Writer in Residence

Toronto Public Library (TPL)’s Writer in Residence program supports writers and encourages exchanges between the author and the community. The Writer in Residence creates and delivers programs, evaluates submitted manuscripts, meets with writers from the general public, and works on their own project(s).

Writers who have held residencies at the library include Gail Bowen, Chester Brown, Austin Clarke, Karen Connelly, Deborah Cooke, Farzana Doctor, Sarah Ellis, Rabindranath Maharaj, Elizabeth Ruth, Robert J. Sawyer, Karl Schroeder, Allan Stratton, Sugith Varughese, Tim Wynne-Jones, Alissa York, David S. Young, Kate Cayley, Kim Echlin, Vikki VanSickle, Howard Shrier, Dan Werb, Thea Lim, and Jamie Michaels.

Sarah Yi-Mei Tsiang | Spring 2024 Writer in Residence – Poetry

• Location: Toronto Reference Library

  

  Sarah Yi-Mei Tsiang is an accomplished poet, a post-secondary creative writing teacher and the Creative Director at Poetry In Voice, a national non-profit dedicated to bringing poetry to Canadian students. Her books of poetry include Grappling Hook (2022), nominated for the Raymond Souster Award, Status Update (2013), nominated for the Pat Lowther Award, and Sweet Devilry (2011) which won the Gerald Lampert Award. Her work has also been featured in Best of the Best Canadian Poetry and many other anthologies.

Upcoming events

• Culture and Poetics Workshop 1.1: Writing From the Eye and the I

  Wed, May 1 at 6:30 PM | Toronto Reference Library, The Jack Rabinovitch Reading Room

  In this workshop, participants will explore how to express the deeply personal using their unique perspective, history, and culture. Grounded in the senses and specificity, exercises will build on one another to help you tell your own story.

• Culture and Poetics Workshop 1.2: Writing as an Outsider

  Wed, May 8 at 6:30 PM | Toronto Reference Library, The Jack Rabinovitch Reading Room

  Whether by race, class, culture, gender, ableism, or other categories, many people have experienced being outsiders. Taking from our lives and unique experiences we will celebrate the ways in which we belong to ourselves.

• Culture and Poetics Workshop 1.3: Writing Poems Inspired by Fairy Tales From Across the World

  Wed, May 15 at 6:30 pm | Toronto Reference Library, The Jack Rabinovitch Reading Room

  In this workshop, participants will share the stories that animated our childhood and look at examples of fairy tales from across the world. Thinking about both the cross-cultural significance and unique cultures that birthed some of these fairy tales, we will deconstruct these stories to use in our own poems.

One-on-One Consultation Sessions

Toronto Public Library’s Writer in Residence offers poets the opportunity to submit poetry samples for review and feedback. The Writer in Residence will meet with the first 10 authors whose poetry submissions satisfy the requirements below. Meetings with the Writer in Residence are by appointment only.

Submission Requirements

Please submit poetry that is between 1-10 pages in length. Submissions can be standalone pieces, long poems, or excerpts from long poems. Submissions should include your name and an email address. Please describe if you are new to the genre or if you have some experience (if you have some experience you can submit a brief biography of no more than 200 words). Material submitted will not be returned so please do not submit originals.

Mail or bring your submission to:

Writer in Residence – Toronto Reference Library
Languages & Literature Department (4th Floor)
789 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M4Y 2B6

Please email your submission to: trllanglit@tpl.ca

Deadline: Submissions will be accepted from Monday, April 22, 2024 to Friday, May 24, 2024.

Apply to be Writer in Residence

Toronto Public Library invites applications from Canadian writers with extensive writing and literary experience in the area of Romance fiction for the Fall 2024 Writer in Residence position based at the North York Central Library.

Deadline to apply is Friday, April 26, 2024 at 4 pm

To apply, submit the following documents through the Writer in Residence page at: https://torontopubliclibrary.bonfirehub.ca/opportunities/76419

• Curriculum vitae and summary of experience
• Program proposal
• Sample of recent published writing
• Two letters of reference

To access a ^*PDF version of the Expression of Interest (EOI): Download PDF (236 KB)

^*This PDF version is provided for information only. In order to ensure receipt of further information pertaining to the EOI, please note that all applicants are required to download the EOI from: https://torontopubliclibrary.bonfirehub.ca/opportunities/76419