FESTIVAL PARTICIPANTS

AUTHORS, POETS & PERFORMERS

ELAMIN ABDELMAHMOUD is the host of CBC’s Commotion, and author of the No. 1 national bestseller Son of Elsewhere, a New York Times notable book of the year.

DANIEL ALEMAN is the award-winning author of Indivisible and Brighter Than the Sun

WAYNE ARTHURSON is a writer and literary agent of Cree/ French Canadian descent from Edmonton.

AJHANI AZURE is a 21-year-old independent artist, producer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist from Brampton, Ontario.

BRITTA B. is a poet and author of Wires that Sputter (McClelland & Stewart, 2023) living in Toronto.

KATE BEATON is the cartoonist of Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands , which is a New York Times Notable Book and one of Barack Obama’s favourite books of 2022.

LEANNE BETASAMOSAKE SIMPSON is a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg writer, musician and thinker.

CODY CAETANO is the author of Half-Bads in White Regalia (Hamish Hamilton). He works as a literary agent with CookeMcDermid.

MICHAEL CHRISTIE is the author of the bestselling and award-winning novel Greenwood, as well as other books. He lives in Victoria.

JESSIE CONRAD is an emerging speculative fiction Dene Métis author. Mentorship and critical reflection of all stages of the writing process allow her to consistently advance her craft.

GIA DE CADENET. Author, Writing Mentor, Expat.

CHERIE DIMALINE is a bestselling author and member of the Georgian Bay Métis Community who writes YA and adult literature, screenplays and essays.

ELI TAREQ EL BECHELANY-LYNCH is a writer living in Tio’tia:ke, author of knot body (Metatron Press 2020) and The Good Arabs (Metonymy Press 2021).

JEN FERGUSON (she/her) is the author of The Summer of Bitter and Sweet and the forthcoming Those Pink Mountain Nights , both from Heartdrum/HarperCollins.

R. BARRI FLOWERS is a literary criminologist and bestselling crime writer.

SHELLY GRACE is a Toronto-based spoken word poet, photographer, and arts educator.

MARKUS HARWOOD-JONES is an author of YA and romance fiction, featuring stories of queer and trans love.

ALI HASSAN is a Stand-up Comedian, Actor, CBC Personality and Author.

CATHERINE HERNANDEZ is the award-winning author of Scarborough the book and screenwriter of Scarborough the film.

KEVIN HERONJONES is a youth basketball coach, author, journalist, lecturer and award-winning performance poet. He has numerous spoken word recordings and has published three poetry books and two youth novels.

TALIA HIBBERT is the New York Times bestselling author of several diverse and indulgent romance novels.

SHAHADDAH JACK is an 18-year-old poet and author whose poetry speaks to the lived Black experience, the intersectionality of womanhood, and the adversity of adolescence.

EL JONES is a writer, professor, and activist who works with people facing deportation and incarceration. She is the author of Abolitionist Intimacies and Life from the Afrikan Resistance

ZOULFA KATOUH is the author of As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow and is currently pursuing her master’s in Drug Sciences.

JESMEEN KAUR DEO is the author of the YA novel TJ Powar Has Something to Prove, which was a 2022 Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and Indie Next Pick.

SANDRA LAMOUCHE is a Nehiyaw Iskwew (Cree Woman) from the Bigstone Cree Nation in Northern Alberta. She married into the Piikani Nation in Southern Alberta and is mother to two boys with braids.

JEN SOOKFONG LEE is an author and editor whose books include The Conjoined, The End of East , The Shadow List , and her most recent memoir, Superfan

MEEGAN LIM is an illustrator & arts facilitator based in Brampton, ON—known for her illustrations focused on food, culture and everything in between.

ROSELLE LIM is the critically acclaimed author of Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune, Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop and Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club

JULIAN MARTIN is a Two-Spirited Indigenous Man. Julian has always been passionate about writing and storytelling from a very young age.

ROBYN MAYNARD is an award-winning author and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Historical and Cultural Studies at the University of Toronto-Scarborough.

Based in Calgary, SUZETTE MAYR is the author of six novels including her most recent, The Sleeping Car Porter, winner of the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

SUSAN MOCKLER ’s recent memoir, Fractured, recounts her experiences with acquired disability following a car accident that left her with an incomplete spinal cord injury.

SILVIA MORENO-GARCIA is the author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic. She won the Locus and British Fantasy awards for her work as a novelist.

SHEILA MURRAY ’s 2022 debut novel, Finding Edward, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award and was a longlist nominee for Canada Reads 2023.

ALESSANDRA NACCARATO is a poet and essayist whose work explores intersections of disability and ecological change. She’s the author of Imminent Domains: Reckoning with the Anthropocene and Re-Origin of Species

DIMITRI NASRALLAH is the author of four novels. His most recent, 2022’s Hotline, is a national bestseller that’s been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and CBC’s Canada Reads.

JANIKA OZA is the author of the novel, A History of Burning , forthcoming from McClelland & Stewart in May 2023.

CASEY PLETT is the author of A Dream of a Woman, Little Fish, and A Safe Girl to Love.

TAHIRA RAJWANI is a Mississauga-based student, volunteer and spoken word artist.

DANNY RAMADAN is a Syrian-Canadian author and advocate for LGBTQ-identifying refugees. His work includes The Clothesline Swing , The Foghorn Echoes and the children’s series Adventures of Salma!

LINDSAY RUCK is an author and editor from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia with a passion for storytelling and an emphasis on representation.

GAVIN RUSSELL is a local Spoken Word poet who relishes in the mundane.

LISELLE SAMBURY is the Trinidadian Canadian author of Delicious Monsters , and the Governor General’s Literary Awards Finalist Blood Like Magic and its sequel, Blood Like Fate. Her latest book is Delicious Monsters , out now.

NISI SHAWL is the multiple award-winning author, coauthor, and editor of over a dozen books, including the standard text on diverse representation in literature, Writing the Other.

Hailing from Jamaica, and raised in Toronto, TANYA TURTON is an award-winning entrepreneur, storyteller, wellness educator, and mental health advocate.

ANUJA VARGHESE (www.anujavarghese.com) lives in Hamilton, has been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and is the author of the genre-blending short story collection Chrysalis (House of Anansi, 2023).

SANDRA SG WONG (she/her) writes acclaimed fiction across genres, including the bestselling thriller IN THE DARK WE FORGET, and is an active advocate for equity in the crime writing community.

DAN K. WOO teaches short fiction at the University of Toronto School of continuing studies. His latest book was featured on the Chicago Review of Books most anticipated reads of 2022.

Moderators

Author, writer, and community builder. KERN CARTER is writing his own story and helping others share their own.

YELI CRUZ (she/her) is a voracious reader, a writer, and a publishing professional. In her free time she loves playing video games and wearing cozy sweaters.

ALYSSA GRAY-TYGHTER (she/her) is an educator, writer, speaker, and PhD student. For over 10 years, she has taught a variety of subjects in a public middle school in Peel where she is now an Equity Resource Teacher. Her current research focuses of Black girlhood, identity, and belonging in Canada.

AMANDA LEDUC is the author of three books. She has cerebral palsy and lives in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where she serves as the Communications and Development Coordinator for the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD).

HYACINTHE MILLER writes crime fiction spiced with seasoned romance. Her debut novel, Kenora Reinvented, will be followed by The Fifth Man, book two of the series.

TÉA MUTONJI is a poet writing fiction. Her short stories collection, Shut Up You’re Pretty (2019), was published by VS. Books and Arsenal Pulp Press.

EMMY NORDSTROM-HIGDON is a queer, non-binary colonizer originally from Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland), now based in Tkaronto (Toronto), where they work as a literary agent for Westwood Creative Artists.

ARDO OMER has written for online platforms as a reviewer and critic for almost a decade. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, where she serves as the Kids Coordinator for the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD).

ANITA RAGUNATHAN is a Senior Producer, Cultural and Special Events at Toronto Public Library and a member of the Katarokwi Union of Tenants.

NATASHA RAMOUTAR is a writer of Indo-Guyanese descent from Scarborough. Her debut poetry collection Bittersweet was published in 2020 by Mawenzi House.

JAEL RICHARDSON is an author and the Executive Director of the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD).

JANUARY ROGERS is a Mohawk/Tuscarora poet, media producer, performance and sound art-ist. She lives on her home territory of Six Nations of the Grand River where she operates Ojistoh Publishing and Productions

THE WILD WOMAN is an award-winning spoken word artist, poet, author, educator, and workshop facilitator.

Publishing Professionals

KERRY C. BYRNE is the autistic, queer and nonbinary Publisher of Augur Magazine, Co-Director of AugurCon, and a speculative fiction writer.

ANITA CHONG is Executive Editor at McClelland & Stewart, where she acquires and edits literary fiction and memoir.

HANA EL NIWAIRI is a literary agent and Rights Manager at CookeMcDermid Literary Management and one of the cofounders of BIPOC of Publishing in Canada.

THERESE ESTACION is a disabled poet and part of the Visayan diaspora community. Her first book, Phantompains , was published by Book*Hug, in 2021. She lives in Tkaronto/ Toronto.

FAZEELA JIWA is an acquisitions and development editor with Fernwood Publishing.

BRIDGETTE KAM is a literary associate at Westwood Creative Artists.

YASHASWI KESANAKURTHY is the Associate Editor (Children’s) at HarperCollins Canada.

KELVIN KONG is the owner and principal agent at K2 Literary.

CECILIA (“CeCe”) LYRA is an associate literary agent at P.S. Literary Agency representing adult fiction and nonfiction.

BIANCA MARAIS is a bestselling author, a host of the popular podcast, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing , and an award-winning creative writing instructor.

AMEEMA SAEED (@ReadWithMeemz) is a writer, a bookstagrammer, a book reviewer and a sensitivity reader.

RONAN SADLER is an editor, sensitivity reader, and cultural consultant with a focus on disability and transgender issues.

CARLY WATTERS is SVP and Senior Literary Agent at P.S. Literary and co-host of The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Podcast.

LÉONICKA VALCIUS is a Literary Agent at Transatlantic Agency. She represents books for children and adults with a focus on commercial and genre fiction by writers of color.

Program Contributors

PARDIS ALIAKBARKHANI (she/they) is a writer and artist of the Iranian diaspora. Influenced by her culture, her work explores love, sexuality, and liberation for all.

LARISSA BENFEY writes everything from novels to screenplays and has recently become more intentional in the exploration of her neurodivergence within her writing. More at: www.larissabenfey.com

MONI BRAR is the recipient of the 2022 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award and a finalist for the Montreal International Poetry Prize.

TALYSHA BUJOLD-ABU (she/her) is a Black/Mixed-Heritage illustrator and comics artist—with a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) from the University of Windsor (2018).

YOLANDE HOUSE ’s essays have appeared in The Rumpus , Grain, Joyland, and PRISM international. Currently, she’s working on an essay collection about invisible disabilities.

TASLIM JAFFER is a writer/writing instructor in Surrey, B.C. She is co-editor of the forthcoming anthology, Back Where I Came From (Book*hug Press, 2024).

KELLY KAUR was born in Singapore and lives in Calgary. Her novel, Letters to Singapore, was published by Stonehouse Publishing in May 2022.

Ms Bobbie The Art Pixie is the artist name of BOBBIE KUMAR , a transgender, disabled artist from Brampton, Ontario. Immersed in art her whole life, Bobbie wrote her first story at the age of 11. She started making short films at the age of 15, and music a year later.

VIVIAN LI is a queer writer and interdisciplinary artist. She was a Finalist for the Peter Hinchcliffe Short Fiction Award, and her works have been published in The Fiddlehead, The Massachusetts Review, and CV2, among others.

LINH NYUGEN (she/her) is a Vietnamese-Canadian immigrant and writer. Her debut middle-grade fantasy novel, No Place Like Home (HarperCollins Canada) came out on March 14, 2023.

VICTORIA PERRIE is a queer Métis-Cree lawyer, arts educator, and artist from Winnipeg. She is passionate about Indigenous youth education and holding space for community.

SHANTELL POWELL is a two-spirit writer, swamp hag, and artist who grew up on the land and off the grid.

MELANIE PROULX is a queer Ph.D. candidate, author, and comic artist. Her academic and creative work largely focus on social justice for marginalities.

LESLIE ROACH is an Ottawa-based poet and author. Her debut collection of poetry is called Finish this Sentence. She was born and raised in Montreal.

STEPHANIE ROBERTS is the Quebec-based, prize-winning, author of rushes from the river disappointment (MQUP 2020). She is a citizen of Canada, the US, and Panama.

MICHELE RULE is a disabled writer from Kelowna and an associate member of the League of Canadian Poets. “I write so my head doesn’t explode.”