Diaspora Dialogues

Supporting new fiction, poetry, and drama

Donate

Social Links Widget

tiara

Call for Submissions: GTA and National Long Form Mentorship

by

Diaspora Dialogues is thrilled to invite submissions from emerging writers for our GTA and National Long Form Mentorship in 2022!

This mentorship is for those who currently have a full or near-full draft of an original full-length novel, or collection of short stories, or collection of poems. We are now also accepting works intended for young adults. Full or near-full draft means that the writer has up to 85,000 words or 300 double-spaced pages of prose; or up to 25 poems (50 pages maximum).

Diaspora Dialogues is committed to supporting a literature of Canada that is as diverse as the country itself. Writers are encouraged to keep this mandate in mind, but it is not essential in the submission.

Submission Guidelines include:

• Work from which the excerpt is submitted must be in a full draft or near-full draft stage.
• Samples submitted can be one chapter from the novel or one short story from the collection (up to but not exceeding
5,000 words); poetry can include up to 10 poems but not exceed 15 pages.
• Submissions must include a one-page description of the novel, short story or poetry collection.
• Submissions must include a short biography in paragraph form (no more than 250 words.)
• The work must be original and not previously published.
• Submissions must be in English.
• Each writer may submit only one manuscript.
• A completed submission form must be included.
• Submissions will be accepted by email.
• Commentary/feedback is not available on submissions.
• Writers must not have a previously published full-length manuscript (although appearances in magazines
and/or anthologies are acceptable).
• Any writer of any age can apply.


Deadline: November 1 2021 at 11:59 pm.

The mentorships will begin in January 2022 and run for six months. Assigned mentors
are at the discretion of Diaspora Dialogues.


Please read all of the guidelines carefully before submitting. If you have questions, email: zalika@diasporadialogues.com


Find out more info on the program here: https://diasporadialogues.com/mentoring-program/

In Conversation with Helen Walsh

by

DD President Helen Walsh’s debut novel Pull Focus publishes September 7, 2021 in North America (Oct 7th in the UK). Set behind the scenes at an international film festival, the book explores the intersection of gender and power in the film industry and beyond. Join us Sept 9th, 5:30-6:30pm, as Helen sits down in conversation with author (and DD mentor) Rabindranath Maharaj. Free with registration. Copies of Pull Focus available HERE.

In Pull Focus, Jane has been appointed interim director of the Worldwide Toronto Film Festival after her boss has been removed for sexual harassment. Knives are out all around her, as factions within the community want to see her fail. At the same time, her partner, a fund manager, has disappeared, and strange women appear, uttering threats about misused funds. Yet the show must go on. As Jane struggles to juggle all the balls she’s been handed and survive in one piece, she discovers unlikely allies and finds that she’s stronger than she thinks.

Helen Walsh’s debut novel, Pull Focus, will be published September 7, 2021 by ECW Press in Canada and the US, and October 7, 2021 in the UK.

Walsh is also the founder and president of Diaspora Dialogues, a charitable organization that supports writers to turn their craft into a career, through mentorship, professional development, and opportunities to present and publish their work.

Previously, Walsh was publisher and president of the Literary Review of Canada, a monthly book review magazine; director of Spur, a festival of politics, arts and ideas; and a film/digital media writer & producer in Canada and the US.

Walsh lives in Toronto.

Rabindranath Maharaj is the award-winning author of: the novels, Fatboy Fall Down (2019, ECW Press); Adjacentland (2018, Wolsak and Wynn); The Amazing Absorbing Boy (2010, Knopf Canada; winner of the 2010 Trillium Book Award, the 2011 Toronto Book Award, and voted a CBC Canada Reads Top 10 for Ontario); A Perfect Pledge (2005, Knopf Canada; Farrar, Straus and Giroux US; a Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize finalist); The Lagahoo’s Apprentice (2000 Knopf Canada; a Globe and Mail and Toronto Star Notable Book of the Year); Homer in Flight (1997, Goose Lane Editions, a Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award finalist); The Picture of Nobody (2010, Good Reads/Harper Collins Canada) and the short story collections The Book of Ifs and Buts (2002, Vintage Canada), The Writer and His Wife (1996, Peepal Tree Press, UK), and The Interloper (1995, Goose Lane Editions; Nominated for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book). Maharaj also co-edited with Dionne Brand and Tessa McWatt. an anthology of Canadian writing, Luminous Ink (2018, Cormorant).

To register for the event, visit: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/in-conversation-with-helen-walsh-tickets-169162528677

Introducing the TOK Toronto 2021 Lineup

by

Professional Development Workshops

Thursday September 16, 2021 | 3pm-5pm

Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/introduction-to-poetry-tickets-167248198865

Whether you’re just getting started or familiar with the craft, writing poetry can be a tricky art to master. Join writer and editor Terese Mason Pierre as we dive deeper into the structures, styles and techniques of one of the oldest forms of writing.

Saturday September 18, 2021 | 12pm-1pm

Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/graphic-novels-masterclass-tickets-168205696767

Graphic novels have captured audiences of all ages for decades, bringing together the craft of writing and art of illustration. Join 2D Location Designer and Comic Artist Ashley Hafsal for a masterclass that will help you get started with your graphic novel journey.

In Conversation Events

Saturday September 18, 2021 | 10am-11am

Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/in-conversation-with-kamal-al-solaylee-and-tamas-dobozy-tickets-168202138123

Join us for a conversation with authors Kamal al-Solaylee and Tama Dobozy as we dive deeper into their works Ghost Geographies and Return: Why We Go Back to Where We Come.

Sunday September 19, 2021 | 10am-11am

Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/in-conversation-with-anosh-ironi-and-john-krizanc-tickets-168884743815

Join us for a conversation with best-selling writers and playwrights Anosh Ironi and John Krizanc as we explore their new dramas Buffoon and Tamara. Moderated by Akosua Amo-Adem.

Saturday September 25, 2021 | 10am-11am

Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/in-conversation-with-linda-rui-feng-and-isabella-wang-tickets-167246872899

Join us for an in-depth conversation with Linda Rui Feng and Isabella Wang as they discuss their new releases Swimming Back to Trout River and Pebble Swing covering Chinese culture and identity.

Sunday September 26, 2021 | 10am-11am

Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/in-conversation-with-shayda-kafai-and-amanda-leduc-tickets-167247390447

Join us for an exciting conversation with Shayda Kafai and Amanda Leduc as they explore disability justice and activism through their works Crip Kinship and Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space.

Join Us for the TOK Toronto 2021 Symposium

by

After the great success of TOK Toronto 2019, and TOK Toronto 2020, we are excited to be bringing our community a fresh line up of events for TOK Toronto 2021.

For the third year, we will be partnering with Word On The Street this September to host all events online. Just as we did last year, anyone is free to register without the limitations of space as everyone can partake from the comfort of their own home. The full schedule of events, along with authors and panel information, can be found here.

All events will be FREE to register on our Eventbrite page.

Stay tuned for our official programming announcement which will be shared on our website and via social media.

ARCHIVED EVENT: The Art of the Pitch

by

Attention writers! Have you finished a fantastic manuscript and are now looking to sell it? Join us for a workshop on the Art of the Pitch with Bryan Ibeas, fiction editor at Invisible Publishing and Hazel Millar, Co-Publisher of Book*hug Press. Come prepared to talk about your project, ask questions and have your pitch flash assessed!

Bryan Ibeas is a fiction editor at Invisible Publishing.

Hazel Millar is the Co-Publisher at Book*hug Press, an independent literary press based in Toronto. She is the Past Chair of the Board of the Literary Press Group of Canada and sits on several publishing-related boards and advisory committees She lives in Toronto with her husband, Jay MillAr, aka, the other half of Book*hug Press, their two sons, and a cool calico cat named Tess.

To register for the workship, visit:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-art-of-the-pitch-tickets-162592844575

ARCHIVED EVENT: Money Matters

by

Money issues? Who doesn’t have them! Join us on June 11th at 12:30 pm for a Money Matters presentation with TD Business Management Analyst Jennifer Tomic, a TD employee who is very kindly volunteering her time and expertise.

We have been very fortunate to partner with TD on our DD-TD Black Playwrights Program this past year. When we reached out to them about a LnL focussed on financial planning, they were happy to tailor one to our needs. Jennifer will discuss practical strategies for saving and making your dollars count as you invest for your future.

To register for the workshop, visit: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/money-matters-tickets-158031088239

Top