The banner image for The Word on the Street Toronto Book & Magazine Festival, with an abstract, 3D modular illustration against a light green background of various environments created with books and architecture. Top left: an astronaut does a space walk outside their ship. Top right: a couple embrace. Bottom: A woman sits, legs crossed, in meditation. Above the image is a green ribbon banner with 35th Anniversary in white lettering. At the bottom: September 28-29. Queen's Park Circle, Toronto.
The banner image for The Word on the Street Toronto Book & Magazine Festival, with an abstract, 3D modular illustration against a light green background of various environments created with books and architecture. Top left: an astronaut does a space walk outside their ship. Top right: a couple embrace. Bottom: A woman sits, legs crossed, in meditation. Above the image is a green ribbon banner with 35th Anniversary in white lettering. At the bottom: September 28-29. Queen's Park Circle, Toronto.

Authors & book lovers Authors & book lovers

gather to share stories at Canada’s largest book & magazine festival.

The Word on the Street Toronto 2024

A weekend of reading for book lovers of all ages

Saturday, September 28 and Sunday, September 29, 2024, join authors, book and magazine sellers, and book lovers of all ages for the 35th annual The Word on The Street Toronto. This is Canada’s largest book and magazine festival, celebrating storytelling, ideas and imagination; and hosting and promoting great books by Canadian and Indigenous authors year-round. Admission is free.

Held outdoors along the east side of Queen’s Park Crescent, this event hosts author readings, workshops, and a vibrant marketplace featuring the best selection of books and magazines in Canada. This year’s festival includes four stages of programming. Click on the stage on the Schedule page to automatically scroll down to that stage’s programming details:

  • Stage A: Contemporary
  • Stage B: Across the Universe (imagined worlds, including horror, sci-fi, fantasy & myth)
  • Stage C: Vibrant Voices of Ontario
  • Stage D: Kids Literature

This year’s featured authors include Catherine Hernandez, reading from her gripping latest novel Behind You; an Indigenous Horror Spotlight, including a discussion from authors Cheryl Isaacs and Adriana Chartrand, moderated by author and playwright Drew Hayden Taylor; a Poet Laureate Stage Takeover, with poets Lillian Allen, George Elliott Clarke, A.F. Moritz & more; and Fireside Munsch with actor and Head of the Acting Program at Randolph College for the Performing Arts, M. John Kennedy.

Read about the festival’s history here.

“The Word On The Street champions reading and writing in Canada through a free annual festival and year-round literary programming that celebrates storytelling, ideas, and imagination.”

– The Word on the Street

 

The banner image for The Word on the Street Toronto Book & Magazine Festival, with an abstract, 3D modular illustration against a light green background of various environments created with books and architecture. Top left: an astronaut does a space walk outside their ship. Top right: a couple embrace. Bottom: A woman sits, legs crossed, in meditation. Above the image is a green ribbon banner with 35th Anniversary in white lettering. At the bottom: September 28-29. Queen's Park Circle, Toronto.

(Photo credits: The Word on the Street Toronto.)

 

Event details

Hosted by: The Word on the Street Toronto

Type of event: outdoor book & magazine festival

Schedule: See the Schedule.

Exhibitor marketplace: See the participating exhibitors, plus a site map.

Dates: Saturday, September 28 – Sunday, September 29, 2024

Times:

  • Saturday, September 28: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET
  • Sunday, September 29: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET
  • Please refer to the Schedule for specific reading & workshop times.

Cost: Free admission

Location: This year’s festival takes place in Toronto on Queen’s Park Crescent East, from Grosvenor Street to the north end of Queen’s Park. See the map here.

Booking link: Admission is free. You can RSVP here and receive event updates.

Contact Details: The Word On The Street Toronto, 720 Bathurst St., Toronto, ON, M5S 2R4, Canada; toronto@thewordonthestreet.ca, toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca

 

Content warning: Please refer to the individual booksellers and events.

Accessibility: Please contact the organizer for ASL-interpreted and Closed Captioned event details. Service animals are welcome in the marketplace and programming venues.

Refund policy: Please consult the individual booksellers.