Lit City - Toronto Stories, Toronto Settings at Doors Open Toronto, May 23 and 24
More than 40 venues feature free author events
Authors meet architecture when Lillian Allen, Pat Capponi, Barry
Callaghan, Austin Clark, Anthony De Sa, Katherine Govier, Maggie Helwig,
Maureen Jennings, Vincent Lam, Andrew Moodie, Paul Quarrington, Robert
Rotenberg, Russell Smith, Veronica Tennant and other Toronto writers
read on location from their works set in Toronto as part of this
year*s Doors Open Toronto, May 23 and 24.
Doors Open Toronto celebrates its 10th anniversary with the finale of
Lit City - Toronto Stories, Toronto Settings, a three-month festival
that honours literary writers who find inspiration in Toronto and use
the city as a setting in their work. From Allan Gardens to the
University of Toronto, the built city meets the imagined city with
site-specific events at over 40 venues. Complete listings at
www.toronto.ca/litcity.
Author appearances are planned at several national historic sites.
Old City Hall welcomes Robert Rotenberg reading from his popular legal
thriller Old City Hall; and Osgoode Hall features two mystery writers,
Jeffrey Miller, Murder at Osgoode Hall, and John McFetridge, Everyone
Knows This Is Nowhere.
The Distillery Historic District presents authors in the rarely open
Scale Tank Loft including Maureen Jennings, creator of Victorian-era
Detective William Murdoch, on May 24.
Kensington Market is the destination for an afternoon walk on May 23
following readings at the Toronto Public Library Lillian H. Smith branch
by Young Adult writers Jennifer Cowan, earthgirl, Vivian Meyer, Bottom
Bracket, and Ellen S. Jaffe, Feast of Lights.
Union Station*s Great Hall is a Lit City destination for readings and
performances of fiction, poetry and drama both days when Diaspora
Dialogues presents Journeys to the City. Joe Fiorito reads from Union
Station: Stories of the New Toronto and Howard Akler reads from The City
Man. Actors perform The Enormous Radio, a site-specific short play by
Michael Healey commissioned for this event; actor David Storch reads
from Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion; Mahlikah Aweri performs
spoken word to music with her group, Red Slam; Lina Medaglia reads from
The Demons of Aquilonia; and Lillian Allen, teenah edan and Barbara Hunt
share their poetry. Spontaneous five-minute vignettes called
Hello/Goodbye feature opera singer Fides Krucker, Convergence Theatre
and theatre students from Humber College.
Saturday afternoon (May 23), join novelist Paul Quarrington at
Todmorden Mills: Heritage Museum and Arts Centre for a reading from his
novel, The Ravine, followed by a walk in the Don Valley. Maggie Helwig
meets author-editor Wayne Reeves in the David Balfour Park to read from
her recent fiction, Girls Fall Down. Anthony De Sa leads a tour
through Little Portugal on Sunday afternoon inspired by the Toronto
setting in his 2008 Giller Prize-nominated book, Barnacle Love, after
his reading at the Factory Theatre.
Two hotels at the edge of Parkdale host a series of Lit City events:
poet Catherine Graham, mystery writer Pat Capponi and novelist Russell
Smith read from site-specific work in a newly refurbished suite at the
Drake Hotel on Saturday afternoon. The Gladstone Hotel features two This
Is Not a Reading Series (TINARS) events: TINARS For Tots on Saturday
morning with Rebecca Upjohn and others. Sunday features a TINARS Arcade
with a *living library* of local authors Claudia Dey, Lisa Foad, Ibi
Kaslik, Damian Rogers, Zoe Whitall, Nathan Whitlock and more.
On Sunday (May 24), Canada*s National Ballet School presents a series
of ballet-related works mostly for children, including Prima Ballerina
Veronica Tennant reading from On Stage Please.
Sunday afternoon, the Toronto Public Library City Hall branch hosts a
celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Toronto Book Awards with past
winners Glen Downie (2008), Sarah Dearing (2002), David Donnell (1993)
and Katherine Govier (1992).
The Toronto Arts Council opens its doors both days to showcase
submissions of poetry, short stories, video, painting, photography and
collage from its Get Lit competition launched in celebration of the 35th
anniversary of the TAC.
Two of Canada*s most respected independent publishers open their
doors: Coach House Press and McArthur & Company, where Greg Gatenby*s
Toronto A Literary Guide is on sale at a special Lit City price and
Barry Callaghan, author of recent novel Beside Still Waters, appears as
a writer-in-residence in his publisher*s restored warehouse offices.
Callaghan is also reading at the Lillian H. Smith library on Sunday
afternoon and at the Doors Open Toronto kick-off.
Doors Open Toronto begins on Friday, May 22 with festivities at the
Royal Ontario Museum - with free admission, 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Join Mayor
David Miller and host Mary Ito, CBC Radio One 99.1 FM, at 6 p.m. for
10th anniversary celebrations that begin with music from Maza Meze, Lit
City readings and a panel with authors Dionne Brand, Barry Callaghan,
Amy Lavender Harris and Paul Quarrington at 6:30 p.m., as well as a
concert by Porkbelly Futures at 8 p.m.
Attendees can test their Toronto literary knowledge with the
possibility of winning great prizes from Open Book Toronto throughout
the evening. All museum galleries will be open.
See the complete program at www.toronto.ca/doorsopen. Most buildings
are open on one or both days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with exceptions.
Please confirm times for each venue. No pre-registration or tickets are
required. The official program guide will be in the Toronto Star on
Thursday, May 21.
Doors Open Toronto is produced by the City of Toronto and Toronto 175
(toronto.ca/175) and sponsored by the Toronto Star. Media sponsor: CBC;
program sponsor: Woodcliffe
Toronto is Canada*s largest city and sixth largest government, and
home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It is the
economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative
cities in North America. In the past three years, Toronto has won more
than 70 awards for quality, innovation and efficiency in delivering
public services. 2009 marks the 175th anniversary of Toronto*s
incorporation as a city. Toronto*s government is dedicated to
prosperity, opportunity and liveability for all its residents.
