DESI DIARY
WORD ON THE STREET FESTIVAL RETURNS
Uzma Jalaluddin will appear at WOTS on May 27th from 3:30 to 4:30 on the Love and Letters Stage
The 34th Annual Word On The Street (WOTS) Festival returns to Queen’s Park! Hosted annually since 1990 in downtown Toronto, this is a free community street festival that celebrates the stories that connect us.
Featuring Canadian and Indigenous authors, an outdoor marketplace for books and magazines, and dedicated children’s programming, WOTS was voted one of the city’s Best Local Festivals in 2022.
With 250+ authors and exhibitors, and welcoming tens of thousands of visitors each year, WOTS is Canada’s largest open-air book festival!
The 2023 festival will take place across two days, Saturday May 27th from 11:00AM - 6:00 PM and Sunday May 28th from 10:00AM - 5:00 PM, with featured readings and panels by more than 100 authors, poets, and journalists:
Uzma Jalaluddin, Amy Stuart, Romi Moondi and Natasha Ramoutar, are among authors participating on Saturday, May 27.
Kenneth Oppel, Annahid Dashtgard, Téa Mutonji and Anuja Varghese are among authors participating on Sunday, May 28.
Visitors can discover the best of Canadian and Indigenous writing across multiple stages and a family-friendly activity zone throughout the festival site located on Queen’s Park Crescent East between College Street and Wellesley Street, with three new genre-focused streams introduced this year:
• Festival Mainstage, featuring bestselling authors, exciting debuts, and panels on some of the hottest topics in contemporary life
• Vibrant Voices of Ontario, highlighting the home-grown talent of Ontario-based authors and publishers
• KidStreet, presenting the best of contemporary children’s literature alongside exciting, family-friendly activities
• Twist Endings (Saturday only), investigating thrilling tales and captivating capers by top mystery and thriller writers
• Love & Letters (Saturday only), celebrating the most beloved authors and publishers in romance
• Across the Universe (Sunday only), exploring the limitless imagination of science fiction, fantasy, and horror writing
• Big Ideas (Sunday only), inspiring discussions about designing a meaningful everyday life with the latest non-fiction and lifestyle titles.
Romi Moondi will appear May 27 from 11 am to 12 noon on the Love and Letters Stage.
Natasha Ramoutar interviews Catherine Hernandez at 5 pm on May 27 on the Main Stage.
Programming includes a series of virtual workshops leading up to the annual festival weekend, presented by Toronto Metropolitan University’s Chang School of Continuing Education. Additional programming partners include the Toronto Public Library, Harlequin, Ontario Creates, Diaspora Dialogues, Luminato Festival, Writers’ Trust of Canada, Owlkids, Soapbox Science, The Ripple Foundation, and StoryPlanet.
The outdoor marketplace features publishers, bookstores, magazines, independent authors, literacy organizations, writers’ groups, food vendors, and more!
More info and programming details at toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca.