Diaspora Dialogues

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Upcoming Event: 7 Things I Learned While Promoting During A Pandemic

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Join four-time author Farzana Doctor for a FREE workshop on using social media, finding influencers, creating and attracting people to your events, asking for help, working with a publicist and more. This workshop will be helpful to any writer working to increase their profile and especially for those with a book contract and who are thinking about how to promote a future book.

Farzana Doctor is the Tkaronto-based author of four novels: Stealing Nasreen, Six Metres of Pavement, All Inclusive, and Seven. Seven has been chosen for 2020 Best Book lists including: Indigo/Chapters, Apple Books, Amnesty International, CBC Books and more. Farzana is also the Maasi behind Dear Maasi, a new sex and relationships column for FGM/C survivors. She is also an activist, part-time psychotherapist and amateur tarot card reader.

*Video Chat link and recording details will be provided with signup.

To register, visit:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/7-things-i-learned-while-promoting-during-a-pandemic-tickets-132199190337

Upcoming Event: Beginners Guide to Goodreads: For Authors & Bloggers

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Goodreads can often be a confusing and even scary platform for authors and bloggers. If you’ve been told time and time again to create an account but have no idea where to start, this guide will get you up and running and ultimately enjoying the platform. Join Book Blogger, Writer and DD Marketing Assistant, Tiara Chutkhan as we explore the different ways authors and bloggers can utilize the Goodreads platform to their advantage.

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Tiara Chutkhan is a writer, editor and researcher born and raised in Toronto. Her love of literature led her to start blogging and sharing her reads, particularly those by Caribbean authors. Tiara’s Indo-Caribbean heritage is extremely important to her and she strives to create representation for her community. Her writing is geared toward exploring the Indo-Caribbean diaspora, its history and culture.

Tiara is the Editor-in-Chief at The Brown Girl Diary and Marketing Assistant at Diaspora Dialogues. She is a regular contributor for The Brown Girl Diary and Caribbean Collection Magazine. Tiara is also working towards a certificate in Creative Writing from University of Toronto.

Tiara is currently working on putting together an anthology of Indo-Caribbean fiction and developing a short documentary on Indo-Caribbean representation in Toronto.

*Video Chat link and recording details will be provided with signup.

To register, visit:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/beginners-guide-to-goodreads-for-authors-bloggers-tickets-131944320013

Virtual Literary Walking Tour With Melanie Florence

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Canadian literature through camping! 

Join award-winning author, Melanie Florence, as she takes you through Algonquin Park, Canada’s oldest provincial park in a series of photos and memories. This tour will feature personal anecdotes as well as references and readings from various books that explore the park and nature. 

This workshop includes writing exercises so be prepared for some literary inspiration!

It will be at 3pm on December 29th.

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Melanie Florence is an award-winning writer of Cree and Scottish heritage based in Toronto. She was close to her grandfather as a child, a relationship that sparked her interest in writing about Aboriginal themes and characters. She is the author of Missing Nimama, which won the 2016 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and the 2017 Forest of Reading Golden Oak Award and was a finalist for the 2017 First Nation Communities READ award. Her picture book, Stolen Words, won the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, is shortlisted for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and was given a starred review by Kirkus, who listed it as one of the best picture books of 2017 to give readers strength. Her other books include Righting Canada’s Wrongs: Residential Schools, He Who Dreams, The Missing, One Night, Rez Runaway and Just Lucky, published in September 2019.

In case you missed the event, the playback is available at:

https://www.crowdcast.io/e/virtual-literary-walking

DD x Nuit Blanche: Sisterhood Through Space

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“Sisterhood Through Space” uses visual and auditory installations to invite audiences to explore the various places racialized and immigrant women form connections to each other.

The Project

This work takes to heart the concept of revealing the space between communities as a potential site for sharing knowledge. This sound installation, led by freelance journalist Aparita Bhandari with support from Mai Nguyen, will immerse Nuit Blanche audiences in the voices and stories of both the women who operate these spaces and the women who find their communities in them, while photographs by James Harbeck provide a visual portrayal of these women and spaces in all their complexities.

The Artists:

Aparita Bhandari is an arts and life reporter in Toronto. She has been widely published, including with the CBC, the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, and Walrus magazine. Her areas of interest and expertise lie in the intersections of gender, culture, and ethnicity. She is the producer and co-host of the Hindi language podcast Khabardaar .

Mai Nguyen is a freelance writer and journalist based in Toronto. Her writing has appeared in newspapers and magazines including The Globe and Mail, Maclean’s and Reader’s Digest. Her specialties include business, travel, and whatever else interests her, which is a lot of things.

James Harbeck is a Toronto-based editor, writer, speaker, and photographer. His photography was included in the 2018 Nuit Blanche installation “Faces of Scarborough” and he was a poetry contributor to TOK 3.

For more information on this years Nuit Blanche lineup check out:

https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/nuitblanche/2020-program/nuit-live/sisterhood-through-space/

The Elements of Story: Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns

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Diaspora Dialogues is excited to announce an interactive online program featuring Khaled Hosseini, author of A Thousand Splendid Suns. Co-produced by Canadian Stage and The Toronto International Festival of Authors in association with Diaspora Dialogues.

The Elements of Story delves into the work and ideas of internationally celebrated authors and cultural thinkers.

Participants will embark on a six-week exploration into Khaled Hosseini’s captivating bestselling novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. Hosted by the winner of the 2020 Canada Reads competition, Samra Habib (We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir), this one-of-a-kind series of interactive discussions and lectures will allow readers to deepen their experience and understanding of the novel and its author through a look into Afghanistan’s complex intersection of politics, religion, and gender.

The online program includes access to:

A live In Conversation with Khaled Hosseini event – Fri Nov 13, 7 pm

In Their Element: three 90-minute lectures by leading scholars, thinkers, and artists exploring related topics.

Mozhdah Jamalzadah: acclaimed Afghan singer and talk show host, dubbed “the Oprah of Afghanistan” – Tue Oct 6, 7 pm

Dr Kamal Al-Solaylee: celebrated author and journalist – Tue Oct 20, 7 pm

Nahlah Ayed: Award-winning journalist and host – Tues Nov 3, 7 pm

The Elements of Story Book Club: three facilitated 90-minute group discussions – Thurs Oct 15, 29, and Nov 12, 7 pm

In addition, participants will have exclusive access to an original series of micro-film poems by Afghan and Canadian filmmakers commissioned especially for this unique event, produced by Golden Hour Productions.

For more information and to purchase tickets please visit:

https://www.canadianstage.com/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=elements&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=

Diaspora Dialogues is Thrilled to be Partnering with Guelph CW MFA

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Diaspora Dialogues is delighted to announce that we are partnering with the University of Guelph’s Creative Writing MFA program. UofG will be coming on as a sponsor for DD.

This years TOK Toronto Symposium will have two exciting masterclasses taught by staff from the UofG.

On September 25th, the Masterclass In Fiction and Writing For Theatre development sessions will be led by Catherine Bush and Judith Thompson.

Catherine Bush is the author of five novels, including the Canada Reads long-listed Accusation (2013), the Trillium Award short-listed Claire’s Head (2004), and the national bestselling The Rules of Engagement (FSG, 2000), a New York Times Notable Book and an L.A. Times Best Book of the Year. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Guelph and Coordinator of the Guelph Creative Writing MFA, based in Toronto.

Judith Thompson is a playwright, director, actor, artistic director (RARE Theatre Company), and professor of theatre at the University of Guelph. She is the author of 15 published plays, many of which are performed all over the world. They include The Crackwalker, Lion in the Streets, Perfect Pie, and Palace of the End. She has directed and co-created five plays with artists with exceptionalities including Body and Soul, Sick, RARE, Borne and Wildfire.

The MFA Program is located in Toronto and offers workshops in fiction, creative nonfiction, drama and poetry. Defining characteristics include innovative plenary courses, a semester-long mentorship with a professional writer, and the opportunity to design and teach creative writing workshops.

The program is currently accepting applicants 2021 applications. Interested writers can review admission requirements and apply by December 7, 2020.

Diaspora Dialogues looks forward to the future of this partnership and the exciting things it will bring for everyone in our communities!

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