Report from Word on the Street Toronto 2024

True North Country Comics Podcasts

Here’s my report from Word on the Street Toronto 2024.

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Word on the Street is a celebration of Toronto’s books and magazines. At this year’s Toronto event, attendees spent the weekend meandering through the vibrant marketplace, finding books, magazines, and more. Many Indigenous and Canadian authors exhibited across multiple stages of all-ages programming, including a dedicated kids stage. The festival programming included writers’ workshops that go beyond the craft on four stages around the Queen’s Park area of Toronto. At one point, I even heard a typewriter.

For this event, as in the past, Canadian comic book creators and illustrators were amidst the many exhibitors. This report focuses on those creators including:

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Keith Grachow – Keith Grachow is a comic book author-illustrator, graphic designer, and instructor who teaches workshops on illustration. Keith has written for SCI by AH Comics, co-written a story in Cauldron, authored his own comics (Yost the Golem, Bounty Hunter Kai) and co-created many comic books and anthology stories (Strange Case with Mark Bertolini for Scout Comics, Checkmate Blues with Robert Iveniuk and Toronto Comix Anthology 3-Snow Blind with Howard Wong ) and children’s books with his mother Amy (Up-In-The-Sky series). He has also worked in animation, as a digital ink-and-paint artist for the Disney movies ‘Winnie the Pooh’ and ‘Princess and the Frog’, and designed toy packages for products like Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon and the Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Currently, Keith is co-authoring and illustrating the graphic novel, Summer on The Swing, with his mother Amy Grachow; the semi-autobiographical comic tells the story of her upbringing in a bungalow colony in upstate New York in the 1960s. Discover more about Keith Grachow online at kgrachow.com and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/keith_grachow/

Steven Andrews – Steven Andrews is the publisher of the newest TO Comix offering entitled The City We Chose featuring a variety of comic book creators telling a variety of compelling stories about the great city of Toronto. Discover more at TOComix.com

Danny Gorny – Danny Gorny is a freelance writer and editor living in Toronto. He completed his degree in medieval literature in 2014, and he’s written comics at the RAID Studio. His projects include Coffee House of Doom, Sleepwalkers and the comic book series Cygnus Imperium. Danny has just launched the Kickerstarter project for the season finale of the series with Cygnus Imperium #4. Discover more about Danny Gorny at https://www.instagram.com/dannygorny/

Alicia Isaacs – Alicia Isaacs is a storytelling sensation, skillfully crafting tales that resonate with readers worldwide. Her narratives create a lasting impact, captivating the imagination of readers and leaving a positive impression globally. Her current book is Using Greatness Within. Discover more about Alicia at AliciaIsaacs.com and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/alicia_author

Julian Bynoe – Born in 1968 London, England, Julian Bynoe moved to Canada with his family at a very young age (which is why he has no British accent, but can mimic one with deft accuracy!) and lived in between Toronto and Calgary during his formative years. Cartooning since 1983 and a graduate of the Alberta College of Art & Design, he resides and works in Toronto as an artist, cartoonist and freelance arts/entertainment blogger. Discover more about Julian at https://eboutique-snowleopardarts-ent-ca.myshopify.com/

Karina Hussein – Karina Hussein is the founder of Sights Seen Publishing. She’s also the author of Kiara’s Toronto Adventure – a tribute to Toronto, celebrating the city’s vast history, diverse culture, and the spirt of exploration. The story is important to Karina as it’s a contribution to the representation of visual minorities in children’s literature, as she didn’t have the privilege of encountering characters who looked like her growing up. Discover more about Karina at https://www.sightsseenpublishing.ca/

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Michelle Wang – Based in Toronto, Ontario, Michelle Wang is the author of an award-winning series of picture books about a fun-loving family discovering the beauty of the changing seasons: It Must Be Autumn (winner of the 2021 Royal Dragonfly Book Award and the Southern California Book Festival Award), It Must Be Winter (2021 Wishing Shelf Book Awards finalist), It Must Be Spring (2023 Educators Choice Awards finalist), and It Must Be Summer (available December 2023). Her newest book is called Oma’s Bag, illustrated by Sam Nunez, is a described as a “tender and touching book to help children navigate an Alzheimer’s diagnosis in their family and learn how to fully embrace their loved ones in new and unexpected ways”. Discover more about Michelle Wang online at https://itmustbebooks.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/itmustbebooks/

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Susanne Arens – Susanne Arens is the co-producer, illustrator and graphics design expert at Critter Adventure Tales. Susanne and Crystal Peak Design have received numerous local, regional, National and International awards for her graphic design and marketing work. Susanne participated in and volunteered as the Chair of the Multi-Media and Graphics Department at the Pikes Peak State College for 12 years and has taught as an Adjunct Instructor for the past 11 years. She also volunteers as a judge for the Space Foundation International Student Art Contest and is the Executive Director of the Pikes Peak Studio Tour which supports and promotes local artists through our annual Pikes Peak Tour Studio event. Discover more at https://critteradventuretales.com/

Samantha Solis – Samantha Solis is a licensed mental health counselor who owns a private practice. She completed her undergraduate studies in Psychology from the University of San Diego and went on to complete her graduate studies in Counseling Psychology from Boston University. Samantha currently resides on the U.S. West Coast with her husband and two young children. Her children inspired her to write a book that teaches kids about boundaries. Given Samantha’s background in psychology, she decided to write about boundaries at an age-appropriate level for young kids to understand. Her latest book Tonio and Tina Learn Boundaries is available from Tellwell. Discover more about Samantha at https://samanthasolisauthor.com/.

Rick Lima – Ricky Lima is a writer and educator from Brampton, Ontario. He enjoys writing interesting stories and helping people. Ricky is known for his previous work that includes happily ever aftr, Black Hole Hunters Club, Huma-Am, The Millennium Bomb, Kickboxer – The Unauthorized Adaptation, Cauldron Magazine and Soda Pop Pirates. He’s exhibited, panelled and attended many conventions and festivals promoting his work including the recent Small Press Expo. Ricky’s new graphic novel Undergrowth features colorist Yuliia Shevtsova and illustrator Daniele Aquilani. Discover more about Ricky Lima online at https://limepressonline.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/king.k.rule/

Discover more about Word on the Street at https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/annual-festival/

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