The ReWrite

Welcome to The ReWrite podcast from the Toronto International Festival of Authors. As the world continues to shift and adapt from the effects of COVID-19, we are back to revisit our thoughts about the pandemic and see how the expectations of authors, literary award organizers, booksellers and publishing professionals at the beginning of the pandemic, played out during the course of a very uncertain year. Tune in to hear a wide range of conversations exploring the power of community, taking risks and finding new ways of celebrating books.

2.6 Kids, Educators & the Power of the Arts

Sep 9, 2021

What started out as a few weeks of schools being shut down in March 2020 suddenly turned into a long-term situation of juggling at-home schooling and trying to keep kids engaged. In this episode, we reached out to three individuals to hear about their experiences supporting kids and teachers, and the impact the arts had...

2.5 Book Publishers & the Changing Industry

Aug 26, 2021

Through the editing stage to organizing author appearances at festivals, readings and more, there are many people behind the scenes at publishing houses who work together to get books into a readers' hands. In this episode, hear from two publishing professionals, Cory Beatty at HarperCollins Canada and Jillian Levick at...

2.4 Book Events & the Digital Landscape

Aug 19, 2021

In 2020, many organizations were faced with the impossible situation of determining how to proceed with their book events when Toronto was shut down to keep people at home. After months of planning, some were forced to cancel or postpone indefinitely, but many organizations took on the challenge to find new ways to...

2.3 Bookselling in a Digital World

Aug 5, 2021

The book industry has gone through many transformations within the past decade, but 2020 took those changes to a whole new level for booksellers. Readers were thrilled when their favourite independent bookstores extended beyond their local neighbourhood boundaries with the creation of online bookshops. And with...

2.2 Writers & Writing in the Pandemic

Jul 29, 2021

From cancelled contracts to publishing a book during a lockdown, the pandemic has been challenging in different ways for writers. In this episode, we spoke with Canadian writers Omar Mouallem and Bridget Canning about their experiences during a year of isolation, virtual events and finding new ways to connect through...