By Soloman Lam

Lit lovers should head over to Church Street today for the Writing Outside The Margins festival of queer literature, the first of its kind in Toronto. The Gay Village stretch of Church Street will be closed from 11:00 a.m. to 7 p.m. to accommodate stands selling everything from children’s books, fiction and poetry to sci-fi, erotica and comic arts. There will also be two stages for readings and performances, where you’ll get to participate in an open mic or sign up for a poetry slam competition.
Many modern-day Gertrude Steins, E.M. Forsters and Alan Ginsbergs will be presenting their work, including notable Canadian writers Jim Bartley and Alec Butler, whose play Black Friday was nominated for the Governor General’s Award for Drama. Also on hand is James St. James, the infamous NYC party-monster-turned-author-turned-pop-culture-talking-head who, in addition to presenting his new book Freakshow, is DJing the afterparty, “Save The Robots,” at the Gladstone Hotel at 9 p.m. Torontoist hopes to meet some sexy librarians and finally fulfill a long-held fantasy of making out in the stacks.
Photo by Nikita Kashner.