Read Quebec

Read Quebec Book Fair 2023
2023-11-03 11:00 - 2023-11-04 18:00 (America/Toronto) | McConnell Building Atrium, Concordia University, 1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1M8, Canada
The Read Quebec Book Fair is back! Formerly known as the Holiday Book Fair, the Fair returns for its eighth installment on November 3-4 in the Concordia McConnell Building Atrium to present more than twenty overflowing tables of exciting new works from local publishers, authors, and translators, a full program of hybrid literary events, and multiple author signings.
Produced by the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ) in partnership with the Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF), the Read Quebec Book Fair celebrates the vibrancy of the English-language literary scene in Quebec, with local publishers displaying their titles, and Librairie Paragraphe selling books from Quebec writers and translators published elsewhere. The Fair will offer fun for young booklovers, with a cozy, book-filled Kids’ Nook both days, and creative activities on Saturday afternoon. There will be a wine-and-cheese reception on Friday and coffee on Saturday morning.
The fair is open Friday and Saturday November 3-4, 2023, from 11 am – 6 pm, in the Atrium of the McConnell Building at Concordia University, 1400 De Maisonneuve Boulevard W. The building is accessible directly from Guy metro and fully accessible to wheelchairs and strollers. In accordance with public health guidelines, mask wearing for in-person events is optional, though encouraged, with hand sanitizing stations available at all locations.
Find below the full Read Quebec Book Fair Events Calendar, as well as author signing schedules.
Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Montreal Review of Books – Fall Issue Launch
Wednesday, November 1, 2023, 7 pm.
La Petite Librairie Drawn & Quarterly (176 Rue Bernard O) In-person and livestreamed. Free, no registration required.
Join us for the launch of the Fall Issue of the Montreal Review of Books, featuring Sean Michaels (Do You Remember Being Born?), Chris Bergeron (Valid) and Mostafa Henaway (Essential Work, Disposable Workers). Hosted by Montreal Review of Books editor, Malcolm Fraser. RSVP on Facebook.
Friday, November 3, 2023

Perfect Your Pitch Panel
Friday, November 3, 2023, 12 pm
4TH SPACE, McConnell Building, Concordia University
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W) In-person and livestreamed. Free, no registration required.
In partnership with the Quebec Writers’ Federation and the Writers Read series of Concordia University, a panel discussion on how to make successful nonfiction book and magazine pitches. Tips and feedback from the pros, followed by short workshops for pre-registered participants. With With Nour Abi-Nakhoul, Maisonneuve Magazine; Leigh Nash, Assembly Press; and accomplished journalist and author Adam Leith Gollner. Moderated by Matt Hays, Concordia University.

Perfect Your Pitch Workshops
Friday, November 3, 2023, 1:30 pm
Concordia University
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W) In-person. Registration required.
The panel will be followed by 90-minute workshops with Nour Abi-Nakhoul and Leigh Nash for pre-registered participants. Workshops are free, but pre-registration is required. Each workshop will be limited to 10 participants. A waiting list will be created if needed. Visit the event page for registration details.

Eight Voices: Finalists for the QWF Spoken Word Prize
Friday, November 3, 2023, 3 pm
4TH SPACE, inside the McConnell Building, Concordia University
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W) In-person and livestreamed. Free, registration required for livestream.
In an exciting live event, the finalists for the Quebec Writers’ Federation Spoken Word Prize will showcase their talents in short performances.

Read Quebec Book Fair Opening Cocktail
Friday, November 3, 2023, 4:30 pm
McConnell Building, Concordia University Atrium
1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal. Free, no registration required. In person.
Following the book fair events in the 4TH SPACE, attendees are invited to attend a wine and cheese reception to mingle with fellow book lovers, peruse and purchase books.
Saturday, November 4, 2023
On Saturday morning, coffee will be offered to browsers with the compliments of the Read Quebec Book Fair.
The books of the participating authors will be available for sale at the in-person events, and a curated selection of books by Quebec writers will also be available through the Read Quebec online catalogue. This is a wonderful opportunity to find the perfect holiday gift for your loved ones!

Create Your Own Comic Strip!
Saturday, November 4, 2023, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Atrium of McConnell Building, Concordia University
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal). Free, no registration required. In person.
We’ll explore the basic building blocks to get you started on drawing and writing a (mostly silly!) comic strip featuring fun characters we’ll create together. Close up faces, word balloons, sound effects and more! For kids 5 to 9.

Getting Lit with Linda: Live podcast recording featuring guests Catherine Hernandez and Eva Crocker
Saturday, November 4, 2023, 1 pm
DeSève Cinema, McConnell Building, Concordia University
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal). Free, no registration required. In person.
In a first-ever episode with a live audience, award-winning podcaster Dr. Linda Morra will interview novelists Catherine Hernandez and Eva Crocker. Both authors will be available to sign books afterward. Co-sponsored by Montreal’s queer reading series, the Violet Hour.

Postcards to the Future!
Saturday, November 4, 2023, 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Atrium of McConnell Building, Concordia University
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal). Free, no registration required. In person.
Mail a message to your older self. We’ll be designing with words and pictures a double sided postcard with a message you’d like your future self to know. It could be serious or playful or both, you decide what the adult version of you should know! For kids 10 and up.

Scarborough Screening
Saturday, November 4, 2023, 3:00 pm
DeSève Cinema, inside the McConnell Building, Concordia University
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal). Free, no registration required. In person.
In a pre-festival special event, Image+Nation Queer Culture, Montreal’s long-running queer film festival, will join the Violet Hour to co-sponsor this moving film, an adaptation of Catherine Hernandez’s novel of the same name.

Making Monster Heads – An Exercise in Slow Group Drawing
Saturday, November 4, 2023, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Atrium of McConnell Building, Concordia University
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal). Free, no registration required. In person.
Together we’ll SLOWLY build a weird and wonderful bunch of monster heads that we can only create as a team! For all ages.
Thank you to our generous funders, partners, and sponsors!

Montreal Review of Books – Fall Issue Launch
2023-11-01 19:00 - 21:00 | La Petite Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, 176 Bernard O, Montreal, QC, Canada
Wednesday, November 1, 2023, 7 pm.
Montreal Review of Books – Fall Issue Launch
La Petite Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, 176 Rue Bernard O, Montréal, QC H2T 2K2
In-person and live streamed. Free, no registration required.
Join us for the launch of the Fall Issue of the Montreal Review of Books, featuring Sean Michaels (Do You Remember Being Born?), Chris Bergeron (Valid) and Mostafa Henaway (Essential Work, Disposable Workers). Hosted by Montreal Review of Books editor, Malcolm Fraser. RSVP on Facebook.
Sean Michaels is the author of the novels Do You Remember Being Born?, Us Conductors, winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and The Wagers; his non-fiction has appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Guardian, Pitchfork and The New Yorker. He lives in Montreal. Photo credit: Julie Artacho.
Mostafa Henaway, a Canadian-born Egyptian, is a long-time community organizer at the Immigrant Workers Centre in Montreal, where he has been organizing for justice for immigrant/migrant workers for over two decades. He is also a researcher and PhD candidate at Concordia University.
Chris Bergeron is diverse and fluid: after beginning a career in journalism and eventually winding up at the helm of the weekly cultural magazine Voir, she now dedicates her artistic vitality to Cossette, a leading global marketing agency. She offers speaking engagements on leadership, diversity, inclusion, and trans rights. Chris lives in Montreal. Photo credit: Geneviève Charbonneau.

Get Lit! at Salon du livre de Montréal
2022-11-23 09:00 - 2022-11-27 17:00 | Palais des congrès, 1001 Pl. Jean-Paul-Riopelle, Montréal, Québec, H2Z 1H5, Canada
The Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec, the Quebec Writers’ Federation, and Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore are pleased to return to the Salon du livre de Montréal, November 23–27 at the Palais des congrès. Find us under the “Get Lit!” banner, kiosk #725, where we will have books for sale by over 125 Quebec writers and 40 publishers.
We’re also organizing book signings with local authors and translators, check out the schedule of author signings, in addition to all the exciting events scheduled below.
Our kiosk will remain open for the entirety of the Salon du livre, from Wednesday to Saturday from 9 am to 9 pm, and Sunday from 9 am to 5 pm.
Tickets for the Salon are available for purchase on-site, though it is strongly recommended to procure them ahead of time online to avoid line-ups. For kids 12 and under, you may purchase a free ticket. In accordance with public health guidelines, masking is optional, though encouraged.
To purchase a ticket, click the link below, and for all other things Salon du livre, visit their website.

Écrire au-delà de la langue maternelle – Writing Beyond the Mother Tongue

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2022
1:30 to 2:30 PM
Palais des congrès de Montréal, 1011 Jean Riopelle PI,
Espace littéraire

With guest speakers:

Baharan Baniahmadi, author
Oana Avasilichioaei, author and translator
Sylvain Neuvel, author

and host, Sherry Simon, author and translator.
Table ronde présentée par la Quebec Writers’ Federation, quels sont les avantages et les difficultés d’écrire dans une langue qui n’est pas sa langue maternelle ? Comment cet acte inhabituel influence-t-il l’œuvre d’un auteur ou d’une autrice, et ses rapports avec le langage dans son ensemble ? Tous les détails par ici.
Presented by the Quebec Writers’ Federation, join us for a panel discussion on what it means to write in a language other than one’s mother tongue, the benefits and challenges of doing so, and how this affects the work and the writer’s relationship to language overall. Details here.

Club de lecture insolite – Unexpected Book Club: Anglo-Quebec Lit
Friday, November 25th, 2022
3:45 to 4:45 PM
Palais des congrès de Montréal, 1011 Jean Riopelle PI,
Agora
With guest speakers:
Chantal Ringuet, author and translator
Gabrielle Garbeau, Librairie Racines
Arizona O’Neill, artist
and host, Annabelle Moreau, journalist and literary critic.
De Leonard Cohen à Mordecai Richler, en passant par Louise Penny, Rawi Hage ou Heather O’Neill, la littérature anglo-québécoise dépasse nos frontières et connait un grand succès à l’étranger. Mais outre certains noms réputés, elle demeure parfois méconnue du lectorat francophone. Afin d’aller au-delà des deux solitudes, trois amatrices de cette littérature — libraire, traductrice, autrice — vous proposent de partir à l’exploration de cette sphère littéraire en vous en présentant leurs lectures favorites. Cette animation est présentée en collaboration avec l’AELAQ (Association des éditeurs de langue anglaise du Québec). Tous les détails par ici.
From Leonard Cohen to Mordecai Richler, Louise Penny, Rawi Hage or Heather O’Neill, Quebec literature in English is known and celebrated beyond our borders. Apart from some well-known names, however, Anglo-Quebec authors and books can remain elusive to Quebec’s French-speaking readership. Reaching across linguistic and cultural barriers, three fans of the genre — a bookseller, a translator, and an author — explore this literary sphere by presenting their favourite books. This event is presented by AELAQ in collaboration with the Salon du livre de Montréal. Details here.

Traduire le Québec anglo – Translating English Quebec
Friday, November 25th, 2022
5:00 to 5:45 PM
Palais des congrès de Montréal, 1011 Jean Riopelle PI,
Agora
With guest speakers:
Daphné B., author and translator
Rachel McCrum, author
Jonathan Lamy, author and translator
Marcela Huerta, author
and host, Antoine Tanguay, Éditions Alto.
Table ronde présentée par la Quebec Writers’ Federation, cette table ronde avec un traducteur et une traductrice francophones et les autrices des œuvres originales en langue anglaise nous donnera l’occasion de discuter de l’importance de traduire la littérature anglo-québécoise en français, des défis que présente le processus de traduction et de l’influence qu’exercent les littératures anglophone et francophone l’une sur l’autre. Tous les détails par ici.
Presented by the Quebec Writers’ Federation, join us for a panel discussion with English-to-French translators and the authors of the original books on the importance of translating English Quebec literature into French, the challenges of the translation process, and the influence of the two literatures on each other. Details here.

Holiday Book Fair Opening Cocktail
2022-11-04 16:30 - 18:00 | McConnell Building Atrium, Concordia University, 1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1M8, Canada
Friday, November 4, 2022, 4:30 pm
McConnell Building, Concordia University Atrium
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal) Free, no registration required
Following the book fair events in the 4TH SPACE, attendees are invited to join us for a wine and cheese reception in the McConnell Atrium, with guest speakers Bert Archer, Montreal Gazette editor-in-chief, and special guest author Stanley Péan. Guests are invited to mingle, peruse and purchase books throughout the reception.
In accordance with public health guidelines, mask wearing is optional, though strongly encouraged. The Concordia Atrium is accessible from the Maisonneuve entrance, with an elevator located at metro level for those travelling underground. This event is in-person only and will not be live-streamed.
Explore other 2022 Holiday Book Fair events here, and discover more English-language books written, published, or translated in Quebec at ReadQuebec.ca.
Thank you to our generous funders, partners, and sponsors!

Jazz Stories: En Direct
2022-11-04 15:00 - 16:30 | 4TH SPACE, Concordia University, 1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1M8, Canada
Friday, November 4, 2022, 3 pm
4TH SPACE, Concordia University
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal) Free, no registration required
In this Holiday Book Fair feature event, author and Radio Canada personality Stanley Péan will discuss his new book Black and Blue: Jazz Stories with host Jason “Blackbird” Selman. They will be joined by Anita Anand (A Convergence of Solitudes), Rana Bose (Shaf and the Remington), and Kasia Van Schaik (We Have Never Lived On Earth) for a musically inspired session of improvised live writing, projected on the 4th Space screens.
In-person event details: In accordance with public health guidelines, mask wearing is optional, though strongly encouraged. The 4th Space is fully accessible from the Maisonneuve entrance, with an elevator located at metro level for those travelling underground.
Live streaming details: The event will be live-streamed to the 4TH SPACE YouTube account, no prior registration is required. Tune in at 3 pm on November 4, 2022, to view and participate in the Q&A via the chat function.
Explore other 2022 Holiday Book Fair events here, and discover more English-language books written, published, or translated in Quebec at ReadQuebec.ca.
…
Stanley Péan is the author of eight novels, a couple of essays (mostly about jazz) and eight short story collections, including the upcoming Crépusculaires (Éditions Mains libres, 2022). Since the summer of 2009, he has been piloting the program Quand le jazz est là every week night on ICI Musique, Radio-Canada’s all-music radio network. The original French version of Black and Blue: Jazz Stories was awarded the Prix Victor-Barbeau for best essay by l’Académie des lettres du Québec in 2020. Last Summer, the Festival international de Jazz de Montréal has presented Péan the Bruce-Lundvall Award, given annually to a non-musician who has left a mark on the world of jazz or contributed to the development of the music, through the media, the concert or record industries. Black and Blue: Jazz Stories will be available for purchase at the Véhicule Press table at the Holiday Book Fair, or online here.
Jason “Blackbird” Selman is a Montreal born poet, trumpet player and community worker. He is the author The Freedom I Stole (2007, Cumulus Press), Africa As A Dream That Travels Through My Heart (2016, Howl) and co-editor of the poetry anthology Talking Book (2006, Cumulus Press) which chronicles the writings of Kalmunity Vibe Collective (of which he is a founding member). He works as a teaching artist, conducting poetry workshops in schools across the Montréal area and beyond. His work is grounded in the themes of ethno-musicology, surrealist expression, love and the intersection of masculinity and emotional vulnerability.
Anita Anand is not the Minister of Defense, merely her namesake. She is an ESL teacher, literary translator and author from Montreal. Her first book, Swing in the House and Other Stories, won the QWF-Concordia University First Book Prize. A Convergence of Solitudes is her first novel, which will be available for purchase at the Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore table at the Holiday Book Fair, or online.
Rana Bose is a novelist, poet, playwright and retired professional engineer. He is a founding editor of montrealserai.com. His fourth novel, Shaf and the Remington, was released on September 25, 2022, and will be available for purchase at the Baraka Books table at the Holiday Book Fair, or online here. His third novel, Fog, was awarded the Best Canadian Fiction for 2019, by the Miramichi Reader.
Kasia Van Schaik is the author of the linked story collection, We Have Never Lived on Earth, and the poetry chapbook, Sea Burial Laws According to Country. Her writing has appeared in the LA Review of Books, CBC Books, The Rumpus, Maisonneuve Magazine, Electric Literature, and elsewhere. A postdoctoral fellow at Concordia University, Kasia is currently working on a book of cultural criticism entitled Women Among Monuments and is also co-editing an essay collection, Shelter in Text, which interrogates the relationship between the physical and textual spaces we inhabit. Kasia lives in Tiohti:áke (Montreal).
Thank you to our generous funders, partners, and sponsors!

Eight Voices: Finalists for the First QWF Spoken Word Prize
2022-11-04 13:00 - 14:30 | 4TH SPACE, Concordia University, 1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1M8, Canada
Friday, November 4, 2022, 1 pm
4th Space, inside the McConnell Building, Concordia University
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal) Free, no registration required
In an exciting world premiere, the eight finalists for the inaugural Quebec Writers’ Federation Spoken Word Prize will offer short performances showcasing their talents. The prize is open to all forms of spoken word performance, from storytelling to sound poetry, hip hop, and dub. Presented by the Quebec Writers’ Federation and Concordia’s SpokenWeb project, the event will be hosted by poet and SpokenWeb director Jason Camlot. For more information on the performers, see the finalist list below. (Note that finalist Liana Cusmano will not be performing at this event.)
In-person event details: In accordance with public health guidelines, mask wearing is optional, though strongly encouraged. The 4th Space is fully accessible from the Maisonneuve entrance, with an elevator located at metro level for those travelling underground.
Live streaming details: The event will be live-streamed to the 4TH SPACE YouTube account, no prior registration is required. Tune in at 1 pm on November 4, 2022, to view and participate in the Q&A via the chat function.
Explore other 2022 Holiday Book Fair events here, and discover more English-language books written, published, or translated in Quebec at ReadQuebec.ca.
…
Caitlin Murphy is a writer, director, and dramaturg. She has performed in one-woman shows, stand-up and sketch comedy, and a web-series she created called Mothers Try. Caitlin has also written and directed plays and short films and recently launched a digital collection of her pandemic-related art, Candy for Covid.
Debbie Braide is an energy and development specialist, spoken word poet, World Economic Forum Global Shaper, and British Chevening alumna. An Abuja Literary Society Poetry Slam Champion, she has performed for such organizations as the United States Embassy and VSO International. She is committed to sustainable development and gender equity.
Erín Moure is a poet and poetry translator. Her most recent work includes Chus Pato’s The Face of the Quartzes (Veliz, 2021) and her own chapbooks Retooling for a Figurative Life (Vallum, 2021) and Arborescence (Columba, 2022). Her translation of Chantal Neveu’s This Radiant Life (Book*hug, 2020) won the 2021 Governor General’s Award for translation.
Johanne Pelletier is a storyteller with work featured in Canada and the US. She is the winner of the GRIT 99-Second Story Grand Slam, the producer of Good Gyn-Bad Gyn: Women’s Health Stories, and an amateur boxing judge. She teaches storytelling to scientists and start-ups.
Liana Cusmano (Luca/BiCurious George) is a writer, poet, spoken word artist, and filmmaker. They were the 2018 and 2019 Montreal Slam Champion and runner up in the 2019 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship. Their first novel, Catch and Release (2022), was published by Guernica Editions.
Lucia De Luca is an English teacher and spoken word poet. She was a finalist at the 2021 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam and recently participated in Brickyard Spoken Word’s mentorship program. As an organizer, she brought McGill University its first slam and, in the summer of 2022, oversaw the Grove Campus Poetry Show.
Raïssa Simone is a multi-disciplinary artist and writer based in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal). She has competed at numerous national poetry slams and been invited to perform at multiple spoken word shows, including the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, Toronto International Poetry Slam, Hillside Festival, and When Sisters Speak.
Roen “Blu’Rva” Higgins is an award-winning spoken word poet, educator, speaker, and creative evangelist. As the founder of The Elevated Creative, her mission is to elevate others through creative literacy and help them find their flow and tap into their genius zone.
Thank you to our generous funders, partners, and sponsors!

Holiday Book Fair 2022
2022-11-04 11:00 - 2022-11-05 17:00 | McConnell Building Atrium, Concordia University, 1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1M8, Canada
This year, the Holiday Book Fair is back – in person! After two years of virtual and hybrid book fairs in 2020 and 2021, we’re thrilled to return to the Concordia McConnell Building Atrium to present twenty overflowing tables of exciting new works from local publishers, authors, and translators, a full program of hybrid literary events, and multiple author signings. The Livres Babar Kids’ Book Nook is back, too, with a cozy pillow-filled spot for children to curl up with a book.
Produced by the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ) in partnership with the Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF), the Holiday Book Fair celebrates the vibrancy of the English-language literary scene in Quebec, with local publishers displaying their titles, and Librairie Paragraphe selling books from Quebec writers and translators published elsewhere.
We have a great lineup of exhibitors this year, including: AOS Publishing, Baraka Books, Black Rose Books, Concordia University Press, Corner Studio, Guernica Editions, Studio Georgeville, Linda Leith Publishing, Maisonneuve Magazine, Metatron, Metonymy Press, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore, Pow Pow Press, QC Fiction, The Secret Mountain, SpokenWeb, Universitas Press, Vallum, and Véhicule Press.
The fair is open Friday and Saturday November 4-5, 2022, from 11 am – 5 pm, in the Atrium of the McConnell Building at Concordia University, 1400 De Maisonneuve Boulevard W. The building is accessible directly from Guy metro and fully accessible to wheelchairs and strollers. In accordance with public health guidelines, mask wearing for in-person events is optional, though encouraged, with hand sanitizing stations available at all locations.
90 local authors will be on site at Concordia on Friday and Saturday to sign books and chat, including Terry Mosher (Aislin), Peter McAuslan, David Bradford, Toula Drimonis, Ann Lambert, Christopher DiRaddo, and many more! Here is the full schedule of author signings.
Check out the Holiday Book Fair Events Calendar for full event details, including:
Montreal Review of Books – Fall Issue Launch
Wednesday, November 2, 2022, 7 pm.
Ursa Montreal (5589 Park Avenue) Free, no registration required
Join us for the launch of the Fall Issue of the Montreal Review of Books, with readings by featured authors Alexei Perry Cox (PLACE), Neil Smith (Jones), and Toula Drimonis (We, the Others). Hosted by Montreal Review of Books editor Malcolm Fraser.
Atwater Poetry Project – Holiday Book Fair Special Edition
Thursday, November 3, 2022, 7 pm
Atwater Library and Computer Centre, Adair Auditorium
(4023 Tupper Street, Westmount) Free, no registration required
This special edition of the Atwater Poetry Project series, will feature an evening of new writings with poets Prathna Lor (Emanations), River Halen (Dream Rooms), and Trynne Delaney (the half-drowned). Moderated by APP curator Faith Paré.
Eight Voices: Finalists for the First QWF Spoken Word Prize
Friday, November 4, 2022, 1 pm
4TH SPACE, inside the McConnell Building, Concordia University
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal) Free, no registration required
In an exciting world premiere, the eight finalists for the inaugural Quebec Writers’ Federation Spoken Word Prize will offer short performances showcasing their talents. The prize is open to all forms of spoken word performance, from storytelling to sound poetry, hip hop, and dub. Presented by the Quebec Writers’ Federation and Concordia’s SpokenWeb project, the event will behosted by poet and SpokenWeb director Jason Camlot.
Jazz Stories: En Direct
Friday, November 4, 2022, 3 pm
4TH SPACE, inside the McConnell Building, Concordia University
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal) Free, no registration required
Author and Radio Canada personality Stanley Péan will discuss his new book Black and Blue: Jazz Stories with host Jason “Blackbird” Selman. They will be joined by Anita Anand (A Convergence of Solitudes), Rana Bose (Shaf and the Remington), and Kasia Van Schaik (We Have Never Lived On Earth) for a musically inspired session of improvised live writing.
Wine and Cheese Reception
Friday, November 4, 2022, 4:30 pm
McConnell Building, Concordia University Atrium
(1400 Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal) Free, no registration required
Following the book fair events in the 4TH SPACE, attendees are invited to join us for a wine and cheese reception in the McConnell Atrium, with guest speakers Bert Archer, Montreal Gazette editor-in-chief, and special guest author Stanley Péan. Guests are invited to mingle, peruse and purchase books throughout the reception. This event is in-person only and will not be livestreamed.
On Saturday morning, coffee will be offered to browsers with the compliments of the Holiday Book Fair.
The books of the participating authors will be available for sale at the in-person events, and a curated selection of books by Quebec writers will also be available through the Read Quebec online catalogue. This is a wonderful opportunity to find the perfect holiday gift for your loved ones!
Thank you to our generous funders, partners, and sponsors!

Atwater Poetry Project – Holiday Book Fair Special Edition
2022-11-03 19:00 - 20:00 | Atwater Library, 4023 Tupper Street, Westmount, Québec, H3Z 1T4, Canada
Thursday, November 3, 2022, 7 pm
Atwater Library and Computer Centre, Adair Auditorium
(4023 Tupper Street, Westmount) Free, no registration required
Join us for a special edition of the Atwater Poetry Project series, in the Adair Auditorium of the Atwater Library and Computer Centre. This evening of new writing will feature poets Prathna Lor (Emanations), River Halen (Dream Rooms), and Trynne Delaney (the half-drowned), with readings moderated by APP curator, Faith Paré.
In-person event details: Space is limited; first come, first seated. In accordance with public health guidelines, mask wearing for in-person events is optional, though encouraged. The Atwater Library and Adair Auditorium are accessible by elevator. Be sure to use the entrance on 4023 Tupper Street, around the corner from Atwater Avenue. For elevator access, use the accessible entrance in the alley off Tupper.
Live streaming details: The event will be live-streamed to our YouTube account, no prior registration is required. Tune in at 7 pm on November 3, 2022, to view and participate in the Q&A via the chat function.
Explore other 2022 Holiday Book Fair events here, and discover more English-language books written, published, or translated in Quebec at ReadQuebec.ca.
…
River Halen is an award-winning, transgender writer of Catalan and Danish descent living in Tio’tia:ke/Mooniyang/Montreal. Their poems and essays dealing with relation, ecology, transformation, and sexuality have been published widely in Canada, as well as in the U.S., Australia, and in translation in Japan. Their first book, Match, was shortlisted for the Trillium Book Award for Poetry, and their most recent book, Dream Rooms, a collection of essays and poems, includes works selected for Best Canadian Essays and was praised by the Bay Area Reporter as “unique and mesmerizing.” Visit their website, Facebook, or Instagram.
Part essay, part poem, part fever dream journal entry, Dream Rooms is a book about personal revolution, about unravelling a worldview to make space for different selves and realities. Set in the years that led up to author River Halen coming out as trans, this collection concerns itself with what sits on the surface of daily life, hidden in plain view, hungry for address—what it means to take a stranger’s pet rabbit to the vet in a year of accelerating extinctions, to lose your clothes to a moth infestation then buy a duvet made of fossil fuels, to learn your bookshelf is full of work written by rapists and rape apologists, to consider a birth control device as a narrative about bodies and their possibilities, then pull the string. Deeply queer and trans not only in its content but in its thinking, Dream Rooms invites readers to that place in consciousness where fear and desire, hidden information and common knowledge brush up against each other and are mutually transformed.
Trynne Delaney is a writer currently based in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal). They hold a Master of Arts in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Calgary. Their work appears in The Puritan, CV2, Carte Blanche, GUTS, WATCH YOUR HEAD, and the League of Canadian Poets’ chapbook These Lands: a collection of voices by Black Poets in Canada, edited by Chelene Knight. They grew up in the Maritimes. the half-drowned, a poetic novella, was published by Metatron Press in spring 2022. Visit their website, and Twitter.
the half-drowned is a vision of a future at the end of the world where what survives is the shapeshifting love of family both given and chosen. Drawing on the Afro-diasporic ancestral knowledge of water and the urgency of desire, Delaney builds a glittering, speculative world where community holds through grief, where we must choose to fend for ourselves while also caring for others. the half-drowned is a genre-bending novella that crafts a polyphony of voices to speak to and through our lives and dreams in order to reach for the unspoken and unsayable and make it heard.
Prathna Lor is a poet, essayist, editor and educator, who has published in Canadian Literature, DIAGRAM, C Magazine, Jacket2, Poetry is Dead and Plenitude Magazine, among others. Lor is Poetry Editor at Shrapnel Magazine and holds a PhD from the University of Toronto. They live in Montreal, QC. Visit their website.
Emanations (Wolsak & Wynn 2022) is a meditation on the spirit of disaster, both personal and collective. Pushing always against commodification, against a consumable narrative, Prathna Lor charts the depths of the self, searching for an internal music. With a lyric style that emerges from the ruins of unwanted life, Prathna Lor has created a debut collection that is radiant to touch.
Thank you to our generous funders, partners, and sponsors!

Montreal Review of Books – Fall 2022 Issue Launch
2022-11-02 19:00 - 20:30 | Ursa Mtl, 5589, Park Avenue,, Montreal, Québec, H2V 4S8, Canada
Montreal Review of Books – Fall Issue Launch
Wednesday, November 2, 2022, 7 pm
Ursa Montreal
5589, Park Avenue, Montreal (Québec) H2V 4S8
Free admission. In person and live-streamed (see below for details)
Join us for the launch of the Fall Issue of the Montreal Review of Books, with readings by featured authors Alexei Perry Cox (PLACE), Neil Smith (Jones), and Toula Drimonis (We, the Others). Hosted by Montreal Review of Books editor Malcolm Fraser.
In-person event details: Space is limited; first come, first seated. In accordance with public health guidelines, mask wearing for in-person events is optional, though encouraged. Ursa Mtl is at garden-level and have a small set of stairs leading into the venue. They unfortunately do not have a ramp, but we are happy to help accommodate folks to the best of our ability. Please let us know if you require assistance with the stairs. Doors will open at 6:30 pm.
Live streaming details: The event will be live-streamed to our YouTube account, no prior registration is required. Tune in at 7 pm on November 2, 2022, to view and participate in the Q&A via the chat function.
Explore other 2022 Holiday Book Fair events here, and discover more English-language books written, published, or translated in Quebec at ReadQuebec.ca.
We look forward to seeing you on November 2nd!
…
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.
Alexei Perry Cox is a writer and teacher and organizer. She is the author of Night 3 | اليوم الرابع (Centre for Expanded Poetics), Re:Evolution (Gap Riot Press), Finding Places to Make Places (Vallum), as well as the full length collection Under Her (Insomniac Press). PLACE is now out from Noemi Press. Her poetry and criticism has graced the pages of a wide variety of publications, including Jouranl Safar (جورنال سفر), Arc Poetry Magazine, Moko Magazine, Carte Blanche and The Georgia Review. At the core of her makings is the belief that we imagine relationally, sometimes with words and sometimes with graze.
Neil Smith is a Canadian writer and translator. His novel Boo, published in 2015, won the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. Boo was also nominated for a Sunburst Award and the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award, and was longlisted for the Prix des libraires du Québec. Smith published his debut book, the short story collection Bang Crunch, in 2007. It was chosen as a best book of the year by the Washington Post and the Globe and Mail, won the McAuslan First Book Prize from the Quebec Writers’ Federation, and was a finalist for the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. Three stories in the book were also nominated for the Journey Prize. Smith also works as a translator, from French to English. The Goddess of Fireflies, his translation of Geneviève Pettersen’s novel La déesse des mouches à feu, was nominated for a Governor General’s Literary Award for translation.
Thank you to our generous funders, partners, and sponsors!

Get Lit! at Salon du Livre de Montréal 2021
2021-11-25 - 2021-11-28 | Palais des congrès, 1001 Pl. Jean-Paul-Riopelle, Montréal, Québec, H2Z 1H5, Canada
(French follows)
Once again this year, the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec and the Quebec Writers’ Federation will participate in the Salon du livre de Montréal. During the fair at Palais des congrès, they can be found at booth 1304 under the banner “Get Lit” where they will present books by over 100 Quebec writers and 40 Quebec English-language publishers, available for purchase through the Montreal-based Paragraphe Bookstore. As part of the Salon dans la Ville, they will also offer English and bilingual activities, both online and in person. The Salon du livre is proud to welcome English-language publishers and writers from Quebec, reflecting Montreal’s linguistic diversity.
Tickets are available on site, though it is strongly suggested to procure them before to avoid line-ups. For kids 12 and under, please purchase a (free) ticket as well. Vaccination passports, photo ID, and masks will be required to enter. Children over the age of 5 must wear a mask, and all over the age of 13 must show proof of vaccination. Buy a ticket, or visit the Salon’s website for more information.
Our kiosk will remain open for the entirety of the Salon du Livre. That is, Thursday to Saturday from 9 AM-9 PM, and Sunday 9 AM-5 PM. See below for our full author signing schedule!
La langue anglaise s’invite au Salon, avec AELAQ et QWF
Cette année encore, AELAQ (Association des éditeurs de langue anglaise du Québec — Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec) et QWF (Quebec Writers’ Federation) participent au Salon du livre de Montréal. Lors du Salon au Palais des congrès, ils occuperont le kiosque 1304 sous la bannière «  Get Lit  » où des livres de plus d’une centaine d’écrivain(e)s québécois et de 40 maisons d’édition québécoises de la langue anglaise, tenus par la librairie montréalaise Paragraphe Bookstore, seront présentés. Des activités en anglais ou bilingue, faisant partie des volets en ligne et dans la ville, sont également proposées. Le Salon du livre est fier d’accueillir des éditeurs et écrivains de langue anglaise du Québec qui font écho à la diversité linguistique montréalaise.
Les billets sont disponibles sur place, mais il est fortement conseillé de les procurer d’avance pour éviter les files d’attente. Pour les enfants de 12 ans et moins, veuillez également prévoir un billet (gratuit).
Des passeports de vaccination, une carte d’identité avec photo et des masques seront exigés à l’entrée. Le port du couvre-visage est obligatoire pour toutes les personnes de 5 ans et plus, et le passeport vaccinal sera exigé pour toutes les personnes de 13 ans et plus. Pour plus d’informations et acheter un billet, cliquez ici.
Notre kiosque demeure ouvert pour toute la durée du Salon du Livre, soit du jeudi au samedi de 9h00 à 21h00 et le dimanche de 9h00 à 17h00. Consultez ci-dessous le programme complet des dédicaces !
*
Author Signing Schedule 2021/ Séances de dédicaces 2021
Thursday, November 25th
10 – 11h Tara McGowan-Ross, Nothing Will Be Different
11 – 12h Sarah Venart, I am the Big Heart
12 – 13h Jessie Jones, The Fool
13 – 14h Angela Leuck, Emergence: Contemporary Women Poets of the Eastern Townships of Quebec
14 – 15h Linda Leith, The Girl from Dream City
15 – 16h Monique Polak, Room for One More
16 – 17h Su J. Sokol, Zee
17 – 18h Cora Siré, Not In Vain You’ve Sent Me Light, and Fear the Mirror
18 – 19h Ann Lambert, The Dogs of Winter
19 – 20h H. Nigel Thomas, Easily Fooled
20 – 21h Zoe Maeve, The Gift
Friday, November 26th
10 – 11h Ami Sands Brodoff, The Sleep of Apples
11 – 12h Gillian Sze, The Night Is Deep and Wide, and My Love for You Is Always
12 – 13h Klara du Plessis, Hell Light Flesh
13 – 14h David Bradford, Dream of No One but Myself
14 – 15h Sylvain Neuvel, A History of What Comes Next
15 – 16h Pierre Anctil & Judith Weisz Woodsworth, History of the Jews in Quebec
16 – 17h Nora Loreto, Spin Doctors
17 – 18h Felicia Mihali, Pineapple Kisses in Iqaluit
18 – 19h Ann Marie Boulanger (translator), The Woman in Valencia
19 – 20h Gilles Sabourin, Montreal and the Bomb
20 – 21h Anita Aloisio, Basilicata Secrets: A Culinary Journey
Saturday, November 27th
10 – 11h Cecil Castellucci, Soupy Leaves Home
11 – 12h No Crystal Stair by Mairuth Sarsfield, Leila Marshy on behalf of Linda Leith Publishing
12 – 13h Jason Camlot, Vlarf
13 – 14h Jim Upton, Maker
14 – 15h Ian Thomas Shaw (translator) and Andrée-Anne Gratton (author), Choosing Eleonore
15 – 16h John Emil Vincent, Bitter in the Belly
16 – 17h Aimee Wall, Open Your Heart, and We, Jane
17 – 18h Christopher DiRaddo, The Family Way
18 – 19h Mitali Banerjee Ruths, Archie Celebrates Diwali
19 – 20h Pearl Pirie, footlights
20 – 21h Alex Manley (translator), Made-Up: A True Story of Beauty Culture under Late Capitalism
Sunday, November 28th
10 – 11h Daniel Sanger, Saving the City
12 – 13h David Homel, Lunging Into the Underbrush: A Life Lived Backwards
13 – 14h Katia Grubisic (translator), A Cemetery for Bees
14 – 15h Samir Shaheen-Hussain, Fighting for A Hand to Hold: Confronting Medical Colonialism against Indigenous Children in Canada
15 – 16h Gail Scott, Permanent Revolution
16 – 17h Alexis Diamond (translator) and Marie-Claude Verdier (author), Andy’s Gone

Marie-Claire Blais in conversation with Katia Grubisic
2021-11-20 19:00 - 20:30
[français ci-dessous]
Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances, this event, originally scheduled for November 17th, has been rescheduled for Saturday, November 20th, at 7 PM. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause, and hope to see you then!
Saturday, November 20, 2021, 7 p.m.
Online on Zoom, registration required (see below for details)
Iconic Quebec writer, novelist, playwright, and poet Marie-Claire Blais will discuss her novel Songs for Angel as well as the process of translation with Katia Grubisic, who rendered Des chants pour Angel into English.
The ninth novel in internationally acclaimed author Marie-Claire Blais’s extraordinary Soifs cycle, Songs for Angel is an impassioned interrogation of violence and hate that takes us into the soul of a white supremacist on the verge of a racist attack.
The conversation will take place in English and in French on Zoom. Sign-up here, the Zoom information will be emailed to you prior to the event.
Read more about and purchase a copy of Marie-Claire Blais’s Songs for Angel, translated by Katia Grubisic.
Explore other 2021 Holiday Book Fair events here, and discover more English-language books written, published, or translated in Quebec at ReadQuebec.ca.
__
En raison de circonstances imprévues, l’événement Marie-Claire Blais en conversation avec Katia Grubisic qui était prévu pour le 17 novembre, sera reporté à samedi, le 20 novembre à la même heure, 19 h. Nous vous prions de bien vouloir nous excuser pour tout inconvénient que cela peut vous causer.
Samedi 20 novembre 2021, à 19 h.
En ligne sur Zoom, inscription obligatoire (voir ci-dessous pour tous les détails).
Parmi les grandes écrivaines québécoises, la romancière, dramaturge et poète Marie-Claire Blais parlera de son roman Songs for Angel et du processus de traduction avec Katia Grubisic, écrivaine, poète et traductrice, qui signe cette version anglaise de Des chants pour Angel.
Ce neuvième roman de l’extraordinaire cycle Soifs de l’auteure de renommée internationale Marie-Claire Blais, Songs for Angel est une interrogation passionnée sur la violence et la haine qui nous plonge dans l’âme d’un suprémaciste blanc suite à une fusillade.
La conversation aura lieu en anglais et en français sur Zoom. Inscription obligatoire ici, les informations Zoom vous seront envoyées par courriel avant l’événement.
Pour en savoir plus et achetez un exemplaire de Songs for Angel de Marie-Claire Blais, traduit par Katia Grubisic, cliquez ici.
Consultez le reste de notre programmation « Holiday Book Fair » 2021, et découvrez d’autres livres de langue anglaise écrits, publiés ou traduits au Québec sur ReadQuebec.ca.

Tomson Highway in conversation with Ann-Marie MacDonald
2021-11-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Shatford Hall, Centre St. Jax, 1439 Sainte-Catherine Street W., Montreal, Québec, H3G 1S6, Canada
Thursday, November 18, 2021, 7 pm
Centre St. Jax, Shatford Hall, Sainte-Catherine street entrance
1439, Sainte-Catherine Street W., Montreal QC H3G 1S6
In person and live-streamed (see below for details)
Playwright, novelist, composer, and pianist, Tomson Highway’s play The Rez Sisters and his novel Kiss of the Fur Queen brought Cree life to the world. He will discuss his new book, Permanent Astonishment: A Memoir, with playwright, actor, and novelist Ann-Marie MacDonald, whose first book, runaway bestseller Fall On Your Knees, was a selection of Oprah’s Book Club.
Book details: Read more about and purchase a copy of Tomson Highway’s Permanent Astonishment: A Memoir. Copies will also be available for purchase at St. Jax, where the author will be available for signing.
In-person details: Tickets are not required but please note that space is limited; first come, first seated. Doors open at 6:15 pm, vaccination passports, picture ID and masks will be required upon entry. Children over the age of 5 must wear a mask, and all over the age of 13 must show proof of vaccination. Please use the Sainte-Catherine street entrance to Shatford Hall. There is a ramp and elevator at the Ste-Catherine Street entrance for those with limited mobility. Note that there is construction at MacKay and Sainte-Catherine and limited parking downtown, we recommend not driving if possible. The venue is close to the Guy, Peel, and Lionel-Groulx metro stations.
Live streaming details: The event will be live-streamed on our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts, no prior registration is required. Tune in to the platform of your choice at 7 pm on November 18, 2021, to view and participate in the Q&A via the chat function.
Explore other 2021 Holiday Book Fair events here, and discover more English-language books written, published, or translated in Quebec at ReadQuebec.ca.
We look forward to seeing you on November 18, digitally or IRL!

Montreal Review of Books – Fall Issue Launch
2021-11-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Atwater Library, 4023 Tupper Street, Westmount, Québec, H3Z 1T4, Canada
Montreal Review of Books – Fall Issue Launch
Tuesday, November 16, 2021, 7 pm
Atwater Library and Computer Centre, Reading Room
1200, Atwater Avenue, Westmount (Québec) H3Z 1X4
In person and live-streamed (see below for details)
The Montreal Review of Books team is thrilled to invite you to the launch of our Fall Issue. Join us for readings and conversation with Tara McGowan-Ross, Helen Chau Bradley, and Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch.
Tara McGowan-Ross is an urban Mi’kmaw multidisciplinary artist and writer. She is the host of Drawn & Quarterly’s Indigenous Literatures Book Club, a critic of experimental and independent Montreal theatre, and an editor for Insomniac Press. She is the author of Girth and Scorpion Season. Tara lives in Montreal.
Helen Chau Bradley is a writer and musician living in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal). Their writing has appeared in carte blanche, Cosmonauts Avenue, Maisonneuve Magazine, the Montreal Review of Books, and elsewhere. They are the author of Automatic Object Lessons, a poetry chapbook. They are the Fiction Editor for This Magazine, and the host of Strange Futures, a speculative fiction book club. Personal Attention Roleplay is their first book.
Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch is a queer Arab poet living in Tio’tia:ke, unceded Kanien’kehá:ka territory. Their work has appeared in The Best Canadian Poetry 2018 anthology, GUTS, Carte Blanche, the Shade Journal, The New Quarterly, Arc Poetry Magazine and elsewhere. They were longlisted for the CBC poetry prize in 2019. You can find them on Instagram and Twitter @theonlyelitareq. Their book, knot body, was published by Metatron Press in 2020, and their latest book, The Good Arabs, was published by Metonymy Press in September 2021.
Book details: Read more about and purchase a copy of Personal Attention Roleplay by Helen Chau Bradley, The Good Arabs by Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, and Nothing Will Be Different by Tara McGowan-Ross. Copies will also be available for purchase at the launch, where the authors will be available to sign books.
In-person event details: Space is limited; first come, first seated. Vaccination passports, photo ID, and masks will be required. Doors will open at 6:30 pm, please use the Atwater Avenue entrance. Children over the age of 5 must wear a mask, and all over the age of 13 must show proof of vaccination.
Live streaming details: The event will be live-streamed on our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts, no prior registration is required. Tune in to the platform of your choice at 7 pm on November 16, 2021, to view and participate in the Q&A via the chat function.
Explore other 2021 Holiday Book Fair events here, and discover more English-language books written, published, or translated in Quebec at ReadQuebec.ca.
We look forward to seeing you on November 16, digitally or IRL!

The Secret Mountain at Kids POP
2021-09-26 14:00 - 15:00 | Rialto Theatre, 5723 av. du Parc, Montreal, Quebec, H2V 4H2, Canada
On Sunday, September 26, join The Secret Mountain and Kids POP for a picnic in the sun, paper bag puppet parade, and family concert! This activity-packed day will celebrate the release of a new musical picture book, A Picnic in the Sun, by Christiane Duchesne, Jérôme Minière, and illustrated by Marianne Ferrer.
The day starts at 12 p.m. with a picnic in the sun, and a paper bag puppet-building workshop at Saint Viateur Park, with craft supplies included. Then kids and their families will hit the road with their puppets for a festive puppet parade down Bernard Avenue—complete with a marching band.
*Please note that the picnic portion of the event is sold out, however there are still tickets available for the concert.*
After the raucous parade, guests arrive at Rialto Theatre for the main event: A children’s concert with performances by Clerel, Geneviéve Toupin, Jérôme Minière, and José Major! Co-presented with La Petite Drawn & Quarterly, the concert will feature sing-along songs and animations from A Picnic in the Sun. Get your tickets for the concert here.
Before festivities wrap, kids can share a picture of their puppets with The Secret Mountain for a chance to see their creation brought to life—as a stuffed toy—by the studio boutique Raplapla! All activities are accessible by a $5 donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Montreal.
A Picnic in the Sun is available online and at local bookstores, including La Petite Drawn & Quarterly. In addition to the illustrated story, the hardcover picture book includes a CD and digital album with the narrated story and 18 songs.
Paper Bag Puppet Contest
Create a puppet inspired by A Picnic in the Sun and share it with The Secret Mountain for a chance to win a custom stuffed-toy version by studio-boutique Raplala. Winner will be drawn Friday, October 1, 2021.
1. Read A Picnic in the Sun for inspiration.
2. Gather supplies and create your puppet.
3. Send a picture to contest@thesecretmountain.com.

Montreal Review of Books - Spring 2021 Issue Launch
2021-03-18 19:00 - 20:00
Montreal Review of Books’ Spring 2021 issue launches on Thursday, March 18. At 7pm, join us for a virtual launch event featuring readings by Tawhida Tanya Evanson (whose novel Book of Wings is out from Esplanade Books), poet stephanie roberts (whose collection rushes from the river disappointment is out from McGill-Queens University Press) and noted literary luminary Linda Leith (whose memoir The Girl From Dream City comes out in April from University of Regina Press). This event is free and open to all. Register on Crowdcast to attend.

Storytime - Heure du conte: Little Girl Gazelle/L’enfant gazelle
2020-11-29 10:00 - 10:30
Register

Story hour comes to your house — c’est l’heure du conte chez vous! Sit your young ones down to hear the story of Little Girl Gazelle, who learned to run before she could walk, as told by author Stéphane Martelly and translator Katia Grubisic. For kids aged 4-8, in French and English. This event will be transcribed live. Brief instructions on how to access the live transcript will be provided at the event.
Sponsored by Livres Babar Books.
Writer, painter and scholar, Stéphane Martelly was born in Port-au-Prince and now lives in Montreal. Through a profoundly transdisciplinary approach, she confronts theory, critical reflection and art in her work. She is a professor of creative writing and Research-Creation at Université de Sherbrooke. She is writing a series of fables to think and imagine. Her latest book is L’enfant-gazelle (Remue-Ménage, 2018), Little Girl Gazelle, translation by Katia Grubisic (LLP, 2020).
Katia Grubisic writes poems, made-up stories, and a bunch of boring stuff for grownups. She also translates books, like L’enfant gazelle, from French to English. // Katia Grubisic écrit des poèmes, des histoires qu’elle invente dans sa tête, et plein de choses plates pour les grandes personnes, et elle traduit aussi des livres, comme L’enfant gazelle, du français vers l’anglais.

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The Favorite Game: English-Quebec Literary Trivia
2020-11-28 20:00 - 21:00
Register

How book-savvy are you? Test your knowledge of all things Quebec lit in this virtual pub quiz (you’ll have to BYOB). Pit your wit against the crackerjack mind of quizmaster and poet Larissa Andrusyshyn, win prizes!
How to participate:

Draft a team of up to 3 people and register for the event (you can also play solo or with one other person). You’ll receive a link to join the Zoom event on Saturday Nov. 28th.
Choose a team name.
Be ready with a pen and paper, and remember NO googling! You can have smart friends not smart phones! We will work with the honour system, honorable as we are.
Make sure you don’t post answers in the event’s Zoom chat. You’ll need to organize a group chat on the platform of your choice (i.e. text, Messenger, Whatapp, Google Hangouts, or just pick up the phone!) for the event so you can communicate with your team, if you don’t live in the same place.
Each team will elect a captain who records ‘final answers’ for each round on paper.
The quiz will be divided into several rounds with breaks between for teams to discuss.
Answers will be given after each round and team captains will report scores to the quizmaster.
Top scores will win prizes from our generous donors: Pow Pow Press, Véhicule Press, Metonymy Press, and Drawn & Quarterly.
Got it? Got it. See you there!

About your host:
Larissa Andrusyshyn is a writer, teacher and local quizmaster. Her trivia nights have drawn crowds at many pubs and fundraising events in Montreal and she is the longstanding host of the weekly pub quiz at Ye Olde Orchard Pub in NDG where over the years they’ve collected upwards of $10, 000 in support of the NDG Food Depot. She is also an avid quiz participant and hopes one day to make an appearance on Jeopardy! where she can carry on the spirit of her inspiration Alex Trebek.

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Meet the Presses: Publishing in 2020
2020-11-28 14:00 - 15:00
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How has the pandemic affected an already-precarious industry? What are the new challenges, and how are publishers meeting them? What strengths can they bring, and what’s the way forward? More generally, how do publishers decide what to publish? What can authors do to get their books noticed? Get the answers to these questions and more in this panel, featuring representatives from new and established presses. Panel discussion followed by audience Q&A.
With Oliver Fugler (Metonymy Press), Simon Dardick (Véhicule Press), Hazel Millar (Book*hug), and Nurjehan Aziz (Mawenzi House). Moderated by Jason Camlot.
This event will be transcribed live. Brief instructions on how to access the live transcript will be provided at the event.
Jason Camlot’s most recent works include Phonopoetics: The Making of Early Literary Recordings (Stanford 2019), and CanLit Across Media: Unarchiving the Literary Event (co-edited with Katherine McLeod, McGill-Queens, 2019). He directs the SpokenWeb research network, and is Professor of English at Concordia University.
Hazel Millar is the Co-Publisher at Book*hug Press, an independent literary press based in Toronto. She is the past Chair of the Board of the Literary Press Group of Canada and sits on several other publishing advisory boards and committees She lives in Toronto with her husband, Jay MillAr, aka, the other half of Book*hug Press, their two sons, and a cool calico cat named Tess.
Oliver Fugler is co-publisher at Metonymy Press, based in Tio’tia:ke (Montreal). Metonymy publishes queer and feminist fiction and non-fiction by emerging and underrepresented writers, and our aim is to keep gay book lovers satisfied.
Simon Dardick is the co-publisher of Véhicule Press.
Nurjehan Aziz came to Canada in 1980, and in 1981 co-founded a literary magazine, The Toronto Review of Contemporary Writing (1981-2001). She is the publisher and a director of Mawenzi House Publishers, publishing mainly writers with backgrounds in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Near East. She has edited a number of anthologies, more recently Confluences 1 and Confluences 2 (Essays on the New Canadian Literature).

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Black Writers Out Loud: Kaie Kellough in Conversation with Canisia Lubrin
2020-11-27 19:00 - 20:00
Black Writers Out Loud is a series of Quebec Writers’ Federation events celebrating Black literary arts in Quebec. This fourth event in the series is co-produced with the AELAQ, and features Kaie Kellough in conversation with Canisia Lubrin. These two award-winning authors from the worlds of poetry and prose come together to speak on their craft and all matters human.

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Montreal Review of Books Fall Issue Launch
2020-11-26 19:00 - 20:00
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Help us celebrate the launch of the fall issue of the Montreal Review of Books! With readings by featured authors Carmine Starnino, Kama La Mackerel, and Eva Crocker.
This event will be transcribed live. Brief instructions on how to access the live transcript will be provided at the event.
Eva Crocker is the author of the critically acclaimed debut novel All I Ask, which was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Her short story collection, Barrelling Forward, won the Alistair MacLeod Prize for Short Fiction and the CAA Emerging Writer Award, was a finalist for the Writers’ Trust Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers and the NLCU Fresh Fish Award for Emerging Writers, and was a National Post Best Book.
Kama La Mackerel is a Montreal-based Mauritian-Canadian multi-disciplinary artist, educator, writer, community-arts facilitator and literary translator who works within and across performance, photography, installations, textiles, digital art and literature. Kama’s work is grounded in the exploration of justice, love, healing, decoloniality, hybridity, cosmopolitanism and self- and collective-empowerment. ZOM-FAM, their debut poetry collection, is published by Metonymy Press.
Carmine Starnino has published five collections of poetry, including This Way Out, which was nominated for the Governor General’s Award in 2009 and recently translated into French by Éditions Hashtag under the title Par Ici La Sortie. His most recent collection is Dirty Words:Selected Poems 1997-2016. His other books include The New Canon: An Anthology of Canadian Poetry and Lazy Bastardism, a collection of essays on contemporary poetry. He has received numerous awards, including the CAA Prize for Poetry, the A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry, and the F.G. Bressani Prize, in addition to being shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Prize for the best first book of poetry.

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Rapid Fire Reading, Ricochet Writing
2020-11-25 19:00 - 20:00
Follow this link to watch a recording of the event from Wednesday Nov. 25th!
Join us as we kick off the Read Quebec: Holiday Book Fest with an online version of this much-loved, fast-paced literary variety show. Fifteen writers from a range of genres will keep things hopping by reading from their new work—for only two minutes each! After each writer reads, they will contribute to a collaborative text that will be read aloud at the end of the show—with élan!—by host Nisha Coleman.
With: Breezy, Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, April Ford, Nathan Caro Frechette, Dani Jansen, Andreas Kessaris, Richard King, Justin Ling, Rachel McCrum, Saleema Nawaz, Hazel Jane Plante, stephanie roberts, Greg Santos, Lauren Turner.
Sponsored by Penguin Random House Canada.
This event will be transcribed live. Brief instructions on how to access the live transcript will be provided at the event.
Nisha Coleman is a Montreal-based writer, storyteller, translator and musician. She is the author of the memoir Busker: Stories from the Streets of Paris.
Breezy is a queer Métis and settler writer, artist and art educator. Breezy holds an M.Ed from the Harvard Graduate School of Education focused on trauma-informed teaching practices. She has worked with creative violence prevention, restorative justice and arts-based enrichment programming in schools. She currently works as a pedagogical consultant, helping others connect, heal, find joy and grow through making.
Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch is a queer Arab poet living in Tio’tia:ke, whose work has appeared in Best Canadian Poetry 2018, GUTS, carte blanche, the Shade Journal, New Quarterly, Arc Poetry Magazine, and elsewhere. Their book, knot body, was published by Metatron Press September 2020, and their upcoming book, The Good Arabs, will be published by Metonymy Press in 2021.
April Ford is a Montréal queer writer. Her books include a debut novel and Winner of the 2020 International Book Awards for LGBTQ Fiction, Carousel (Inanna Publications), and Death Is a Side-Effect: Poems (Frog Hollow Press).
Nathan Caro Fréchette is a queer transgender sequential artist, publisher, and author living in Gatineau. He has published over a dozen short stories, both graphic and prose, as well as five novels, three graphic novels, and two works of nonfiction.
Dani Jansen is an English and drama teacher. Her debut novel, The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life, was released in September.
Andreas Kessaris is a graduate of Dawson College and Concordia University, where he earned a BA in communications and English. His writing has appeared on Suite101.com, in the literary journal The Write Place, and on the Montreal entertainment website Curtainsup.tv. The Butcher of Park Ex is his first book.
Richard King is a Montreal writer of mysteries, the author of five novels with a sixth, Banking on Life, scheduled for release in April 2021. He is a recovering bookseller and historian.
Justin Ling is an investigative freelance journalist. He has written for the Globe & Mail, Foreign Policy, VICE News and everyone in between, and hosted CBC’s The Village podcast.
Rachel McCrum is a poet and performer, originally from Northern Ireland. Her first collection, The First Blast to Awaken Women Degenerate (2018, Stewed Rhubarb Press), was published in a bilingual edition, Le premier coup de clairon pour réveiller les femmes immorales with Mémoire d’encrier in September 2020.
Saleema Nawaz is the author of two novels, most recently, Songs for the End of the World. Her first novel, Bone and Bread, won the Quebec Writers’ Federation Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction and was a finalist for the 2016 Canada Reads competition.
Hazel Jane Plante is a writer, musician, cat photographer, and librarian. Her debut novel, Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) (Metonymy Press, 2019), was recently given a Lambda Literary Award for Trans Fiction.
stephanie roberts is the Quebec-based, Panama-born, author of the poetry collection rushes from the river disappointment (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020) nominee for the A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry. Critically praised, her work has been widely featured in publications such as Poetry, Arc Poetry Magazine, Room, EVENT Magazine, CV2, The /tƐmz/ Review, Atlanta Review, and Verse Daily. Winner of Black Mountain Press’s The Sixty-Four: Best Poets 2018, she grew up stateside. Contact IG: @ringtales, www.oceansandfire.com
Greg Santos is the Editor in Chief of carte blanche magazine. His newest book is Ghost Face (DC Books, 2020).
Lauren Turner is a disabled poet and author of the full-length collection, The Only Card in a Deck of Knives (Wolsak & Wynn, 2020) and the chapbook, We’re Not Going to Do Better Next Time (knife | fork | book, 2018). She won the 2018 Short Grain Contest and was a finalist for the 2017 3Macs carte blanche Prize.

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