34th Annual Word On The Street Festival

The Word On The Streetchampions reading and writing in Canada primarily through a free festival celebrating storytelling, ideas, and imagination.

The Word On The Street

Celebrate the stories that connect us at Canada's largest free outdoor book and magazine festival! Voted one of Toronto's best local events

Queen's Park Crescent East (College to Wellesley)

<p><strong>The 34th Annual Word On The Street Festival returns to Queen’s Park this spring on May 27th &amp; 28th!</strong> Hosted annually since 1990 in downtown Toronto, “WOTS” is a FREE community street festival that celebrates the stories that connect us. </p><p>Featuring Canadian and Indigenous authors, an outdoor marketplace for books and magazines, and dedicated children’s programming, WOTS was voted one of <strong>Toronto's Best Local Festivals</strong> in the 2022 Toronto Star Readers Choice Awards.</p><h3><a href="https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/event-directory/2023-festival-schedule/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">V﻿iew the full schedule </a></h3><h3><a href="https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/event-directory/annual-festival/exhibitor-marketplace/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">C﻿heck out the exhibitor marketplace</a></h3><h3><a href="https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/2023-festival-information-and-faq/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">B﻿rowse our 2023 FAQ page</a></h3>

<h1>2﻿023 FEATURED GUESTS</h1><h3>S﻿ATURDAY, MAY 27TH</h3><h3><strong>Randell Adjei ⬩ S.K. Ali ⬩ Charlene Chua ⬩ Chantel Guertin ⬩ Catherine Hernandez ⬩ Nadia L. Hohn ⬩ Uzma Jalaluddin ⬩ Amy Stuart ⬩ Lindsay Zier-Vogel</strong></h3><h3></h3><p>Michael Adams ⬩ Nekesa Afia ⬩ Brandon Ash-Mohamed ⬩ Marjorie Beaucage  ⬩ Linda Besner ⬩ Ariel Bissett ⬩ Maggie K. Black ⬩ Erin Bow ⬩ Melodie Campbell ⬩ Kate Cayley ⬩ Corinna Chong ⬩ Lily Chu ⬩ George Elliott Clarke ⬩ Loridee De Villa ⬩ Judy Eaton ⬩ Molly Fader ⬩ Barbara Fradkin ⬩ Elyse Friedman ⬩ Hollay Ghadery ⬩ Arpita Ghosal ⬩ Heba Helmy ⬩ Camille Hernández-Ramdwar ⬩ Farah Heron ⬩ Jennifer Hillier ⬩ Helena Hunting ⬩ Marjorie Ingall ⬩ Sameea Jimenez ⬩ Amy Jones ⬩ Ann Lambert ⬩ Ruby Lang ⬩ t. liem ⬩ Hudson Lin ⬩ Brooke Lockyer ⬩ Harriet Alida Lye ⬩ Susan McCarthy ⬩ Hannah Mary McKinnon ⬩ Wendy Million ⬩ Romi Moondi ⬩ Linda Morra ⬩ Geoffrey D. Morrison ⬩ Nicole Mortillaro ⬩ Nicole Nwosu ⬩ Ardo Omer ⬩ Janika Oza ⬩ BH Panhuyzen ⬩ A.G. Pasquella ⬩ Amanda Peters ⬩ Casey Plett ⬩ Corinne Promislow ⬩ Natasha Ramoutar ⬩ K.D. Richards ⬩ Ronnie Riley ⬩ Emily Saso ⬩ Carey Sookocheff ⬩ Andrew F. Sullivan ⬩ Bryn Turnbull ⬩ Katie Wicks ⬩ Dave Williams ⬩ Kari-Lynn Winters ⬩ Zoe York ⬩ A. Light Zachary</p><h3></h3><h3>S﻿UNDAY, MAY 28TH</h3><h3><strong>Laura Calder ⬩ Cherie Dimaline ⬩ Stacey May Fowles ⬩ Kenneth Oppel ⬩ Neil Pasricha ⬩ Sarah Raughley ⬩ Shannon Lee Simmons ⬩ Zoe Whittall</strong></h3><h3></h3><p>Anime ⬩ Maya Ameyaw ⬩ Madhur Anand ⬩ Manahil Bandukwala ⬩ Martha Bátiz ⬩ S. Bear Bergman ⬩ Aparita Bhandari ⬩ Chantal Braganza ⬩ Annahid Dashtgard ⬩ Claudia Dávila ⬩ Lisa de Nikolits ⬩ David Demchuk ⬩ Thom Ernst ⬩ Cary Fagan ⬩ ryan fitzpatrick ⬩ Kathy Friedman ⬩ Paul Gilligan ⬩ Christina Gonzales ⬩ Laurie D. Graham ⬩ Maika Harper ⬩ Millie Ho ⬩ Ai Jiang ⬩ Perry King ⬩ Stephen LaFrenie ⬩ Karon Liu ⬩ Victoria Mbabazi ⬩ John Brady McDonald ⬩ Kathleen McDonnell ⬩ Brian McLachlan ⬩ Lue Palmer ⬩ Tyler Pennock ⬩ Terese Mason Pierre ⬩ Ginette Mohr ⬩ Jennifer Mook-Sang ⬩ Téa Mutonji ⬩ Alessandra Naccarato ⬩ Heather M. O'Connor ⬩ Dominik Parisien ⬩ Ursula Pflug ⬩ Menaka Raman-Wilms ⬩ Alessandra Requena ⬩ Amy Rosen ⬩ Stuart Ross ⬩  Itah Sadu ⬩ Lynne Sargent ⬩ Sid Sharp ⬩ Antanas Sileika ⬩ Dianah Smith ⬩ Kate Story ⬩ Tiiu Strutt ⬩ Kai Cheng Thom ⬩ Tanya Turton ⬩ Emily Urquhart ⬩ Anuja Varghese ⬩ Sanna Wani ⬩ Louise Zimanyi</p>

<p>Festival programming will include featured authors, panel discussions, and readings across multiple stages: </p><ul><li><strong>Festival Mainstage</strong>, featuring bestselling authors, exciting debuts, and panels on some of the hottest topics in contemporary life </li><li><strong>Vibrant Voices of Ontario</strong>, highlighting the home-grown talent of Ontario-based authors and publishers </li><li><strong>KidStreet</strong>, presenting the best of contemporary children’s literature alongside exciting, family-friendly activities </li><li><strong>Twist Endings</strong>, investigating thrilling tales and captivating capers by top mystery and thriller writers (<em>Saturday only</em>) </li><li><strong>Love &amp; Letters</strong>, celebrating the most beloved authors and publishers in romance (<em>Saturday only</em>) </li><li><strong>Across the Universe</strong>, exploring the limitless imagination of science fiction, fantasy, and horror writing (<em>Sunday only</em>) </li><li><strong>Big Ideas</strong>, inspiring discussions about designing a meaningful everyday life with the latest non-fiction and lifestyle titles (<em>Sunday only</em>)</li></ul><p>Y﻿ou can also register for our <a href="https://www.eventbrite.ca/cc/wots2023-virtual-workshops-and-special-events-2169079">2023 Virtual Workshops &amp; Special Events</a>!</p>

<p>I﻿f you would like to get involved or learn more about our festival, please visit our website:</p><p><a href="https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/about-us/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">About the Festival</a></p><p><a href="https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/event-directory/2023-festival-schedule/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">2023 Programming Schedule</a></p><p><a href="https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/event-directory/annual-festival/exhibitor-marketplace/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">2﻿023 Festival Map &amp; Exhibitors</a></p><p><a href="https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/event-directory/annual-festival/exhibitor-marketplace/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"></a><a href="https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/2023-festival-information-and-faq/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">2﻿023 FAQ &amp; Information</a></p><p><a href="https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/2023-festival-information-and-faq/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"></a><a href="https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/event-directory/2023-festival-schedule/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"></a><a href="https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/about-us/code-of-conduct/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">C﻿ode of Conduct &amp; Accessibility Policies</a></p><p><a href="https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/support-us/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">B﻿ecome a Monthly Donor</a></p><p>﻿<a href="https://signup.e2ma.net/signup/1879562/1351170/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Sign up for the WOTS newsletter</a> </p>

Agenda

Saturday | WOTS2023 Day 1

Sunday | WOTS2023 Day 2

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