An Archive of Care

What traces does care leave behind? Texts, images, scars, tears, belly-laughs, rituals, memories?

For its 19th season, the Draft reading series has invited authors to commemorate acts of care: giving and receiving, chosen or imposed, private, public or something in between. Over the course of a weekend (November 22 to 24, 2024) we will host six readings, including 30 participants. The series focuses on works-in-progress, so you can say you heard it first at Draft.

To offer a sample of the diverse slate of contributors: curators Kern Carter, Therese Estacion, and Tyler Pennock have invited a stunning series of writers ranging from the multi-award-winning poets George Elliott Clarke and Britta B. to newcomer Khwahish Khan and spoken-word performer and sports advocate Yasmin Said. One reading will focus on health-care workers, including readings from author-physician Arundhati Dhara and from Louie Leyson, whose writing on Filipino overseas workers in Canada won the CBC nonfiction prize in 2023. The festival will culminate in an open mic.

The full schedule is posted on our website. The events will take place entirely on Zoom.

Since it was founded in 2005, the Draft Reading Series has offered emerging and established writers a chance to share new and unpublished work with an attentive audience. Over almost two decades, we have hosted over 400 writers, inspiring new work and creating community. This season we have condensed our full year’s programming into a single weekend, in the hopes of connecting a variety of audiences and authors and bringing attention to a topic of vital importance in today’s world.

The festival is generously supported by the Toronto Arts Council.