a blend of memoir\, poetry\, and criticism offering a peek into the defining spaces of the author as a young queer writer\, and My Ariel (2017)\, a collection riffing on Sylvia Plath’s Ariel\, reimagining\, queering\, and inhabiting its iconic poems. They are the author of multiple poetry collections\, including Lemon Hound\, which won the Pat Lowther and Lambda awards and Expressway\, nominated for a Governor General’s Award. Queyras was also a co-editor of Avant Desire: A Nicole Brossard Reader (2020)\, which traces the essential feminist poet’s innovation\, experimentation\, and activism across her body of work. They recently edited On Occasion: Poems for the People (Coach House Books 2026).  \nNicole Raziya Fong (they / she) is a poet\, editor\, and painter living in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal\, Québec\, Canada. They are the author of SUBTEXT (2026\, Talonbooks)\, ORACULE (2021\, Talonbooks)\, PERFACT (2019\, Talonbooks)\, and other works. Writing appears in journals including The Capilano Review\, carte blanche\, and Social Text. Their work has received support from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts. Their work seeks to delimit and reconstruct immaterial ampoules of psychic experience\, coaxing the incorporeal into inhabiting a more muscular physique. \nValerie Free’s poetry has been published by CV2 and Canadian Woman Studies. “How to Construct a Vivarium” appears in the anthology On Occasion: Poetry for the People (Coach House Press\, Sina Queyras\, ed.). Her short stories appear online in Writers’ Hour Magazine Substack; Wild Greens; Agnes and True; and in the print anthology Short Stuff (Véhicule Press). An alumna of Sage Hill Writing’s Playwriting Lab\, Valerie received an Honourable Mention for Hiding in the House of Talents in Theatre BC’s 2023 Playwriting Competition. She lives in Tiohtià:ke / Montréal\, where Marina’s Candidacy for Motherhood with Key Witnesses was recently performed at Stage Fright (Moment Theatre Collective). @freewriterval \nSabyah Seyam is a Palestinian writer born and currently based in Tiohtià:ke (so-called Montreal). She holds a BA in Creative Writing from Concordia University\, where she is currently completing her MA in the same program. She was a poetry editor of Soliloquies Anthology. Her publications include Yolk\, Frontier Poetry\, The Malahat Review\, and Coach House’s 2026 anthology\, On Occasion: Poems for the People. Sabyah’s current writerly interests include colonized identities\, the working class\, the power of language\, and the power of privacy in a hyper-connected world. \nMisha Solomon is a homosexual poet in and of Tiohtià:ke/Montréal. His work has appeared in journals across Canada and has been anthologized in Best Canadian Poetry 2024\, 2026\, and 2027 (Biblioasis) and in On Occasion: Poems for the People (Coach House). He is a student in Concordia University’s Interdisciplinary Humanities PhD program. He is the author of three chapbooks and his full-length debut\, My Great-Grandfather Danced Ballet\, was released by Brick Books in March 2026.  \nChanel Sutherland is a Vincentian Canadian writer of fiction and creative nonfiction. She won the 2021 CBC Nonfiction Prize and the 2022 CBC Short Story Prize and was named one of CBC Books 30 Writers to Watch in 2022. Chanel is also the overall winner of the 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. She has a BA in English literature from Concordia University and lives in Montreal\, Quebec. Her first collection of short stories\, titled Layaway Child\, is out now from House of Anansi. \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				 \nDecember 6\, 20261:45-2:45 pmRotunda \nVéhicule Showcase: Who Gets Remembered? \nWith:Zeenat NagreeDavid HomelÉric Dupont \nModerated by Dimitri Nasrallah. \nWhat do a coming-of-age novel that takes place in Bombay\, a collection of essays on forgotten women jazz musicians\, and a novel that celebrates Montreal and a ghost have in common? All three books are amazing and entertaining acts of remembering or recovery. Come and meet Zeenat Nagree (My Summer Vacation)\, David Homel (translator of Black Satin by Stanley Péan)\, and Éric Dupont (The Colour of Time\, or the Incredible Story of Mary Gallagher) in conversation with Dimitri Nasrallah. \nZeenat Nagree is an independent writer and curator who grew up in Bombay and now divides her time between India and Canada. Having studied art history in Chicago\, she writes on contemporary art and curates exhibitions. My Summer Vacation is her first book. \nDavid Homel is the author of ten novels and a memoir\, as well as a series of books for younger readers co-written with Marie-Louise Gay. A prize-winning writer and translator\, he has worked in documentary film\, print and radio journalism. He lives in Montreal. \nBorn in Amqui\, Quebec\, Éric Dupont studied at Carleton University\, the Free University of Berlin\, the Université de Montréal and the University of Toronto. Dupont’s La fiancée américaine\, released in 2012\, won the Prix des libraires du Québec and the Prix littéraire des collégiens. Its English translation\, Songs for the Cold of Heart\, translated by Peter McCambridge\, was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2018 and subsequently published by HarperCollins outside of Canada as The American Fiancée. Éric Dupont lives in Montreal. \nDimitri Nasrallah is the author of four novels\, including Hotline\, a Canadian bestseller that was long-listed for the 2022 Giller Prize and was a 2023 finalist for Canada Reads. Nasrallah was born in Lebanon in 1977\, during the country’s civil war\, and moved to Canada in 1988. His previous books include The Bleeds (2018); Niko (2011)\, which won the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction; and Blackbodying (2005)\, which won Quebec’s McAuslan First Book Prize. His books have also been nominated for the Dublin Literary Award and the Grand Prix du Livre de Montréal. Nasrallah was the fiction editor of Esplanade Books from 2013 to 2025\, and currently teaches creative writing at Concordia University. He lives in Montreal.  \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				December 6\, 20263 pm – 4 pmRotunda \nInfiniPRESS Showcase \nWith:Zach Fraser\, Whalefall (collaborator)Ashe Lang\, WhalefallRiley Wilson\, Whalefall (collaborator)Mohsen El Gharbi\, Omi MounaLeanna Brodie\, Omi Mouna (translator)Catherine Chabot\, Clean SlateJennie Herbin\, Clean Slate (translator) \nModerated by Zach Fraser. \nCome hear from InfiniPRESS\, Montreal’s young and dynamic publisher of playwrights’ new work originating in English and in translation.  \nLeanna Brodie is a leading translator of Québécois and Franco-Canadian playwrights. Recent productions: David Paquet’s The Weight of Ants and The Shoe (The Cherry Arts\, Ithaca NY) and Wildfire (Factory Theatre\, Toronto ON\, Talisman Theatre\, Montréal QC\, and Upstream Theater\, St. Louis MO); Catherine Léger’s Home Deliveries (Ruby Slippers Theatre/Jericho Arts Centre\, Vancouver); Fanny Britt’s Benevolence (GCTC\, Ottawa); Sébastien Harrisson’s From Alaska (Belfry Theatre\, Victoria)\, and Rébecca Déraspe’s I Am William (Stratford Festival). Brodie is currently translating Rébecca Déraspe’s Those Who Have Vanished (The Search Party) and River Ice\, Breaking (Talisman Theatre) and Nathalie Doummar’s Sissi (Ruby Slippers). Her translations have won two PGC Tom Hendry Awards and a Dora Mavor Moore Award. She is also an award-winning playwright and performer: Salesman in China (co-written with Jovanni Sy) was staged at the Stratford Festival and National Arts Centre in 2024\, winning the QWF Prize for Best New Play. Learn more about her work at www.leannabrodie.com. \nZach Fraser is a Montreal-based director\, performer\, puppet maker\, and Artistic Director of Infinithéâtre. He strives to create original works that are both socially poignant and artistically compelling. Originally from Nova Scotia\, Zach trained at Dalhousie University\, followed by extensive studies with the one-of-a-kind Philippe Gaulier in England and France\, as well as specialized puppetry studies at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Zach teaches in the Theatre Department at John Abbott College\, the National Theatre School of Canada\, UQÀM\, and is currently the president of the board for the Association québecoise des marionnettistes.  \nMohsen El Gharbi defines himself as a theatre craftsman — an approach shaped by his Lecoq training at Lassaad in Brussels\, where the actor is the author of his own work. Deeply committed to the solo form\, he has created six one-man shows exploring themes of violence\, identity\, and memory. As a writer and performer\, his work has toured across Canada and Europe. For his work on Omi Mouna – A Fantastic Encounter with My Great-Grandmother\, Mohsen was nominated in the category of Outstanding Lead Performance at the Montreal English Theatre Awards (METAs). His documentary Omi Mouna’s Secret travelled to festivals on three continents. He continues to write\, perform\, and create. \nAshe Lang is a Montreal-based multidisciplinary artist specializing in handcrafted props and accessories for film and live performance. Raised near the ocean in the Dominican Republic\, Ashe developed a deep reverence for the sea from an early age. Certified as a SCUBA diver at 11\, her firsthand encounters with both the breathtaking wonder of marine life and the stark impacts of human activity have continually drawn her back to ocean conservation. Over the past decade\, Ashe has honed her craft in design\, painting\, and detailed prop fabrication for major productions\, including Cirque du Soleil (Alegría\, Kà\, The Beatles LOVE)\, blockbuster films\, and local theatre. She is also a passionate writer whose short stories have earned multiple accolades. Whalefall is her first play to be produced and published. \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				December 7\, 2025\, 3 – 4 pmMain Stage\, Salle des célébrations \nSeeing Things: Lee Lai and Arizona O’Neill in Conversation \nFrom spectral magpies to Frankenstein’s Monster (actually he much prefers “Frankie”)\, unsettling visions haunt the protagonists of Cannon and Opioids & Organs\, two of the most talked-about graphic narratives this year. Join Montreal authors Lee Lai and Arizona O’Neill for a freewheeling conversation about blurring the boundaries between the real and the imaginary\, tackling “intergenerational trauma shit” both obliquely and head-on\, and why the comic book medium is the ideal form for true stories\, invented tales\, and everything in between. Featuring short readings from both authors. Moderated by François Vigneault. \nArizona O’Neill is a Montreal author and illustrator. She is the illustrator of Nelly Arcan’s L’enfant dans le miroir and Heather O’Neill’s Valentine in Montreal. Her comics have appeared in Hazlitt\, Exclaim!\, Canadian Geographic\, and the Montreal Gazette. She has created animated videos for many outlets\, including CBC. Opioids and Organs is her debut graphic novel out with Drawn & Quarterly. \nLee Lai is an Australian cartoonist living in Tio’tia:ke (colonially Montreal). Her latest graphic novel Cannon is with Drawn & Quarterly\, Giramondo\, Sarbacane and other publishers. She lives with her two roommates and a cat called Pumpkin. \nFrançois Vigneault is an American-born cartoonist living in Québec. He is the creator of the sci-fi graphic novel TITAN (Oni Press\, 2020 / Éditions Pow Pow\, 2017)\, the illustrator of books including Le gâteau empoisonée (Éditions de la Pastèque\, 2025)\, Extraordinary Eyeglasses (Helvetiq\, 2024)\, and Orcs in Space (Oni Press 2021-22)\, and also works as a translator and designer.
URL:https://readquebec.ca/event/2026-read-quebec-book-fair/
LOCATION:Casa d’Italia\, 505 rue Jean Talon est\, Montreal\, QC\, H2R 1T6\, Canada
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