Contest!

We want to give away copies of all the featured books by the authors appearing at the Great Books Marquee! Books by Adam Sol (Jeremiah, Ohio); Rachel Manley (Horses in Her Hair); and Daria Salamon (The Prairie Bridesmaid) just to name a few. All you have to do is check out our schedule at a glance at:

www.thewordonthestreet.ca/toronto/whats_on_schedule.asp

to find out the name of the last author appearing at the Great Books Marquee, then send us an e-mail (mary@thewordonthestreet.ca) with your name, e-mail address, telephone number and answer. Entries will be accepted until August 21st.

Thanks,

K&M

Who's coming...

Want to know who's going to be at The Word On The Street this year?

Then visit our website at:

http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca/toronto/whats_on_schedule.asp

To see our outstanding line-up of authors, musicians and performers.

See you at the festival!

J

It's Coming...

The Word On The Street 2008 is fast approaching!

For more information on this year's festival check out our website at www.thewordonthestreet.ca as well as on Facebook (search for The Word On The Street).

It's going to be an amazing festival, with a huge and diverse exhibitor marketplace, as well as programming from some of the most celebrated authors in Canada. The festival really has something for everyone!

So mark your calenders: Sunday, September 28th, from 11am to 6pm at Queen's Park.

The Word On The Street 2008. Be there or be square. Seriously :).

J

Pope

From the AP:

Pope texts Catholic youth

Pope Benedict XVI petted a koala and met other Australian native animals Wednesday during a low-key second day of a Catholic youth festival that has brought thousands of pilgrims to Sydney.

The pope, enjoying a final day of rest before joining the events on Thursday, held prayers at a private retreat Wednesday, then viewed some native Australian animals brought to him by wildlife officers, including a wallaby, a baby crocodile and a spiky echidna. He petted a koala, scratching it briefly behind the ear and smiling.

The World Youth Day celebration offered a relaxed schedule on Wednesday, beginning with "time for silence for reflection," according to the pilgrims' official handbook. The faithful attended barbecues at hundreds of venues around the city, browsed through souvenir shops and participated in a pilgrimage walk to St. Mary's Cathedral downtown. In the evening, a beach party at Sydney's famous Bondi Beach was to feature a rapping American priest.

Pilgrims also received the second of daily mobile phone text messages from Benedict: "The Holy Spirit gave the Apostles and gives u the power boldly 2 proclaim that Christ is risen! - BXVI."

The pope, enjoying a final day of rest before joining the events on Thursday, held prayers at a private retreat Wednesday, then viewed some native Australian animals brought to him by wildlife officers, including a wallaby, a baby crocodile and a spiky echidna. He petted a koala, scratching it briefly behind the ear and smiling.

Donate

One of the most amazing things about Barack Obama's Presidential Campaign is that it's been a powerful, grassroots effort, encouraging people all across America to get informed, be active in their communities and raise unprecedented amounts of money for the campaign through a series of small donations. They're buying into Obama's vision: they believe in hope and the idea that they are the change that they have been waiting for. Yup. Something pretty inspiring about all of it. Think it's about time The Word On The Street gave it a try!

The Word On The Street is made possible with the support of funding partners and individuals that believe in this wonderful annual festival. Private donations are very important to maintaining the high-calibre level that our audiences have come to expect. Your continued support keeps this great event going.

Own a piece of the festival today. Contribute to The Word On The Street!

Donations can be directed to The Word On The Street Toronto Book and Magazine Festival through:

The Word On The Street Canada Inc.
67 Mowat Avenue, Suite 142
Toronto, ON M6K 3E3
(416) 504-7241

Charitable # 33 89232 5440 RR0001

A tax receipt will be issued for donations over $25.

See you at the festival!

J

Hit

"In the first three months of 2008, Canadians sent 4.1 billion text messages, according to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. In 2007, Canadians sent more than 10 billion messages."

Remember when it was all about writing letters to people? There was something about taking the time to do that, really sitting with your thoughts you know? When I was in Banff at the PlayRites Colony, I was seeing a lovely young lady, and during my time at the Centre I managed to write her three love letters and man were they tough. Just sitting there in that love, trying to capture my feelings with words, words that were so unreliable. I just wanted to hug her. Or kiss her. Or better yet, "text" her a hug or a kiss.

Last year we sent 10 billion messages. And you know that somewhere in those 10 billion messages a million relationships ended, two million people were fired, and at least one unlucky dude sent a naughty text to his wife instead of his mistress. What a guy!

How things have changed. In the past, I could write "I love you" in a letter, mail it, and by the time you got it be in love with someone else. Now, I can tell someone I don't "luv" them anymore with my blackberry... which is pretty convenient in-between meetings.

What does all of this text messaging do to our language? To communication? Is it messing everything up? When I write: hey, how r u? Am I ruining the language for future generations?

Word has it that publishers are catching on to the texting craze, and some are offering books and graphic novels that can be read entirely through your cell phone. Because the readable space is smaller, the writing itself has to be more concise. You think Hemmingway was neat, wait till you see some of the masterpieces cell phone writers come up with: "I h8 u."

That means "I hate you."

KILLER!

Who knows what the future holds. But hit me up with a text. We can find out together.

J

Pass the prosecco: Merriam-Webster unveils new dictionary words, including "Texas Hold 'em"

By Stephanie Reitz, Associated Press Writer

Is it acceptable to serve edamame to a dinner guest who's a pescatarian?

Should you pour prosecco or soju for the winner of the Texas Hold 'em game you're planning near the infinity pool? And what's that wing nut in the corner saying about dirty bombs and nasty Noroviruses?

Before your next party, go ahead and consult the latest edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, which now includes edamame (immature green soybeans), pescatarian (a vegetarian who eats fish) and about 100 other newly added words that have taken root in the American lexicon.

The wordsmiths at the Springfield, Mass.-based dictionary publisher say they picked the new entries after monitoring their use over years.

"As soon as we see the word used without explanation or translation or gloss, we consider it a naturalized citizen of the English language," said Peter Sokolowski, an editor-at-large for Merriam-Webster. "If somebody is using it to convey a specific idea and that idea is successfully conveyed in that word, it's ready to go in the dictionary."

Many of the new entries reflect the nation's growing interest in the culinary arts, including prosecco (a sparkling Italian wine) and soju (a Korean vodka distilled from rice). Others define new technology or products, such as infinity pool -- an outdoor pool with an edge designed to make water appear to flow into the horizon.

Others reflect current events and much-discussed news topics, including dirty bomb (a conventional bomb that releases radioactive material) and Norovirus (small, round single-stranded RNA viruses, such as the Norwalk Virus).

And then there's "mondegreen." In a category of its own, it describes words mistaken for other words. A mondegreen most often comes from misunderstood phrases or lyrics.

It comes from an old Scottish ballad in which the lyric "laid him on the green" has been confused over time with "Lady Mondegreen."

Among the best-known modern examples: "There's a bathroom on the right" in place of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "There's a bad moon on the rise" and "'Scuse me, while I kiss this guy" in place of "kiss the sky" in the 1967 Jimi Hendrix classic "Purple Haze."

Even Sokolowski, a word expert by trade, has a favorite mondegreen: "Lucy in the sky with diamonds," as sung by the Beatles in 1967, made obvious sense to the preteen Peanuts comic fan as "Lucy in the sky with Linus."

Merriam-Webster's editors were so amused by the mondegreen concept that they plan to ask people to submit their favorites on the publishing company's Web site.

Mondegreen, first spotted in print in 1954, was among tens of thousands of words the wordsmiths watched for decades. That and others make the cut for the dictionary based on how widely they are used in publications ranging from newspapers to technical manuals.

"They can float for decades. What that means for the most part is that they've been used in more spoken forms than they were found written until recently," Sokolowski said.

John Morse, Merriam-Webster's president and publisher, said the cleverness of many Web-related terms makes them easy to grasp and gives them staying power. Webinar (an online meeting) is new, along with netroots (political grassroots activists who communicate online, especially in blogs).

"There's a kind of collective genius on the part of the people developing this technology, using vocabulary that is immediately accessible to all of us," he said. "It's sometimes absolutely poetic."

Allan Metcalf, executive secretary of the American Dialect Society and an English professor at MacMurray College in Illinois, said he thinks the entries that grew from the popularity of cooking shows and international cuisine will be the among most lasting and useful of the newcomers.

"I'm kind of used to laughing at the choices these editors publicize, but this time I'm impressed," he said.

The Word On The Street Rocks Pride!

I live on the corner of Mutual and Gerrard, in a very nice house with a close friend of mine who happens to be one of the stars of Degrassi the Next Generation. I pretty much live in the village, which means when Pride starts I get to party every night. My street gets noisy. There are people everywhere. And there is a real sense of joy and celebration and Toronto all of a sudden feels like the best place on earth (we know that most of the time it isn't).

My Pride experience last year was pretty great. I remember standing and watching the Pride Parade while eating an ice cream cone and thinking “this is quite fun, I think that I can handle this.” And then someone shot me in the eye with a water gun and I actually got kind of mad.

Perhaps I’ve grown a little square in my old age? I’m not even old. But I feel old. I’m 26. And that’s kind of old.

Yes. I’m old.

The Word On The Street is going to be at Pride. We’ll be there on Saturday, June 28th and Sunday, June 29th, starting at 3pm at James Canning Park. We are partnering with Pride to showcase our Proud Voices program and I encourage you to come and join us for an afternoon of readings from some of the best and boldest talents in the queer literary scene. Ivan E. Coyote, Shani Mootoo, Emma Donoghue, Neil Smith and Nalo Hopkinson are just some of the authors participating.

The staff of The Word On The Street will also be there. Please come and say hi. Oh, and please make a donation because we love that kind of grassroots support. We'll also be blogging during Pride Week, bringing you the highs, lows, and outstanding good times we’ll be having, celebrating one of the best and most dynamic events the city has to offer.

Check back here for more updates, for fun anecdotes, celebrity sightings and more. If I’m shot in the eye with a water gun, you’ll be the first to know!

For more info on PRIDE, please visit their website at www.pridetoronto.com

J

08/09

The Factory Theatre announced its 08/09 season and it looks pretty promising, with new work from Andrew Moodie, Florence Gibson and Marjorie Chan (for more info check out their website at: www.factorytheatre.ca)

The play that I’m looking forward to the most is "Scratch," written by a former classmate of mine at the National Theatre School named Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman. Here’s the synopsis:

Anna has lice. Her mother has cancer. Her Aunt buys her a pair of Gap jeans and worries she’s on drugs while Anna lusts after the Poet who looks after her mom. Still, she can’t stop scratching. She can’t get rid of the lice and she can’t face the inevitable.

I remember reading one of the first incarnations of this play. She was in first year. I was in third year. I thought that I was the man, the way most graduating students think they’re the man. I was dating a wonderful girl. I was going to Banff after graduation. I had a show being read at the Factory. Yup. I was the man. I asked if I could read one of her plays just to get a sense of what the young ones were writing. She gave me the play (then called "Lice") and apologized because she had written it when she was 16 and wasn’t sure how good it was.

I read it. And man. It was great. Not just great, but damn great. Some of it was like lava, coming from a place within her that I could never understand. I read it at home. I read it again in the park. I would read it over the phone to my girlfriend to tell her that it was brilliant. I would e-mail excerpts of it to friends and tell them to watch for this play, just watch for it because it was special, the writing was special, Charlotte was special.

See it.

J

Dap That

The mainstream media is all abuzz with footage of Barack Obama giving his wife "dap," or a fist bump before his big speech announcing his victory in the Democratic Primary. "If the nomination of the first African-American candidate for president is itself a historic moment, that little gesture, for many, punctuated the occasion with ethnic style and inherent coolness."

It's funny watching the mainstream media try and make sense of the gesture, and some of their descriptions for it are gold: "it's a knuckle to knuckle kiss," or a "pound of the fist of some sorts," or "possibly a message to Al-Quida?"

It took guts to do it, especially considering how quickly the media can turn anything it doesn't understand into a toxic cesspool of despair. Case in point: when Obama "brushed the dirt off his shoulders" Jay-Z style in response to criticism of his "bitter" comments, the LA Times reported that he had stuck his middle finger up at Hillary Clinton. It was idiotic. But lo and behold, Fox News picked it up, and it was in heavy rotation for a full-day.

"Dap" is all over hip-hop culture, which pretty much means it's part of youth culture, which pretty much means it's part of the culture of right now. Obama is trying very hard to demonstrate that his understanding of the world isn't rooted in the cold war mentality of the dinosaurs in Washington, but of the here and now, the grassroots, the streets, people of every color walking hand in hand through the south side of Chicago fighting them fat-cats in Washington. Obama is a man of the world. Not of Washington. Them dinosaurs toast scotch glasses and smoke cigars. Barack and Michelle "dap."

When Barack and MIchelle did it, it was an ecstatic, non-verbal way of showing respect, dignity, honor and pride. The very concept of the "dap" goes all the way back to slavery. "Though it was born in the black community, some say during the 1960s black power movement, most people - of any color - who haven't made it too far past their 40s have probably given, taken or at least borne witness to some friendly dap."

The gesture spoke to a larger idea. An idea that we gotta celebrate: politics is turning cool. It's turning inspirational. Yup. It's true. We got a hip hop presidency waiting in the wings.

Ain't nothin better than that.

J

PS
Though I think the media could have focused more on what happened after the "dap." He slapped her butt as she walked away. Take that Christian Conservatives!

Wow...

It’s hard to find inspiration in politics.

But sometimes, something wonderful happens that reminds us of how far we’ve come as a people, and how much farther we can go together. Last night Barack Obama made history by becoming the first black man to lead a national ticket for the presidency of the United States. He ran a grassroots, high ideal campaign based on hope and inspiration, and the idea that "we are the change that we've been waiting for." Here at The Word On The Street we celebrate the vibrancy of words and ideas.

Doesn't get much better than this :).

J

BARACK OBAMA
In our country, I have found that this cooperation happens not because we agree on everything, but because behind all the labels and false divisions and categories that define us; beyond all the petty bickering and point-scoring in Washington, Americans are a decent, generous, compassionate people, united by common challenges and common hopes. And every so often, there are moments which call on that fundamental goodness to make this country great again.

So it was for that band of patriots who declared in a Philadelphia hall the formation of a more perfect union; and for all those who gave on the fields of Gettysburg and Antietam their last full measure of devotion to save that same union.

So it was for the greatest generation that conquered fear itself, and liberated a continent from tyranny and made this country home to untold opportunity and prosperity.

So it was for the workers who stood out on the picket lines; the women who shattered glass ceilings; the children who braved a Selma bridge for freedom's cause.

So it has been for every generation that faced down the greatest challenges and the most improbable odds to leave their children a world that's better, and kinder, and more just.

And so it must be for us.

America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.

Yann Martel...

The Factory Theatre has a great little program called "Performance Spring," showcasing some outstanding new plays from some great companies from across Canada. One that should be of interest to y'all is The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, written by Yann Martel. The play is the story of two friends coping with AIDS in the mid-1980s, a time when an HIV positive diagnosis was an almost immediate death sentence. Eric Goulem plays both the narrartor and Paul the unseen character. As Paul struggles to come to terms with his inevitable death, to palliate him, the Narrator invents a game in which the two of them will create a 'secret; story of the Roccamatios, a Finnish family of Italian extraction.

I think it's his first play, and from what I've heard it's pretty great. Oh, and the company that is producing the piece (Infinitheatre), produced one of my own plays last fall and they did a great job so... yeah... check it out!

www.factorytheatre.ca

Luminato’s Literary Program - Enjoy 2008’s Dynamic Line-up

Luminato, Toronto’s Festival of Arts + Creativity, invites you to 2008’s dynamic literary program. 2008 aims to bring Canadian and international authors together around literary and political themes in addition to showcasing new works. The richest discussions occur because of unexpected collaborations.

This year’s line-up includes perspectives on South Asia, a focus on war and politics through illustration, a celebration of a renowned literary master, the launch of the third installment of a city-centric anthology, as well as a festival of short stories.

Celebration of Isaac Bashevis Singer
Sunday, June 8 3pm
Al Green Theatre
Miles Nadal JCC (750 Spadina Ave. @ Bloor)






Award-winning authors David Bezmozgis and Dara Horn pay tribute to a literary legend.

Revered as a master storyteller, Nobel Prize-winning writer Isaac Bashevis Singer explored Jewish life from the landscapes of Eastern Europe to New York. Singer’s superlative ability to weave a tale now finds parallels in a new generation of writers, including two contemporary star authors whose work explores similar themes of immigration, family, politics and, ultimately, compassion.

David Bezmozgis is the author of the much-celebrated Natasha and Other Stories, winner of the City of Toronto Book Award and the Commonwealth Regional Prize for First Book. Dara Horn, named one of Granta magazine’s Top Young American Novelists, is the author of The World to Come, winner of the National Jewish Book Award.

The Political Graphic Novel
Sunday, June 8 7pm
Al Green Theatre
Miles Nadal JCC (750 Spadina Ave. @ Bloor)






From the war in Iraq to the life of Che Guevara, the medium of graphic novels becomes political in this evening of literature, illustration and discussion.

As a medium in which to discuss serious political and historical issues, the graphic novel came of age with Art Spiegelman’s Maus and Marjane Satrapi’s super-hit Persepolis. Join Luminato and host Peter Birkemoe, owner of The Beguiling, Toronto’s top graphic novel and comics bookstore, for an evening with award-winning Canadian author and illustrator Bernice Eisenstein, I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors, who joins underground comics sensation Spain Rodriguez to launch his new book, Che: A Graphic Biography, and Anthony Lappe and Dan Goldman for the Canadian premiere of Shooting War, an exploration of the war in Iraq and the influence of alternative news media.

Spotlight on New South Asian Writing
Saturday, June 14 7pm
Al Green Theatre
Miles Nadal JCC (750 Spadina Ave. @ Bloor)







Join host, Shyam Selvadurai, bestselling Canadian author of Funny Boy, Cinnamon Gardens, and Swimming in the Monsoon Sea, for an evening featuring three authors’ very different perspectives on the cultures of South Asia and the West. Hear readings from British poet Daljit Nagra (Look We Have Coming to Dover), winner of the 2007 UK Forward Poetry Prize for best new collection; Canadian author Jaspreet Singh, whose new book Chef explores the complexity of Kashmir; and Padma Viswanathan (The Toss of a Lemon), one of Random House of Canada’s New Faces of Fiction, 2008.

“Fresh, funny and riotously idiosyncratic ... A glorious testament to a rich British-Indian mix.” The Independent – on Daljit Nagra’s Look We Have Coming to Dover, one of the ten best new poetry collections

“One of London’t Hottest New Writers.” Time Out on Daljit Nagra

“Jaspreet Singh’s prose flashes with poetic lyricism.” Montreal Gazette

Diaspora Dialogues: Launch of TOK, Book 3
Wednesday, June 11 8pm
The Drake Hotel Underground.
1150 Queen St. West







Toronto leads the world as one of its most ethnically varied cities. That reality is reflected in the new fiction, poetry and drama commissioned and presented by Diaspora Dialogues, an organization dedicated to building artistic and literary bridges between the city’s many cultures. Luminato is proud to partner with Diaspora Dialogues in launching TOK, Writing the New Toronto, Book 3, the third installment of an anthology celebrating the diverse voices of the city in short stories, plays and spoken-word poetry.

The launch event is a star-studded literary cabaret, showcasing new work from Giller-nominee Alissa York (Effigy); American Library Association Alex Award winner

Judy Fong Bates (Midnight at the Dragon Café); award-winning playwright and poet Daniel David Moses (Almighty Voice and His Wife); spoken-word performer and musician Shauntay Grant; and playwright Yvette Nolan, Artistic Director of Native Earth Performing Arts. The evening will also showcase debut work from two emerging Toronto writers and a performance featuring the salsa rhythms of vocalist Lady Son and her Latin fusion band Articulo Veinte.

Festival of the Short Story
In partnership with the Toronto Public Library






Eight authors, six collections of stories and four libraries across the city.

From inter-linked tales of Toronto’s Portuguese community in Anthony De Sa’s Barnacle Love to the dark and humorous tales of Elyse Friedman’s Long Story Short, the sheer variety of short fiction being produced in Canada today is truly breathtaking. The Festival of the Short Story brings together unique combinations of Canadian writers to read from their work and discuss their common craft.

With: Pasha Malla (The Withdrawal Method); award-winning short story writer Ahmad Saidullah (Happiness and Other Disorders); Sharon English (Zero Gravity) whose work has been long-listed for the Giller Prize; award-winning author Caroline Adderson (Pleased to Meet You), and Journey Prize writers Rebecca Rosenblum and David Whitton.

Moderated by Jane Urquhart, Lynn Coady, Caroline Adderson and Russell Smith.

Ticket cost $10*
www.luminato.com
Ticketmaster – 416-872-1111

*10.00 tickets available at TO Tix in Yonge-Dundas Square and includes $2.50/ticket Ticketmaster outlet fees. Additional service charge and handling fees apply to internet and phone bookings. $10 tickets also available at the venue one hour before each performance.

For more information on the programs and authors visit: www.luminato.com/literature

Presenting Sponsor:

And the word of the year is...

Drum roll please...

It's "w00t."

Okay...

"W00t," is a hybrid of letters and numbers used by gamers as an exclamation of happiness. Merriam-Webster's president, John Morse, said "w00t" was an ideal choice because it blends whimsy and new technology. "It shows a really interesting thing that's going on in language. It's a term that's arrived only because we're now communicating electronically with each other," Morse said.

It's really cool what's happening to the written word as more and more of our communication with each other becomes electronic. We're finding ways to condense language to its very essence.

We are all Hemingway when we write: "Miss U. Will b L8. LOL."

Remember when it was all about writing letters to people? I could write I love you in a letter, mail it, and by the time you got it be in love with someone else. Now, I can tell someone I don't "luv" them anymore with my blackberry... which is pretty convenient in-between meetings.

Personally, I think that the honour of the word of the year should have gone to the verb "Facebook" as in "I'll facebook you," or the word "creep," as in "Yo, you're such a creep, stop looking at her profile." Perhaps "creepin" would have been a better choice, as in "yo, stop creepin her page man that's weird."

Facebook. Now that's a blog entry on its own.

Happy Holidays.

J

Want to know what's going on at The Word On The Street this year?

Great news!

The Word On The Street is pleased to announce that four of its featured authors have been nominated for the prestigious Scotiabank Giller Prize! Elizabeth Hay, who will be reading at this year’s Great Books Marquee, has been nominated for her novel Late Nights on Air. Alissa York, who will make an appearance at the Diaspora Dialogues Tent, was nominated for her novel Effigy. M.G. Vassanji will read from his nominated novel The Assassin's Song and will be joined by another former winner of the prize Richard B. Wright, nominated for his novel October at the Scotiabank Bestsellers Stage!

With The Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist only 10 days away from being announced, we will unite former winners Vincent Lam, Richard B. Wright and Austin Clarke to join David Staines, who assisted Jack Rabinovitch in building the prize’s creative template, to discuss their “Giller Experience” and the impact that Canada’s foremost literary prize has had on the lives and careers of its winners.

To see these amazing authors and hear their amazing new works, check out The Word On The Street, Sunday, September 30, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m at Queen’s Park.

Oh, and want to know who's going to be at this year's The Word On The Street?

Of course you do!

If you want a sneak peak then visit our website at:

http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca/toronto/whats_on_schedule.asp

See you Sunday!

Words, Words, Words...

Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote that words are the skin of living ideas. We here at Foreword agree. We are fascinated by words: they look great, they’re dangerous, and they’re prettier than Paris Hilton. This is the first of a series of articles in Foreword that will be about the power of words and ideas - this one courtesy of VoicePrint.

Enjoy.
Jason

___


Silly rabbit…Braille is for kids
By: Kim Mannix Vermette

All readers embrace the special joy that comes from opening a favorite book, taking in the words on a page and letting their imagination paint vivid pictures in the absence of visual images. Sometimes we’re so inspired by the power of words that we dream of penning our own stories or poems and sharing our creations with others.
For 17-year-old Carolyn Naylor, a Nova Scotia native with low-vision, that dream came early in life. At age 11, she began putting her ideas to the page. “I love writing stories,” says Carolyn. “It’s fun, it makes me happy and it’s probably my most favorite thing to do.”

Carolyn’s efforts to become fluent in Braille are on-going, but her commitment to learning it has brought reward. Last year Carolyn entered the Creative Writing and Braille Accuracy Competition, hosted each year by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), as part of its Braille Conference held in Toronto each October. She won top prize in her age category.

While the competition is a great way for blind and vision-impaired Canadians to show off their creativity, there’s a bigger purpose to the competition: to showcase the CNIB’s belief in the importance of Braille literacy. Shelagh Paterson, the director of advocacy, sales and marketing with the CNIB library in Toronto, explains that learning to read and write Braille is as important for persons who are blind or vision impaired as learning to read and write print is for sighted people. “Reading Braille is equivalent to reading print. Both ensure literacy, which we all need to have to function in society,” she says VoicePrint, a division of The National Broadcast Reading Service, shares CNIB’s belief in the importance of literacy and access to the written word for all people. This year VoicePrint will be participating in the annual Braille Conference in October by serving as host of a workshop that will investigate new programming ideas of specific interest to Braille users. VoicePrint listeners can look forward to unique programming focused on Braille, the Braille user, and the CNIB's annual children's short-story competition.

For more information about VoicePrint, to access a broadcast schedule and more details about its special Braille-related programming, visit www.voiceprintcanada.com

Looking for a great summer read?

Visit The Word On The Street's contest page for a chance to win an amazing summer reads prize pack courtesy of HarperCollinsCanada!

Summer Reading Rules!

When I was growing up, summers in the city were spent taking trips to the pool, going to camp and spending hours sitting in the back of the car on road trips that never seemed to end. Filling the time in between, I read. A lot. Though the occasional trip to the bookstore allowed me to start my own collection of books, the bulk of my reading material came from the local library. Afternoons would be spent with my mom and brothers browsing the shelves, stocking up on books, and then getting a popsicle from the neighbouring corner store (if we were lucky).

Recently I’ve noticed ads popping up on the TTC for the Toronto Public Library’s TD Summer Reading Club. I can remember participating in an earlier version of the program when I was a kid (a construction paper cut-out with my name up on the bulletin board in the children’s section seems to ring a bell). Browsing the program’s site (http://tdsrc.torontopubliclibrary.ca/) makes me realize how the internet has changed the way that kids across the city access the library’s services. The theme this summer is “Lost Worlds” and kids can submit the titles of the books they’ve read, and post reviews for ones they’ve loved or hated. Just a few days into summer vacation and there’s already quite a bit of action on the site—and 483 books read-to-date. It’s one big virtual bulletin board for kids across the city to share their picks for the summer. A little different than the summer reading club I remember, but still lots of fun. And if it gets kids reading, what could be better than that?

Kate Edwards

Debut novelist lands six-figure U.K. deal

The Quill & Quire reports that Toronto resident Sean Dixon's debut novel, "The Girls Who Saw Everything" has just been purchased by HarperCollins U.K. as part of a two-book, six-figure deal.

Oh. My. Allah. How awesome is that?

Sean is known mostly as an actor and a playwright, and I know him as a teacher (he taught at The National Theatre School of Canada). He dramaturged by friend Ryan Griffith's graduating production "Drift" and the resulting play was lovely and sad and full of heart. I'm currently in the process of writing a play called "K" about a young girl lost in a terrible, wonderful place, full of magic and knights and demons and all that jazz, and my dramaturg recommended I read Sean's play "The End of the World Romance" to get a sense of what a fairy tale for adults should sound like.

I read it. It was lovely.

I just wanted to use this space to congratulate Sean for making it happen! For writing what he wants and being rewarded for it.

He gives us young writers hope :).


Jason Maghanoy

Book Expo: A collection of thoughts.

I collected a lot of business cards at Book Expo.

Clive Barker was there. He is a very famous writer. He wrote a series of books that were later turned into the Hellraiser series of horror films that traumatized me in my youth. It was nice to see him.

There were a lot of free books. I didn't really want any of them. Well...

There was one book on display that I wanted, The Tudors: Collection of Screenplays. The Tudors is a great series on Showtime about Henry the VIII that stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers. I read the first few pages of the book and I just had to have it. The writing was sexy and alive and crackling with wit. To get the book I sort of stalked it all day... seriously... just sort of hung around the Simon and Schuster exhibit like one of those creepy guys you read about. Did it work? Well. I went up to who I thought was the friendliest person at Simon and Schuster and asked if I could take it (even though I wasn't allowed). The friendly old man said yes. He had a copy in his car. He could just use that one for the display. He handed me the book and I was happy. I've already read the whole thing.

I ran into an old friend of mine from high school whom I haven't seen in years. She was sitting by the Scholastic Exhibit. We made eye contact, and I wasn't sure it was her. But then when she said my name and started hugging me I assumed it was her... because who would do that to a stranger?

Her name is Katherine. We worked in theatre together. We also went to Prom together. I have this picture of us bowling after prom (at 3am). I am wearing a wife beater and she is wearing a really nice red dress. We looked like the best couple ever... even though we've never dated. She now works at Stratford. She was at Book Expo through The World's Biggest Bookstore (where she used to work). We talked for an hour (while I was supposed to be looking for boxes to pack our exhibitor table at the end of the day). She is doing well. She looks exactly the same. I wonder if she thought the same thing about me?

She did say that I seemed happy.

Which was nice to hear.

Because everyone wants to appear happy.

My first Book Expo was a great experience. Already looking forward to next year.

Jason Maghanoy