About & History

About Us

Diaspora Dialogues supports the creation and presentation of new fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and drama that reflect the complexity of the city, as seen through the eyes of its richly diverse writers. We use art and ideas to explore questions of our connected humanity, and our programs and events help encourage the creation of a literature – and audience – that is vibrant and inclusive.

Toronto—the world within one city—has tremendous stories to tell. Diaspora Dialogues is committed to bringing these stories to both the domestic and international stage.

Find out more about our core programs.

Our History

In 2005 we launched Diaspora Dialogues to support Toronto writers, and to create a lasting literature of Toronto that accurately reflects the incredible diversity this city enjoys.

Toronto deserves the starring role in stories, poems and plays written by those writers who call it home. We hope that, through our programs, we help artists and audiences connect with each other, and that together we are building a city of experiences.

The idea for Diaspora Dialogues was sparked when Alan Broadbent, Chairman of Maytree, asked me, “If the foundation were willing to fund an initiative that helped stimulate the voice of immigrant writers in Toronto, what would you do?”

After researching and meeting with writers, publishers and community organizations, we founded Diaspora Dialogues – an organization that aims to bridge cultures, communities and art forms. We work almost exclusively in a partnership model, meaning that our work connects many organizations and festivals with culturally diverse writers and artists. We do this to expand access for programmers, audiences, and the writers and artists themselves.

We hope you’ll join us in the work of diversifying our pages and stages, and to help us continue to showcase talented new writers and artists to Toronto.

— Helen Walsh, President