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 anch ...
, Kitchener, Lethbridge, 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, Pierre Berton, Arthur Black, Joy Fielding,
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 ...
Michael Redhill
Michael Redhill (born 12 June 1966) is an American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist.David Suzuki, 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 ...
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 anch ...
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 ...
in
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 Str ...
. 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.
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 event announced that it would not be held in 2008 for logistical reasons.
The Word On The Street Lethbridge 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.