Diaspora Dialogues

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Events

Archived Event: From DD to Published Author

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Join us for a special workshop hosted by DD alum Denise Da Costa and Reema Patel. Denise and Reema, once mentees in DD’s mentorship programs, have gone on to become published authors. During the workshop, the two will share their writer’s journey as well as advice for aspiring authors who hope to see their work on shelves one day.

VIDEO:

About the Presenters

Denise Da Costa is a Canadian poet, novelist, and essayist whose work is featured in Subdivided: City Building in an Age of Hyper Diversity. She is an alumnus of the Humber School of Writers and 2017 Diaspora Dialogues program. Before earning her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from York University, she studied graphic design, showcasing her work at the annual Eden Mills Art Festival. She resides in the GTA with her husband. Her debut novel, And the Walls Came Down will be published in June 2023 by Dundurn Press.

REEMA PATEL holds a B.A. from McGill University and a J.D. from the University of Windsor. After working in Mumbai in the youth non-profit sector and in human rights advocacy, she has spent the last ten years working in provincial and municipal government. Such Big Dreams is her first novel, an excerpt of which won the Penguin Random House Student Award for Fiction at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies. She lives in Toronto, where she works as a lawyer.

Archived Event: Introduction of Self-Publishing

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The self-publishing industry is rapidly growing as more authors look to build a career that gives them complete control over their stories and schedules. Join author and editor Tiara Jade for a workshop aimed at demystifying the indie publishing process and helping early career authors navigate the key steps in their publishing journey.

VIDEO:

About the Presenter

Tiara Jade Chutkhan is a book blogger, writer and editor born and raised in Toronto. Through her platform, Tiara strives to promote diverse and culturally specific literature. Her blogging has allowed her the opportunity to review books forHarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Simon and Schuster and Dundurn Press.

Following the release of her first book, Two Times Removed: An Anthology of Indo-Caribbean Fiction, in May2021, Tiara had the opportunity to speak on several CBC radio stations, including All in a Weekend and In Town and Out. In October 2021, she was featured on the debut episode of CBC’s “Rediscovering Culture”series. Her work has been published in the Caribbean Camera, Brown Gyal Diary, Write Magazine, CaribbeanCollective Magazine, and Brown Girl Magazine.

Two Times Removed Volume II: An Anthology of Contemporary Indo-Caribbean Stories is her second book.

Archived Event: Perfecting Your Pitch

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December 22, 2022 | 12pm

After completing your manuscript, there is still more writing to do! The query letter is the next step if you’re planning on finding an agent and selling your book to a publisher. Join us for a workshop on Perfecting Your Pitch with Transatlantic Literary Agency Agent, Chandler Crawford. Come prepared to talk about your project, ask questions and have your pitch flash assessed!

Register here. Spaces are limited!

About the Presenter

Chandler Crawford has worked in publishing for 39 years, beginning with a stint at the Ghana Publishing Corporation in West Africa in the early 1980s. She worked at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates in New York City as a foreign scout for 14 years representing international publishers and film producers. She was instrumental in finding American books – both fiction and nonfiction – for translation and feature film adaptation for her clients, from works by Paul Auster, Louise Erdrich to John Grisham and a myriad of non-fiction authors. While at Greenburger Associates, she sold international rights for various clients, most notably, Vaclav Havel and Robert Musil on behalf of Rowohlt Verlag, Germany and selling the queen of Japanese crime fiction, Shuzuku Natsui on behalf of Tuttle-Mori Agency, Japan.

Archived Event: Writing Through Your Crutches

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December 6, 2022 | 12:00pm via Zoom

It happens to every writer — there is a phrase or a word or an action we fall back on in our work, crutches that we rely on that we don’t realize permeates our entire manuscript, whether your protagonist ‘takes a breath’ or “looks out a window”. Deborah Sun De La Cruz, editor extraordinaire, will run a PD session on finding crutches in your writing and how to be more diverse with word choice.

Register here.

About the Host:

DEBORAH SUN DE LA CRUZ is a Senior Editor at Penguin Canada where she acquires literary and commercial fiction. Recent publications include the #1bestseller Every Summer After by Carley Fortune and the Women’s Prize winner The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki. She works with acclaimed international authors Celeste Ng, Gail Honeyman, Sophie Mackintosh, and K-Ming Chang. Forthcoming titles include River Mumma by Zalika Reid-Benta, a magic realist novel that draws from Jamaican folklore, and Batshit Seven by Sheung-King, a bold novel about a millennial living through the Hong Kong protests.

Archived Event: Introduction to Booktok for Authors

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November 22, 2022 | 12:00 pm via Zoom

BookTok and Bookstagram are becoming bigger and bigger forces in the literary community for readers and for writers. Book blogger, book reviewer and book club host Cindy Allman will talk to you about how to join this community and publicize your books.

Register here.

About the Host:

Cindy Allman is a Jamaican living and working in Trinidad and Tobago. She is a Book Blogger, Book Reviewer, Book Club Host, Content Creator and is a very active member of the Bookstagram community. She freelances full time as a Digital Marketer, spends half the year being a digital nomad. Cindy is also the creator of #ReadCaribbean month which takes place in June. Her mission is to get people to read, read more, read widely and read Caribbean.

Open Call for Kid Lit Submissions

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 About Us: 

Diaspora Dialogues (DD) supports diverse writers turn their craft into a career through mentorship, professional development and opportunities to publish and present their work. Our focus is on the development of both artist and audience, and on working toward redefining the “mainstream” in the arts sector, ensuring it is as diverse as the country itself. Further information: www.diasporadialogues.com

Mentorship Program:

Diaspora Dialogues invites picture book submissions from emerging writers for ages 3-7 and 4-8 between 500-1000 words in length. 

Selected writers will receive feedback from a writer-in-residence at Diaspora Dialogues, over the course of a month, and will be invited to attend professional development workshops throughout the year.

The writer-in-residence will address issues of story, character, structure, pace, writing style, structure and substantive aspects of the work. No copy or line editing will be provided until the time of publication.

  • The work must be original and not previously published or produced.
  • Submissions must be in English.
  • Submissions must be between 500-1000 words.
  • Submissions must include a one-page description.
  • Submissions must include a short biography in paragraph form (no more than 250 words).
  • Each writer may submit only one piece.
  • 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 30 2022 at 11:59 pm. 

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/

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