This Saturday, Pride Toronto has teamed up with The Word On The Street for the second annual Proud Voices Reading Series. It's a talent-packed day-long celebration of queer writers, showcasing the best of Canada's literary skill by bringing both established veterans and emerging authors to the James Canning Gardens Stage (Gloucester and Dundonald). The series starts at 3:00 p.m. and features back-to-back readings by a variety of authors, including the award-winning Ivan E. Coyote, celebrated......

The fantastic Ibi Kaslik is back with a follow-up to her stunning debut novel, Skinny (a book that cracked the New York Times best sellers list for two consecutive weeks earlier this year—no small feat for a young Canadian writer). Kaslik's latest offering, The Angel Riots (Penguin Books), is the fictional chronicle of two up-and-coming Montreal bands, and speculation has already surfaced that the author (who, while in high school, was in a band with......

Photo by Jonathan Ponce from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. It's a bit of a slow week on Toronto's literary event calendar, as most publishers are in the final, frantic phases of producing their new spring catalogues. Enjoy your rest now, because things are going to get real busy come April. Having said that, there are a few gems for book lovers to attend before the snow finally melts and a packed schedule of spring......

With temperatures finally floating above zero, tonight's the tonight to dance and drink away the dregs of winter. And tomorrow morning? Head to the Gladstone Hotel for hangover brunch at noon... then start the party all over again with Shameless Magazine. The glossy for "girls who get it" is fêting the launch of the latest issue at the Gladstone Ballroom from 1—4 p.m. Saturday, March 15, with a something-for-everyone celebration. Star performers include Emma......

Panel from Emily Pohl-Weary and Willow Dawson's Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate #4, courtesy of Willow Dawson. Ten weeks of fantastic, free writing workshops have just been announced as part of the Parkdale Street Writers program. Coordinated by the multi-talented poet, YA author, and Kiss Machine founder Emily Pohl-Weary, the workshops start April 1 and are led by some kick-ass local writers and artists, including Mariko Tamaki, Willow Dawson, and Kristyn Dunnion. You don’t have......

Competition was fiercer than the Daytime Emmys on Thursday at the 2nd Annual Doug Wright Awards for Canadian Cartooning, but Michel Rabagliati took the prize for Best Book with Paul Moves Out. Set in 1970's Montreal, the sequel to Paul Has a Summer Job documents Rabagliati's first days cohabitating with his future wife during art school. While this year's nominees like Scott Pilgrim Volume 2 and Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea were remarkably......

The Gladstone Hotel hosts the second annual Doug Wright Awards this evening, honouring achievement in Canadian cartooning. The nominees for Best Book are: Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle (Drawn & Quarterly Books) Wimbledon Green by Seth (Drawn & Quarterly Books) Dragonslippers: This Is What an Abusive Relationship Looks Like by Rosalind B. Penfold (Penguin Canada) Paul Moves Out by Michel Rabagliati (Drawn & Quarterly Books) Scott Pilgrim Volume 2 by Bryan......

At first glance Pride is all about the dancing and the parties and the parades. Au contraire Torontoist readers, Pride is also about events like this reading at Art Metropole tonight. The Toronto Women's Bookstore has invited half-a-dozen great queer writers to read at Get Your Lit Out! Readers include funny gal Mariko Tamaki, poet Zoe Whittall, Sandra Alland and others. The event is tonight at Art Metropole (788 King St. W), 7pm. Photo: Zoe......

Shameless, the little magazine that could, celebrates its first birthday tonight with a semi-formal distillery district birthday fete. There will be dancing, there will performance art, and there will be cake. Will people really get all decked out in their former prom finery for a fancy dress launch? We're not sure, but any opportunity to wear a cumberbund should be acted upon posthaste. Mariko Tamaki and Leah Lakshmi perform, among others. $7.......