What's on at Queen's Park

Adult Programming

 

  • Scotiabank Bestsellers Stage

    The flagship venue at The Word On The Street, this venue features some of the biggest names in Canadian literature, all under one roof!

  • Canadian Magazines Tent

    Come and hear experts from some of our country's most-loved magazines as they dispense everything from fashion tips to advice on freelancing. 

  • CBC Stage

    Check out your favourite CBC personalities live at the CBC Stage!

  • City of Toronto Tent

    Nominees for the Toronto Book Award plus a selection of past years' finalists and winners will read from their nominated works.

  • Comics & Graphic Novels Tent

    Presented in partnership with the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, this lively tent features a series of discussion panels and presentations from some of the best creators in Toronto's comics and graphic novels scene.

  • Cooks 'n' Books Stage

    The Word On The Street is excited to present its first cooking stage this year!  Programmed in partnership with The Cookbook Store, this venue will host tantalizing food demonstrations and sampling led by some of our country's top chefs.

  • Diaspora Dialogues Tent

    Diaspora Dialogues will offer an “urban mash-up” of readings, music, spoken word and other artistic demonstrations that reflect the complexity of our culturally-diverse metropolis.

  • EYE WEEKLY Music Stage

    Focusing on the art of song, this venue will feature interactive segments on hot new music-related books and musical performances by local bands.

  • Great Books Marquee

    The place to be for the most exciting and dynamic books of the year, this venue features a variety of hot spring and fall titles including fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

  • Money Matters Tent

    Another first for our 20th festival, this venue is devoted to the world of money today. Some of Canada’s top financial experts will be on hand to dispense advice on everything from surviving the recession to RRSPs.

  • Proud Voices Tent

    Co-presented with Pride Toronto, Proud Voices will feature a variety of works in celebration of the queer community.

  • Toronto Star Tent

    Back by popular demand, the Toronto Star offers thought-provoking presentations from some of its most popular writers.

  • Wordshop Marquee

    This venue will offer a day of writing workshops covering craft and career strategy for aspiring writers featuring the esteemed faculty of The Humber School for Writers.

  • World Music Stage

    Programmed in partnership with Small World Music Festival and presented by Citytv, this venue will host a blend of music from around the globe!

 

 

KidStreet Programming

 

  • Children's Activity Tent

    This venue will feature creative crafts and interactive presentations inspired by new children's books, plus music and animals too!

  • Children's Reading Tent

    Come and see some of Canada's most renowned children's authors and illustrators present some of the best children's books of 2009.

  • Little Readers Tent

    Featuring segments by early-literacy experts, this venue will offer storytelling, rhyming activities and music for kids age 0-3 while tricks and tips are dispensed to parents on how to introduce early-literacy into their daily schedule.

  • TVO Kids Stage

    Favourite personalities from TVOKids take the stage for a day of fun-filled literacy-focused entertainment including music, stories, readings and interactive sessions.


 

 

  • Diaspora Dialogues Tent

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  • EYE Weekly Music Stage

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  • Great Books Marquee

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  • Money Matters Tent

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    Click on a segment below to learn more.

    • 11:30 -12:10 :: Elizabeth May

      Elizabeth May offers an insider’s view of the ills that beset our federal politics and the changes wrought over the past three decades that created this present state. She explains that a presidential-style prime minister now exists without the checks and balances of either the US or the Canadian systems. With Losing Confidence, May implores average Canadians to make change happen. As she states in the book, “Politics is not a spectator sport.”
      Learn more about Elizabeth May

    • 12:50 -1:30 :: Kenneth Oppel

      Max is the cook’s dog. And because he is also the king’s taster, Max gets to feast on wild boar! cheese pies! rose pudding! No wonder Max loves his job. Who wouldn’t want to dine on these delicious dishes? The new king, that’s who. Max and the cook must find a new recipe — and fast. Otherwise, if the new king has his way, they’ll be losing more than just their jobs!

      Kenneth will not only regale visitors with his delicious new tale, The King’s Taster, but he’ll also give a stirring reading from his out-of-this-world adventure, Starclimber!

      Learn more about Kenneth Oppel

    • 1:30 -2:10 :: Nino Ricci

      Whenever Alex Fratarcangeli’s thoughts grow darkest, he is compelled to recall Desmond, the British professor whom he met years ago in the Galapagos. Treacherous and despicable, Desmond nonetheless caught Alex in his thrall and led him to some life-altering truths during their weeks exploring Darwin’s islands together. It is only years later that Alex can begin to comprehend these unlikely life lessons and see a glimmer of hope shining through what he had thought was meaninglessness.
      Learn more about Nino Ricci

    • 2:10 -2:50 :: Bonnie Burnard

      The long-awaited follow-up to the Giller Prize–winning, bestselling A Good House—a novel with the power to change the way women, and men, understand one another. A phone call in the night, an unexpected diagnosis—suddenly, life can change forever. Sweeping through and beyond the second half of the 20th century—from men in space to 9/11— the novel creates an astonishingly intimate portrait of three women balanced on the knife edge of middle age.

      Learn more about Bonnie Burnard

    • 3:00 -4:00 :: Margaret Atwood

      Adam One, the kindly leader of God’s Gardeners — a religion devoted to the melding of science and religion — has long predicted a natural disaster that will alter Earth as we know it. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life. Two women have been spared: Ren, a young trapeze-dancer, locked inside a high-end sex club; and one of God’s Gardeners, Toby, who is barricaded inside a luxurious spa. Have others survived?

      In celebration of the release of this stunning new novel and using Margaret Atwood’s revolutionary LongPen technology, The Word On The Street will make history and host Canada’s first live coast-to-coast book launch. LongPen technology will broadcast Atwood in person from The Word On The Street Toronto to The Word On The Street festivals in Vancouver and Halifax. This interactive video broadcast will allow festival participants to engage in a cross-country question and answer session with Atwood. Prior to her appearance in Toronto, she will also sign books for fans in Vancouver and Halifax using the LongPen, allowing her to talk with each fan via private video chat and to transmit a genuine, personalized autograph instantly to their copy of the book.

      Learn more about Margaret Atwood

    • 4:00 -5:00 :: “The View from Out Here” Panel Discussion

      In these authors’ four Trillium Book Award-winning works, they have given life to characters that are on the margins of their communities, whether they are newcomers to their lands and experiencing the pain of relocation or whether their actions and beliefs have branded them as outsiders.

      But, in order to create great works of fiction, how necessary is it for authors themselves to live the life of an outsider? Is it possible to provide fresh eyes, to give a significant view, without stepping beyond the perimeter of society?

      Experience fiction through a writer’s eyes as four of our country’s finest literary talents unite for what is sure to be a riveting discussion.

      Learn more about Dionne Brand, Camilla Gibb, Nino Ricci and Jane Urquhart