KYA PUBLISHING AUTHOR STACEY MARIE ROBINSON TO PARTICIPATE IN DIVERSITY PANEL AT THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR

TORONTO, ONT (November 2014) – Toronto author and founder of Kya Publishing, Stacey Marie Robinson, will be participating in the first annual INSPIRE! Toronto International Book Fair as a speaker on Dalton Higgins’ “Diversity, DJs, and DIY” panel. The panel, taking place on Sunday, November 16, 2014 from 4:00pm to 5:00pm will look at diversity in Canadian literature and its place and importance in the Canadian literary landscape. The panel will also feature Greg Frankson (aka Ritallin), Kayla Perrin, and Leonicka Valcius.

The Book Fair, taking place from Friday, November 14 through Sunday, November 16 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, features an exciting lineup of panels, workshops, a marketplace, and book signings.

As noted on the festival’s website: “INSPIRE! Toronto International Book Fair will be part exhibition, part market and part cultural festival, celebrating reading in all forms and embracing all facets of the book trade. It will be a place for readers to connect with those who write and produce the books they love—to learn, explore and be entertained, in all print and digital formats.”

Robinson, who has just self-published her ninth novel, Carnival Spotlight, is pleased to be a part of this national celebration, and also to help bring awareness to issues of diverse literature and the balance in Canadian literary perspectives.

“I write contemporary Canadian Urban Fiction, which is a genre that is relatively new in the Canadian publishing scene,” said Robinson. “Striving to see increased diversity in literature is a circumstance that many of us writers have been working through for years, and it is just as important as having diversity in business, politics, the education system, entertainment, and in the overall identity of this nation. Dalton Higgins is always on the cutting edge of Canadian cultural topics—I look forward to having this important discussion with him and the panel he has assembled.”

For more information about the Toronto International Book Fair, please visit www.torontobookfair.ca.

Kya Publishing contact: info@kyapublishing.com or 647-342-3040.

Kya Publishing Releases Novel Based on Toronto's Caribbean Carnival: CARNIVAL SPOTLIGHT

 

Kya Publishing Celebrates Toronto's Caribbean Carnival with new Novel, Soca Soundtrack, Junior Costumes & Children's Book

TORONTO, ONT. (April 2014) – Kya Publishing is honouring Toronto’s rich Caribbean Carnival culture with the release of carnival-themed products this summer: a novel entitled Carnival Spotlight, a groovy soca mixtape, children’s carnival costumes for the parade, and a children’s story book. This collection of releases will authentically take readers and participants through the preparation and enjoyment of this Canadian tradition.

“Every year, hundreds of thousands of people look forward to participating in the Caribbean carnival in Toronto,” said Robinson, who founded Kya Publishing in 2007 specifically to document Canada’s urban community and culture. “I love the energy of carnival, and I wanted to capture its essence in print, music, and costume.”

Carnival Spotlight, the novel, features 35-year-old Delia Chinn, a former high-profile reggae dancer who is enticed back into a seductive party lifestyle when she meets members of the Groovy Massive soca dance group and joins the Carnival Groove masquerade band.

The Carnival Spotlight soundtrack features an 80-minute collection of 2014 groovy soca hits, mixed by Toronto’s DJ Majesty and featuring MC Brenton B.

For the Junior Carnival, Kya Publishing will be producing children’s costumes (designed by Melissa Marshal-Drukarsh) for the Toronto Revellers masquerade band, the reigning Junior Carnival Band of the Year. This will be Robinson’s second time as a children’s costume Section Leader.

Along with the children’s costume, Robinson has created a children’s story and colouring book, Allyuh Eat Already, that will be made available to all youth participants in the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival’s Junior Carnival.

“All of Kya Publishing’s activities are inspired by the people, the music, the food, the events, and the culture of urban Toronto,” said Robinson. “Toronto’s Carnival has been—and continues to be—such a big part of my life. I wanted to make sure that Kya Publishing canonized the personal tales and arts surrounding this event so the wonderful experiences can continue to be celebrated over the generations.”

contact

info@kyapublishing.com
(647)342-3040