Toronto Urban Book Expo to Return in the Spring of 2020

TORONTO, ONT (January 2019) - Kya Publishing's urban book fair, the Toronto Urban Book Expo, will return to the city in the Spring of 2020. The literary event, which began in 2014 in association with the Toronto Public Library, has since hosted nearly 100 independent and published writers, community organizations, and provided the opportunity for local book lovers to purchase original literature and meet with a range of authors from Toronto and across the U.S.

"We are committed to providing the best possible service for our participating writers as well as our book-loving patrons," said founder Stacey Marie Robinson. "Over the past five years we have collected data, feedback, recommendations, and aspirations from our participants, and are now dedicated to implementing improvements and brainstorming innovative ways to encourage literacy and increase independent book sales through the Book Expo."

While all writers are welcome to participate in the Toronto Urban Book Expo, the event culture and significance is its dedication to black writers and to telling "urban" stories rooted in the African- and Caribbean-Canadian (as well as African-American) experience. Highlighted books range in genre from Canadian Urban Fiction to African-American Fiction, Caribbean Fiction, Multicultural Literature, Motivational Texts, Autobiographies, and Diverse Children's Books.

"The best part about the Toronto Urban Book Expo thus far has been the connections made between writers and the community that has been built as a result," said Robinson. "Since our last edition in August of 2018, we have created an online List of Featured Authors for easy access to our previous Book Expo participants. We have also formed a Board of Directors."

The Toronto Urban Book Expo's Board of Directors (including Robinson, Jameel Davis, Angelot Ndongmo, Ancil London, Kamilah Haywood, Jeffrey Lee Cheatham II, Camille Ramnath, and Marsha Mohammed) has been meeting to ensure optimal benefit from the event going forward.

"We do this for the love of literature, and for the celebration and encouragement of literacy," said Robinson. "Our return in the Spring of 2020 will bring our book fair back to the city with new programming and an increase in partnerships to ensure that we can continue to support the writing community and the unique and important stories they are contributing to contemporary Canadian culture."

For information and updates about the Toronto Urban Book Expo, connect with Kya Publishing at tube@kyapublishing.com, via mailing list or social media, or visit the website for details.