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

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Kitchener,

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 Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, 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 Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, CC, O.Ont. (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a Canadian writer, journalist and broadcaster. Berton wrote 50 best-selling books, mainly about Canadiana, Canadian history and popular culture. He also wr ...

, 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 Timothy Irving Frederick Findley Timothy Findley's
entry in

Dennis Lee,

Robert Munsch Robert Norman Munsch (born June 11, 1945) is an American-Canadian children's author. Personal life and career Robert Munsch was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 11, 1945. He grew up in a family of 9 children. He graduated from Fordha ...

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 Michael Redhill (born 12 June 1966) is an American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist.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 The Canadian Library Association (CLA) was a national, predominantly English-language association which represented 57,000 library workers across Canada. It also spoke for the interests of the 21 million Canadians who are members of libraries. C ...

* Canadian Magazine Publishing Association *

League of Canadian Poets The League of Canadian Poets (LCP), founded in 1966, is a national non-profit arts service organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The organization acts as the national association of professional and aspiring poets in Canada. The League co ...

* 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 new ...

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

Locations

Ontario

The Word on the Street was first held in

in 1990. Until 2003, the festival was on a section of

Queen Street West Queen Street is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in the west to Victoria Park Avenue in the east. Queen Street was the cartographic baseline for the original east-w ...

downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Stre ...

. In 2004, the festival moved to Queen's Park, where it was held until moving to

Harbourfront Centre Harbourfront Centre is a key cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at 235 Queens Quay West. Established as a crown corporation in 1972 by the Government of Canada to create a waterfront park, it became ...

in 2015. The Word On The Street Kitchener 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 Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival Corporation & plc#Carnival United Kingdom, Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its ...

on the

Halifax waterfront The Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk is a public footpath located on the Halifax Harbour waterfront in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Constructed of durable heavy timber, the Halifax boardwalk is open to the public 24 hours a day. The boardwalk also ...

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 The Lethbridge Public Library (or LPL, as it is commonly known) is a public library service that is provided by the municipality of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It was established in 1919. While it has had as many as three branches at one time, ...

Saskatchewan

The first full-fledged Word On The Street

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