Events

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Infusion Virtual Book Launch & CAA May Open Mic!

May 28, 2025, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET

ONLINE (Zoom)

All are welcome to this free event, but pre-registration is required.

Email “hello at jfgarrard.com” to reserve a reading spot – there are 8-10 CAA spots available!

In celebration of Asian Heritage Month, CAA-Toronto and the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop are hosting a virtual book launch for Infusion.

The first half of the evening will comprise of authors reading 5 minutes of their work from Infusion, and the second half will be filled by Canadian Authors Association members’ readings (open mic).

To reserve your spot as a reader, please email CAA-Toronto branch President JF Garrard with subject line “April open mic and your name.” Her email address is “hello at jfgarrard.com.”

All are welcome to attend, and we hope you’ll invite friends and family to join the audience.

Note: We are requesting readers to present works that do not have any mentions of extreme violence, rape, incest and other uncomfortable situations. Thanks!

We look forward to hearing your words!

Infusion Author Guest Bios

Riley-Grace Huggins has inherited the gift of Southern storytelling—meaning she can spin a tale, stretch a metaphor, and probably convince you to take some sweet tea for the drive home. Her short story “Heritage” explores her coming of age as a diasporic Filipina. It appears in Ricepaper Magazine and the anthology Infusions. She has a forthcoming piece in The Rumpus. In May 2025, she gave a TEDx talk on escape rooms as literature which serves as the basis for a longer article she is developing. Originally from Texas, she now calls Denver home.

Ling Ge is an immigrant author based in Toronto. Her writing has appeared in Ricepaper, The New Quarterly, The Heron’s Nest, Acorn, and elsewhere. Her first published short story was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her debut poetry chapbook, Snow Flowers, is forthcoming from Anstruther Press.

Francis Chang is a Chinese Canadian who was born in Tokyo, grew up in Vancouver, worked in Hong Kong and returned to Vancouver again with his family. Chang previously practised law for more than 25 years and now focuses on writing. He is a graduate of The Writer’s Studio program at SFU, and his work has appeared in Ricepaper, CBC First Person and The Fiddlehead.

Amy Grace Lam (she/they) is a Chinese Canadian-American artist-psychologist-healer creating immersive experiences for transformation and expansion. Amy explores how the spiritual, natural and physical worlds come together to connect humanity to life. Their literary writings are featured in AsianWeek, Asian American Literary Review, Feministing.com, Marsh Hawk Review, Moyama Press, Pochino Press, Ricepaper and VONA. She is currently working on two experimental plays exploring healing, belonging, ancestors, and deities. Amy resides with her family in San Francisco, CA where she develops innovative community mental health programs with immigrant/refugee communities and is founder of Vibrational Energy Wellness. Amy holds a PhD in Cultural/Social Psychology and training from American Conservatory Theater. Connect with Amy@ amygracelam.com

Marcel Goh was born in Singapore and moved to Canada when he was five years old. He spent most of his childhood in Leduc, Alberta before serving for two years as an infantryman in the Singapore Armed Forces. Subsequently, he relocated to Montreal, Quebec, where he still resides. He is a founding co-editor of the literary magazine Ahoy. His writing has appeared in Existere, The Prairie Journal, and Ricepaper. His short story “The Vigil” was selected for inclusion in Best Canadian Stories 2025 (Biblioasis). He was also the winner of The Malahat Review’s 2024 Constance Rooke Creative Non-Fiction Prize with his piece entitled “Lanterns.” Marcel has published several academic papers in the fields of probability and combinatorics. He is currently pursuing a PhD in mathematics at McGill University.

LiterASIAN Toronto 2025 & Book Launch Celebration of

Infusion: A Ricepaper Anthology

Date: Thursday, May 29, 2025

Location: The Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library, 8th Floor, Robarts Library, 130 St. George Street, Toronto

Registration Link: https://forms.gle/M81HLpN2wiCdmPmE8

Event Part I: LiterASIAN Toronto 2025
Time: 1:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (EDT) (Doors open at 1 p.m.)

Event Part II: Book Launch Celebration of Infusion: A Ricepaper Anthology
Time: 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (EDT)

About This Event

Carrianne Leung will be the moderator and writers in attendance include: Leanne Toshiko Simpson, Wayne Ng, Mai Nguyen, Garry Engkent , Ling Ge, Mihan Han, Amardeep Kaur, Hana Kim, Victoria Sa and Justin Timbol.

All are welcomed to attend, please register to ensure a seat.

For more info: https://east.library.utoronto.ca/eal-newsletter/asian-heritage-month-literary-celebration-0

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Stay tuned to the Authors–Toronto “Events” web page for regular programming and event updates.

As always, we welcome your feedback on all of our activities. Email co-president Lee Parpart at TOpresident1@canadianauthors.org with comments, questions, or ideas about our programs and events.

We’re working to expand the number of writing circles that we can offer to members. We’re looking for branch members to launch and moderate new Authors–Toronto writing circles outside of the downtown core. Our Annex Writing Circle meets the second Thursday of every month at the CSI Annex and is at capacity, but we are open to working with new members to start another monthly group at the same location. Please email Lee at TOpresident1 at canadianauthors.org for more details about writing circles.

And if you know any writers who are not already members of Canadian Authors Association, please talk to them about the benefits of joining. To join Canadian Authors Association or renew your membership, click here.

Follow us on Twitter @AuthorsToronto, Facebook @Canadian Authors Association Toronto Branch, and Instagram @AuthorsToronto for updates and pre-event news.

Thank you for your interest! We look forward to seeing you.

Archived information for past events held in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018