Opening Cocktail
2025-12-06 17:00 - 19:00 (America/Toronto) | Casa d’Italia, 505 rue Jean Talon est, Montreal, QC, H2R 1T6, Canada
December 6, 2025, 5 – 7 pm
Salle des mémoires
Join us for a special 10th anniversary edition of the Read Quebec Book Fair’s 5 à 7 featuring a DJ set by journalist and author of Habs Nation Brendan Kelly, known for his popular High Fidelity in the Park events. New wave, old-school disco and you. Open to all!
Born in Glasgow, raised in Montreal and a fan of the Canadiens for longer than he can remember, Brendan Kelly was one of the founders of the late great alternative weekly the Montreal Mirror. He worked at the Montreal Daily News in the late ‘80s and had a weekly music column on CBC Radio for over 30 years. His Montreal Gazette column What the Puck is a controversial contrarian hot take on the Canadiens that elicits much hate and even more love. He has written for the Gazette since 1996. He also frequently contributes to various Radio-Canada cultural shows. He has published two books on the Montreal Canadiens – Le CH et son people (2024), and Habs Nation: A People’s History of the Montreal Canadiens (2025).

Archives Out Loud: Italian-Canadian Literature
2025-12-07 11:30 - 12:30 | Casa d’Italia, 505 rue Jean Talon est, Montreal, QC, H2R 1T6, Canada
December 7, 2025, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Main Stage, Salle des célébrations

Licia Canton
Mary di Michele
Carmine Starnino

Moderated by Nancy Marrelli
There is a significant body of excellent Italian-Canadian literature available from a variety of sources in English, French, and Italian. The panel will discuss some established works as well as new voices emerging from the next generation. This session is part of the Archives Out Loud series organized by the Italian-Canadian Archives of Quebec. The panel will be followed by a reception in the office of the Italian-Canadian Community Archives of Quebec, in the basement level of Casa d’Italia.
Licia Canton has published short stories, nonfiction and poetry in English, French, Italian and a Venetian dialect. She has been translator-in-residence at the University of Hull, UK, and Writer-in-Residence at Università della Calabria, Italy. She is co-founder of Accenti Magazine and co-director of the Queer Italian-Canadian Artists Research Project (U of Toronto). She is the director of the documentary film Creative Spaces: Queer and Italian Canadian (2021). She mentors emerging writers through the Quebec Writers’ Federation Hire-a-Writer directory. For her work in culture, she was awarded the Italy in the World Prize (2018). She holds a Ph.D. from Université de Montréal and an M.A. from McGill University.
Born in Italy and immigrated to Canada in 1955, Mary di Michele is an award-winning, internationally published writer. She is the author of more than twelve books, including the collection of poems Stranger in You and the novel Tenor of Love. Her last collection of poetry, Bicycle Thieves (ECW 2017), was short-listed for the Pat Lowther Award. She is active in the collaborative writing group Yoko’s Dogs. Now retired from teaching at Concordia University, she continues to live in Montreal.
Nancy Marrelli is Director of the Italian-Canadian Archives of Quebec at the Casa d’Italia, and Archivist Emerita, Concordia University. She is also co-publisher of Véhicule Press. Her family left Italy and settled in Montreal in 1909.
Carmine Starnino is the Editor in Chief of The Walrus. He is the author of eight books, including Dirty Words: Selected Poems 1997–2016.

Acquiring Editors at Work
2025-12-07 13:00 - 14:00 | Casa d’Italia, 505 rue Jean Talon est, Montreal, QC, H2R 1T6, Canada
December 7, 2025, 1 – 2 pm
Main Stage, Salle des célébrations

Leila Marshy, Baraka Books
Curtis John McRae, Véhicule Press
Yashaswi Kesanakurthy, Simon & Schuster Canada

Moderated by Tawhida Tanya Evanson
Who gets to choose which books will be published – and how do they do it? Editors from three publishers will discuss how they decide what to publish, and how writers can improve their chances. Simon & Schuster children’s book editor Yashaswi Kesanakurthy, Baraka Books’ fiction and nonfiction editor Leila Marshy, and Curtis McRae, fiction editor at Véhicule Press, will give us the inside scoop on what acquisitions editors really do.
Yashaswi Kesanakurthy [yush-us-we kay-sah-nah-koor-thi] is the Children’s Editor at Simon & Schuster Canada. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia’s MA program in Children’s Literature and Toronto Metropolitan University’s publishing program. Her publishing career began as Publishing Assistant at Tundra Books, PRHC. She then joined HarperCollins Canada as Associate Editor where she developed a vibrant list including The Garden of Lost Socks by Esi Edugyan and Amélie Dubois, The Hockey Skates by Karl Subban and Maggie Zeng, and Mortified by Kristy Jackson and Rhael McGregor. At Simon & Schuster Canada, she remains focused on publishing marginalized, Canadian voices that tell entertaining and transformative stories. Yash lives in Toronto with a magical, if unruly, library that just keeps growing.
Leila Marshy is the author of The Philistine (LLP, 2018) and My Thievery of the People (Baraka Books, 2025), and is editor of the anthology Razing Palestine: Punishing Solidarity and Dissent in Canada (Baraka Books, 2025). Daughter of a Palestinian refugee, Marshy lived in Cairo during the First Intifada and worked for the Palestinian Red Crescent and the Palestinian Mental Health Association. She has been a community and political organizer, including founding a dialogue group with the Hasidic community in her local neighbourhood, helping elect the first Hasidic woman to public office in the world. Marshy is Editor at Baraka Books and lives in Montreal.
Curtis John McRae is the fiction editor at Véhicule Press and the Co-Founder/Editor-in-Chief of yolk literary journal. He is the author of Quietly, Loving Everyone (Vehicule Press, 2025). His fiction has appeared in The New Quarterly, Prairie Fire, and others. He won the 2021/22 David McKeen Award, was longlisted for the 2025 DISQUIET Literary Fiction Contest, received an honourable mention in the 2024 Peter Hinchcliffe award, and was a finalist in the 2019 Quebec Writers’ Federation contest for emerging young writers. Curtis teaches English literature at John Abbott College and formerly served as a board member for the Quebec Writers’ Federation.
Tawhida Tanya Evanson is a poet, novelist, artist and Ashiq. Her work blends poetry, orality, music, movement and film around themes of African diasporic identity, Sufi spirituality and resistance to Western values. Born and based in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, she has roots in Antigua, West Indies. Evanson’s novels include the French Livre des ailes (Marchand de feuilles 2023), and the award-winning Book of Wings (Véhicule 2021); her two poetry collections are Nouveau Griot (Frontenac 2018) and Bothism (Ekstasis 2017). She has an extensive history of spoken word performance, audio recordings and films including the multi-award-winning Afrofuturist concert film CYANO SUN SUITE (2024). Evanson’s work has travelled to festivals across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. She is past director of the Banff Centre Spoken Word Program; past president of the Quebec Writers’ Federation; and 2025 Poet Ambassador in Residence at the League of Canadian Poets. She moonlights as a whirling dervish.

Speed Dating for Writers and Publishers!
2025-12-07 14:00 - 15:00 | Casa d’Italia, 505 rue Jean Talon est, Montreal, QC, H2R 1T6, Canada
December 7, 2025, 2 – 3 pm
Archives room, basement level
Writers, bring your pitch and get ready to present it to a range of local publishers. 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. Note that authors will be asked to sign-up at the welcome table on Sunday in order to participate.

Dave Dufour, Flame Arrow Publishing
Yashaswi Kesanakurthy, Simon & Schuster Canada
Firoze Manji, Daraja Press
Leila Marshy, Baraka Books
Curtis McRae, Véhicule Press
Shannae Nitti, Crackboom! Books
Moderated by Lori Schubert, Quebec Writers’ Federation

Want to perfect your pitch? Check out our tips for writers.
Dave Dufour is the Founder & Publisher of Flame Arrow Publishing, a bilingual speculative-fiction press based in British Columbia and Québec. He leads a growing catalogue of hopepunk, fantasy, and science fiction in both English and French, and is dedicated to championing bold, imaginative voices across Canada. With a professional background as an educator and linguist, Dave brings a deep understanding of language, culture, and storytelling to his editorial vision. He also oversees Brins d’éternité, one of Québec’s longest-running speculative-fiction magazines.
Yashaswi Kesanakurthy [yush-us-we kay-sah-nah-koor-thi] is the Children’s Editor at Simon & Schuster Canada. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia’s MA program in Children’s Literature and Toronto Metropolitan University’s publishing program. Her publishing career began as Publishing Assistant at Tundra Books, PRHC. She then joined HarperCollins Canada as Associate Editor where she developed a vibrant list including The Garden of Lost Socks by Esi Edugyan and Amélie Dubois, The Hockey Skates by Karl Subban and Maggie Zeng, and Mortified by Kristy Jackson and Rhael McGregor. At Simon & Schuster Canada, she remains focused on publishing marginalized, Canadian voices that tell entertaining and transformative stories. Yash lives in Toronto with a magical, if unruly, library that just keeps growing.
Firoze Manji, PhD, is a Kenyan / Canadian, resident in Québec. He has spent more than 50 years in international development, health, human rights and political activism. He is the publisher of Daraja Press and is an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa. He is the recipient of the 2021 Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista Lifetime Achievement Award from the Caribbean Philosophical Association.
Leila Marshy is the author of The Philistine (LLP, 2018) and My Thievery of the People (Baraka Books, 2025), and is editor of the anthology Razing Palestine: Punishing Solidarity and Dissent in Canada (Baraka Books, 2025). Daughter of a Palestinian refugee, Marshy lived in Cairo during the First Intifada and worked for the Palestinian Red Crescent and the Palestinian Mental Health Association. She has been a community and political organizer, including founding a dialogue group with the Hasidic community in her local neighbourhood, helping elect the first Hasidic woman to public office in the world. Marshy is editor at Baraka Books and lives in Montreal.
Curtis John McRae is the fiction editor at Véhicule Press and the Co-Founder/Editor-in-Chief of yolk literary journal. He is the author of Quietly, Loving Everyone (Vehicule Press, 2025). His fiction has appeared in The New Quarterly, Prairie Fire, and others. He won the 2021/22 David McKeen Award, was longlisted for the 2025 DISQUIET Literary Fiction Contest, received an honourable mention in the 2024 Peter Hinchcliffe award, and was a finalist in the 2019 Quebec Writers’ Federation contest for emerging young writers. Curtis teaches English literature at John Abbott College and formerly served as a board member for the Quebec Writers’ Federation.
Lori Schubert is the executive director of the Quebec Writers’ Federation, where she has worked since 2003. From 1998 to 2017 she was also a member and general manager of VivaVoce, a professional chamber choir. Prior to her work in arts management, Lori was a singer and corporate communications trainer in the New York metropolitan area. She has taught written and oral communication at Columbia, McGill and Concordia Universities. She was instrumental in the founding of Quebec’s English-language Arts Network (ELAN) and has served two terms on its board of directors. Through QWF, Lori co-founded the National Juries and Awards Working Group in 2021. She has also served in an advisory capacity for YES Montreal, the Blue Metropolis Foundation and the Atwater Writers’ Exhibition, and currently chairs the Education and Skills Development Table for the Working Group on Arts and Culture.

Art and Life in Graphic Novels
2025-12-07 15:00 | Casa d’Italia, 505 rue Jean Talon est, Montreal, QC, H2R 1T6, Canada
December 7, 2025, 3 – 4 pm
Main Stage, Salle des célébrations

D. Boyd
Juli Delporte
Pascal Girard
Moderated by François Vigneault

Three of Quebec’s most distinctive voices in contemporary comics come together to explore the intimate connections between art and autobiography. Juli Delporte (Portrait of a Body), D. Boyd (Denniveniquity), and Pascal Girard (Pastimes) draw from personal experience to craft stories that are tender, funny, and deeply human. Join them for a conversation about turning life into art, the creative risks of vulnerability, and the evolving landscape of autobiographical graphic novels. Moderated by François Vigneault.
Montreal-based cartoonist D. Boyd hails from Saint John, New Brunswick – the setting for Denniveniquity and her first graphic memoir, Chicken Rising. Her work has appeared in the New Brunswick Chapbook Series (Frog Hollow Press), the Montreal Review of Books, and in unique collaborations with some exciting Canadian writers.
Juli Delporte is an author and multidisciplinary artist born in France in 1983. She now lives in Tiohtiá:ke/Montréal. She is the author of several graphic novels published by Drawn & Quarterly, including This Woman’s Work and Portrait of a Body. She has also published children’s albums, including the recent Grands oreilles (Éditions de la Pastèque), and a book of poems illustrated with etchings, Décroissance sexuelle (L’Oie de Cravan). She occasionally writes literary essays, produces illustrations for various magazines and publishing houses, and collaborates on collective publications. Alongside all this, Juli explores different printing techniques (serigraphy, risography, and etching), creates zines, gives creative workshops, and makes ceramic pieces.
Pascal Girard was born in Jonquière, QC, in 1981. He is a part-time cartoonist and part-time social worker. He is the award-winning author of several graphic novels, including Rebecca and Lucie in the Case of the Missing Neighbor, Nicolas, Petty Theft, and most recently the collection Pastimes. He lives in Montreal with his family.
François 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.

Montreal Review of Books Spring 2026 Launch
2026-03-18 18:00 - 19:30 | Hotel 10, 10 Sherbrooke O, Montreal, QC, H2X 2X3, Canada
The Montreal Review of Books launches its Spring 2026 issue on Wednesday, March 18th at Hotel 10 (10 Sherbrooke Street West) in partnership with the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival!

Following the festival’s 2026 programming announcement, join us in Espace Godin for refreshments and readings by Marianne Ackerman (Oyster, Dundurn Press), Francine Pelletier (Dream Interrupted, Sutherland House Press) and Karine Rosso (Between the Island and the Turtle, QC Fiction).

The Blue Metropolis press conference will begin at 4:00 p.m., followed by a wine reception, and mRb readings beginning at 6:00. The authors will be available to sign books after the readings. Admission is free.

For those unable to attend in person, readings will be live-streamed on our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@aelaq
