Hosted on the Kya Publishing website, under the event-specific Toronto Urban Book Expo page, the list of featured authors was created to complement the book fair experience. The directory gives readers and community members an extended opportunity to contact the writers, and also provides increased exposure for the artists and their products.
"We created the Toronto Urban Book Expo to support local authors, independent writers, and to provide international artists with access to a Canadian audience," said Kya Publishing's Stacey Marie Robinson. "As we continue to build our event, and increase community awareness of the fabulous books and ideas that these authors have produced, we want to ensure that we're doing our best to contribute to their growing readership, and offer another venue for sales and communication."
This year marked the 5th occurrence of the Toronto Urban Book Expo, Kya Publishing's annual book fair. Hosted in collaboration with the Toronto Public Library, with support from the Toronto Arts Council, it is a culturally-specific space where predominantly African-Canadian, African-American, and Caribbean writers from a diverse range of literary backgrounds display their books to a readership that is often difficult to connect with en masse.
"There are challenges in building--and finding--our reading audience, however, Kya Publishing is committed to this process," said Robinson. "It is our hope that the online listing of authors can be easily accessed by new readers, and available year-round for those who enjoy urban fiction, multi-cultural children's literature, and other genres that are usually only found in niche bookstores and locations. We want all of the authors we've interacted with to do well, and look forward to spreading the word about this additional outlet."
For more information about the Toronto Urban Book Expo, please contact the planning committee and Board of Directors at TUBE@kyapublishing.com.