Massive book fair coming to Toronto this fall

Bibliophiles rejoice -- a literary extravaganza is on its way to Toronto this fall. The inaugural Inspire! Toronto International Book Fair will take place November 13-16 at the Metro Convention Centre with over 400 authors will on hand, including such heavyweights as Margaret Atwood (but of course), William Gibson, Ann Rice, and Kathy Reichs. Coming just after the Harbourfront International Festival of Authors, the idea with Inspire! is to make the fair as diverse as possible.

Along with the literary highlights, there will sections and stages devoted to culinary writing (with Elizabeth Baird and Rose Rose Reisman in attendance), children's books, romance novels, and memoirs. The more generic diversity and the fair features, the more people it will interest, so the thinking goes. And for industry types and would-be novelists, there's a host of workshops to attend on everything from securing an agent to writing a cookbook. There will also be a strong focus on Native Canadian writers at the event, with writers like Waubgeshig Rice on hand.

The fair will be capped off with Canada's Self-Publishing Awards, which will dole out $50,000 in prizes. The winner of the best self-published book in three categories (adult, young adult and children) will each receive $3,000. Tickets for the event are $15.