Diaspora Dialogues

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Diaspora Dialogues to Partner with TIFA for 2023 TOK Symposium

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DD is thrilled to be partnering with the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) to present our 2023 TOK symposium. This years program will consist of five author conversations.

Beneath The Surface | Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 2pm

Mythology’s rivers, ravines and subterranean spaces suggest unconscious states and unexpressed desires. From Zalika Reid-Benta, the Giller-nominated author of Frying Plantain, comes an exhilarating magical realist novel about a millennial Black woman who navigates her quarter-life-crisis while embarking on a quest through the streets of Toronto. River Mumma is a powerful portrayal of diasporic identities and a vital examination into ancestral ties. And in On the Ravine, Giller Prize winner Vincent Lam explores the murky depths of addiction and the doctor-patient relationship. Moderated by Lalaa Comrie.

Re-Imagining Romance | Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 5pm

Looking for your happily ever after/second-chance romance? Or curious about the hottest segment in publishing these days? Join bestselling authors Uzma Jalaluddin and Chantel Guertin to discuss their latest novels: Much Ado About Nada, a modern-day romance inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion (“It is, in a word, brilliant.” – The New York Times) and Two For the Road, the story of a romance bookshop owner who embarks on the adventure, or misadventure, of a lifetime. (“A charming love story, and a whistle stop tour of England, too.” – Globe and Mail).

Sheltering In Place | Sunday, September 24, 2023 at 11am

Whether due to pandemics or major ice storms, Torontonians know what it’s like to be locked down, locked in, and left staring out at a wider world they’re barred from joining. Rebecca Rosenblum’s The Days Are Numbered is a love letter to community as well as the joy and compassion that can be found even amidst the most stressful of circumstances. Elizabeth Ruth’s Semi-Detached – part love story, part ghost story, part murder mystery – explores where and in whom we house our love and our yearning. Come shelter with us as we explore these fiercely compelling novels. Moderated by Ryan Patrick.

The Haunting of Us | Sunday, September 24, 2023 at 12pm

Recently nominated for the 2023 Toronto Book Award, and winner of the 2023 Fred Kerner Book Award for Fiction, Sophie Jai’s debut novel Wild Fires (“Exquisite, evocative prose.” – Quill and Quire) explores the ways we mourn and why we avoid the very things that can save us. In her debut collection of short stories, Suite as Sugar, Camille Hernández-Ramdwar writes of the violence wrought upon humans and animals alike – as well as the resilience and will to survive. These novels travel from the streets of Trinidad to Toronto and back, as well as Havana’s haunted streets and Winnipeg’s winterscapes. Moderated by Tiara Chutkhan.

The Sweep of History | Sunday, September 24, 2023 at 5:30pm

Spanning India, Uganda, England and Canada, Janika Oza’s A History of Burning (“A remarkable debut” – The New York Times) explores how one act of survival reverberates across four generations of a family as well as the eternal search for home. Based on a true story, William Seto Ping’s Hollow Bamboo blends memoir, biography, fiction and fantasy to recount with humour and sympathy the often-brutal struggles, and occasional successes, faced by some of the first Chinese immigrants in Newfoundland.

ARCHIVED EVENT: Literary Image Description Best Practices

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Please join DD alum and CNIB Audio Producer Joanne Pak as she discusses the Literary Image Description (LID) project.

This information session will inform writers about the LID project and how they can make their works accessible to the Blind/low vision community and to take that into consideration even as they plan and write their works, creating born-accessible books for an underserved audience.

Video here.

About the Presenter

Joanne Pak is an accessible media specialist with an extensive career in both broadcasting and publishing. She is the official Canadian NER certifier of live caption accuracy, and she is an instructor and subject matter expert for the Toronto Metropolitan University. Joanne has worked for numerous broadcasters, nonprofits, and educational institutions, specializing in accessible media. At CNIB, Joanne led the audiobook production for CELA’s pilot project on accessible graphic novels. She is the lead for the eBOUND Literary Image Description (LID) project and the author of the LID Best Practices Guide, which she uses to train writers and publishers.

ARCHIVED EVENT: Legal 101 for Writers

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Join us for an informative workshop with entertainment lawyer, Michael Duboff. In this session, we will cover essential legal aspects that every writer should be aware of to protect their creative work and navigate the publishing landscape successfully. From copyright and intellectual property rights to understanding contracts and licensing agreements, participants will gain valuable insights to safeguard their written content. We will also address common legal challenges faced by writers and provide practical strategies for resolving them.

Register here.

About the Presenter

Michael Duboff is a Canadian entertainment lawyer with a professional focus on music, film and television, publishing, and corporate matters. He has worked with a variety of artists and creative businesses helping to facilitate projects, performance opportunities locally and across borders, and organizational matters.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Michael’s practice spans across Manitoba where he carries on clients and representation in addition to the firm’s primary residence in Ontario.

Prior to working as a lawyer, Michael has worked professionally in both the music and film/tv industries, as a musician in an alternative rock band and as a freelance director/writer/producer in Toronto and Vancouver. His passion for the arts and artists helps drive his practice and makes him grateful to be able to continue to work for and with the vibrant arts communities.

ARCHIVED EVENT: Live Table Reading for A, Brazil flag emoji, 47

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Please join us this Friday June 16 at 7 PM for a Tarragon Theatre live table reading of Yago Mequita’s play A, Brazil flag emoji, 47. This has been developed through DD’s Playwright Mentoring Program’s Youth-at-Risk component, with generous assistance from the Charles H Ivey Foundation. Register here for the Zoom livestream. 

About the Playwright

Yago Mesquita (he/him) is a queer Brazilian-Canadian theatre artist from Toronto. He is a playwright and writer, producer, and performer who has worked with theatre companies such as Aluna Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Factory Theatre, fu-GEN Theatre, New Harlem Productions, Open Heart Surgery Theatre, Paprika Festival, and more.

 About A, Brazil flag emoji, 47

Yago creates slice-of-life-made-surreal character-driven work from a young, queer, first-generation Canadian lens, heavily informed by his experience and that of friends, family, and fellow artists. He currently has two works in development: CHEW, developed as part of The Foundry (Factory Theatre, 2021), and A, Brazil flag emoji, 47, which was presented at the CAMINOS Festival (Aluna Theatre, 2021). Yago was also a collaborator on fu-GEN Theatre’s MH370, and his short story, & Dawn burned, was shortlisted for The Malahat Review’s Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction (2021).

Call for Submissions: Short Form Mentorship

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Diaspora Dialogues invites submissions from emerging writers across Canada including short stories or creative nonfiction less than 3,000 words in length; or up to 5 poems, with each poem being no more than 75 lines. (See below for definition of “emerging.”) Applicants are welcome to enter more than one category, but no more than one submission per category, please.

We have four rotating deadlines a year: March 31, June 30, September 30, Dec 31. Submissions received between those dates will be considered for the next deadline. Through an adjudicated process, selected writers will receive feedback from a rotating writer-in-residence at Diaspora Dialogues, over the course of a month.

The writer-in-residence will address issues of story, character, structure, pace, writing style, structure and substantive aspects of the work.

Please read all of the guidelines on our website carefully and email your submission to
Zalika Reid-Benta at zalika@diasporadialogues.com.

Deadline to apply is June 30, 2023 at midnight.

ARCHIVED EVENT: Be Your Own Promoter

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Are you a writer looking to build your personal brand and effectively promote your work? In today’s digital age, writers have incredible opportunities to connect with their audience and establish a strong presence. However, self-promotion can be a daunting task, often requiring skills beyond writing itself. Led by author Nadia Hohn, this workshop will equip you with the strategies and mindset necessary to successfully promote your work and engage with your target audience.

Watch the replay:

About the Presenter

Toronto-born of Jamaican parents, Nadia L. Hohn is an award-winning author, educator, and “artivist” who advocates for diversity in children’s literature. Nadia L. Hohn is the author of Malaika’s Costume (2016) which was the 2021 TD Grade One Book Giveaway. Her other books in the series are Malaika’s Winter Carnival (2017), Blue Spruce-nominated Malaika’s Surprise (2021), and Malaika, Carnival Queen (2023), published by Groundwood Books. Nadia has also written Harriet Tubman Freedom Fighter (Harper Collins, 2018), Music (Grade 5) and Media (Grade 6) in the Sankofa Black Heritage Collection series (Rubicon Publishing Inc, 2015), and A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice (Owlkids Books, 2019). Nadia has edited a middle grade anthology which comes out in 2023. She continues to write plays as well as picture books and novels for young people.

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