Sheree Lynn Fitch is a Canadian writer and literacy advocate. Known primarily for her children's books, she has also published poetry and fiction for adults.
Canada has a large domestic and foreign tourism industry. The second largest country in the world, Canada's wide geographical variety is a significant tourist attractor. Much of the country's tourism is centred in the following regions: Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver/Whistler, Niagara Falls, Vancouver Island, Canadian Rockies, British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, Churchill, Manitoba and the National Capital Region of Ottawa-Gatineau. The large cities are known for their culture, diversity, as well as the many national parks and historic sites.
Canada's contemporary theatre reflects a rich diversity of regional and cultural identities. Since the late 1960s, there has been a concerted effort to develop the voice of the 'Canadian playwright', which is reflected in the nationally focused programming of many of the country's theatres. Within this 'Canadian voice' are a plurality of perspectives - that of the First Nations, new immigrants, French Canadians, sexual minorities, etc. - and a multitude of theatre companies have been created to specifically service and support these voices.
Glad Day Bookshop is an independent bookstore and restaurant located in Toronto, Ontario, specializing in LGBT literature. Previously located above a storefront at 598A Yonge Street for much of its history, the store moved to its current location at 499 Church Street, in the heart of the city's Church and Wellesley neighbourhood, in 2016. The store's name and logo are based on a painting by William Blake.
Sheri-D Wilson, CM D. Litt, is a Canadian poet, spoken word artist, educator, speaker, producer and activist.
Yuk Yuk's is a national comedy club chain in Canada, founded by former stand-up comedian Mark Breslin and established in 1976 by Breslin and long-time friend Joel Axler. The company is currently run by Breslin and his long-time partner and president Jeff Silverman. The head office is located in downtown Toronto. Currently there are nine Yuk Yuk's Comedy Clubs in five provinces across Canada.
The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word is an annual festival produced by Spoken Word Canada and planned by a local Festival Organizing Committee in each host city.
The Koffler Centre of the Arts is a broad-based cultural institution established in 1977 by Murray and Marvelle Koffler and based at Artscape Youngplace in the West Queen West area of downtown Toronto, Ontario.
The Magnetic North Theatre Festival was an annual festival celebrating theatre and related performing arts in Canada operated by the Canadian Theatre Festival Society in partnership with the National Arts Centre. The festival was held Ottawa every two years, with it being held in other Canadian cities in the alternating years. Other cities that have hosted the festival include Edmonton, St. John's and Vancouver. The festival offered not only productions and performances for the theatre-going public, but also workshops and seminars aimed at theatre students and theatre professionals.
Although same-sex sexual activity was illegal in Canada up to 1969, gay and lesbian themes appear in Canadian literature throughout the 20th century. Canada is now regarded as one of the most advanced countries in legal recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights.
The Forest of Reading is Canada's largest recreational reading program, featuring ten award programs and run by the Ontario Library Association (OLA). Programs are primarily geared towards French and English readers in kindergarten to grade twelve, but do also include programs targeting adult readers and ESL learners. The Forest awards are selected by readers themselves, who choose the winning titles for each award by voting for their favourite books.
KPMB is a Canadian architecture firm founded by Bruce Kuwabara, Thomas Payne, Marianne McKenna, and Shirley Blumberg, in 1987. It is headquartered in Toronto, where the majority of their work is found. Aside from designing buildings, the firm also works in interior design. KPMB Architects was officially renamed from Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects to KPMB Architects on February 12, 2013.
Alice Kuipers is a British-born author living in Saskatchewan, Canada who is best known for her young adult novels. Life on the Refrigerator Door won the Grand Prix de Viarmes, the Livrentête Prize, the Redbridge Teenage Book Award in 2008 and the Saskatchewan First Book Award in 2007, was narrated as an audio book by Amanda Seyfried and Dana Delany, and has been adapted for theater in England, France and Japan. 40 Things I Want To Tell You won a Saskatchewan Book Award for Young Adult Literature in 2013. The Worst Thing She Ever Did won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book in 2011.
Jamelie Hassan is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist, lecturer, writer and independent curator.
The Vancouver Writers Fest is a non-profit organization that produces a variety of literary events in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its main event is the Vancouver Writers Fest, which is an annual week-long literary festival held on Granville Island, Vancouver in late October. Writers from Canada and abroad attend the festival to perform readings, interviews and panel discussions. The organization also runs the Incite reading series in the spring and the Spreading the Word schools program year-round.
Nancy Tousley is a senior art critic, journalist, art writer and independent curator whose practice has included writing for a major daily newspaper, art magazines, and exhibition catalogues.
Book fairs and literary festivals are held throughout South Africa each year to promote literacy among children and adults. A country's literacy rate is often a key social indicator of development. In 2005, UNESCO Institute for Statistics reported a literacy rate of 94.37% among the population aged 15 years and older. The literacy rate among the male population in this age group was 95.4% and 93.41 for female counterparts. According to Statistics South Africa, functional illiteracy among those aged 20 years or older, was recorded at 15.4% in 2005. This has improved from 2002's 27.3%. Women are more likely to be functionally illiterate across all age groups, apart from those aged between 20 and 39 years old.