The Word On The Street is a Canadian book and magazine festival held each September in Toronto,

Kitchener Kitchener may refer to: People * Earl Kitchener, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom ** Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (1850–1916), British Field Marshal and 1st Earl Kitchener ** Henry Kitchener, 2nd Earl Kitchener (1846–1937) ...

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

, Saskatoon, and Halifax. Each city's festival features author readings, workshops, information booths, marketplace, and reading- and writing-related activities. The mandate of the organization is "to unite the country in a national, annual celebration of reading and writing and to highlight the importance of literacy in the lives of all Canadians." Over the years, The Word On The Street has attracted numerous famous Canadian authors for author readings, such as

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

, Pierre Berton, Arthur Black,

Joy Fielding Joy Fielding (née Tepperman; born March 18, 1945) is a Canadian novelist and actress. She lives in Toronto, Ontario. Biography Born in Toronto, Ontario, she graduated from the University of Toronto in 1966, with a Bachelor of Arts in English Li ...

, Timothy Findley, Dennis Lee, Robert Munsch,

Paul Quarrington Paul Lewis Quarrington (July 22, 1953 – January 21, 2010) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, musician and educator. Background Born in Toronto as the middle of three sons in the family of four of Bruce Quarrington,

, Michael Redhill, and

David Suzuki David Takayoshi Suzuki (born March 24, 1936) is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster, and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a PhD in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department at th ...

, to name just a few. In September 2012, the six single-day regional events welcomed more than 250,000 visitors and offered more than 400 programmed events featuring 585 authors, workshop presenters, and arts performers. The festival also showcased more than 500 book and magazine exhibitors promoting mostly Canadian works.

Founding organizations

Founding organizations include: * Book and Periodical Council * Canadian Give The Gift of Literacy Foundation * Canadian Authors Association * Canadian Book Information Centre * Canadian Book Publishers Council * Canadian Booksellers Associations * Canadian Children’s Book Centre * Freelance Editors Association of Canada * Canadian Library Association * Canadian Magazine Publishing Association * League of Canadian Poets * Literary Presses Group * Ontario Literacy Coalition *

Professional Writers Association of Canada The Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) is a professional association representing professional freelance writers in Canada, predominantly in the newspaper and magazine industries. However, PWAC members also write: magazine and news ...

* Playwright’s Union of Canada * Writer’s Union of Canada

Locations

Ontario

The Word on the Street was first held in Toronto in 1990. Until 2003, the festival was on a section of Queen Street West in downtown Toronto. In 2004, the festival moved to Queen's Park, where it was held until moving to Harbourfront Centre in 2015. The Word On The Street

event was first held in 2002 and takes place in the city's

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

Nova Scotia

The Word On The Street Halifax event, first held in 1995, takes place at the Cunard Event Centre on the Halifax waterfront.

British Columbia

The Word On The Street Vancouver event, also first held in 1995, took place at Library Square. 2012 was the final year of this city's participation as a Word On The Street festival. It has been re-branded as WORD Vancouver.

Alberta

In 2007, the board of the

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

event announced that it would not be held in 2008 for logistical reasons. The Word On The Street

began in 2011 and happens in the street surrounding the Lethbridge Public Library.

Saskatchewan

The first full-fledged Word On The Street Saskatoon was held in 2011 in and around the Frances Morrison Library.

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Word on the Street Festivals in Vancouver Festivals in Toronto Festivals in Halifax, Nova Scotia Festivals in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Culture of Kitchener, Ontario Festivals in Lethbridge Festivals in Saskatoon Literary festivals in Alberta Literary festivals in Ontario Arts festivals in Nova Scotia Arts festivals in Saskatchewan