#CAAEvents

Open Mic Night!

Thursday, February 23, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

ONLINE (Zoom)

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

About this Event:

February is the month of Love and this open mic night features stories of love shared by 14 Canadian Authors–Toronto members and one non-member, who will have the opportunity to read their fiction, non-fiction, or poetry on Zoom. Whether you choose to share a published piece or a work-in-progress, we’re excited to hear your words!

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

Reading spots are reserved for CAA–Toronto members, with one exception: as part of our continual outreach efforts, we’ll invite one non-member to read at each open mic. 

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

Journeys in Canadian Publishing, with Salma Hussain Canadian Authors Association–Toronto Thursday, January 26 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Online (Zoom)

Happy New Year, CAA–Toronto members! For our first program of the 2023 season, we’re offering our members a chance to hear accomplished Toronto author Salma Hussain talk about her publishing journey. Join us as Salma Hussain shares how she placed stories and poems in literary journals, won government grants, and published her first novel. Salma has kindly agreed to take questions, and we’ll dedicate plenty of time for a Q&A after her talk.

More about our speaker:

SALMA HUSSAIN grew up in the U.A.E., and immigrated to Canada when she was thirteen years old. She has a B.A. (Hon.) in English Literature, with a concentration in creative writing from the University of Calgary, a law degree from the University of Calgary, and a Master’s in Law from McGill University. Her short stories and poems have been published in Filling Station, West Coast Line, Other Voices, and in the anthology Homebound: Muslim Women Poetry Collection (Outburst Press). She is a graduate of the Humber Summer Writing Workshop and won the International Festival of Authors’ Litjam short story competition (2018). She was also a mentee in the Diaspora Dialogues’ long-form mentorship program last year. She lives with her family in Toronto.

ABOUT THE SECRET DIARY OF MONA HASAN Mona learns to find her voice over the course of a year that sees her immigrating from Dubai to Canada in this novel for fans of Front Desk by Kelly Yang. Mona Hasan is a young Muslim girl growing up in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when the first Gulf War breaks out in 1991. The war isn’t what she expects — “We didn’t even get any days off school! Just my luck” — especially when the ground offensive is over so quickly and her family peels the masking tape off their windows. Her parents, however, fear there is no peace in the region, and it sparks a major change in their lives. Over the course of one year, Mona falls in love, speaks up to protect her younger sister, loses her best friend to the new girl at school, has summer adventures with her cousins in Pakistan, immigrates to Canada, and pursues her ambition to be a feminist and a poet. PRAISE A Quill & Quire 2022 Book of the Year One of CCBC’s Best Books for Kids & Teens (Fall 2022) “An ambitious novel that is both heartfelt and tongue-in-cheek.” —Kirkus Reviews “Mona’s voice is good-humored, and her diary entries—comprising lists, poems, and letters from supporting characters—amalgamate into a wise and introspective debut.” —Publishers Weekly “Upper elementary and middle grade readers will identify with this spunky, thoughtful, 12-year-old heroine . . . the short vignettes of this book are perfect for reluctant readers and may spark conversations about war, Operation Desert Storm, immigration, international affairs, the Muslim religion, and school equality for girls.” —School Library Journal