Mississauga, ON — Following the official launch of the Canada Literature Festival on September 23, 2025, at Luxe Convention Centre, Mississauga—an evening marked by historian and award-winning author William Dalrymple’s talk and book signing of The Golden Road, with a packed audience, lively discussions, and thought-provoking ideas—the Indo-Canada Arts Council (ICAC) is proud to launch the Canada Literature Festival with an aim to provide open and democratic platform for thinkers, writers, and speakers.
About Canada Literature Festival
Created to celebrate knowledge and ideas, the Canada Literature Festival transcends the boundaries of race, language, religion, and culture—bringing together people from around the world to share stories that touch the heart and reflect the human experience.
The festival acts as a unifying force, fostering dialogue across social, cultural, geographical, and historical perspectives, and encouraging a dynamic exchange between local and global outlooks.
About ICAC
Founded in 2014, the Indo-Canada Arts Council (ICAC) is a federally registered, non-governmental, non-partisan, non-religious, non-profit organization in Canada. Guided by a volunteer board of directors and an experienced advisory board, ICAC draws on expertise across arts, finance, media, education, technology, and social work to foster community engagement.
The organization also hosts signature events such as the International Day of Yoga and India’s Independence Day at Niagara Falls, highlighted by the illumination of the Falls in India’s tricolour.
Dates: October 3, 4 & 5, 2025
Venues: Mississauga Celebration Square, Amphitheatre @ Mississauga Celebration Square, Noel Ryan Theatre, and Mississauga City Hall
Entry & Parking: Free
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Festival Highlights
- Activities: Debates, discussions, performances, interactive games, food stalls, and family-friendly programming. Don’t miss the special SHOLAY-themed activities, complete with prizes and the screening of the iconic film on October 3.
- Authors & Writers: Our lineup features writers across multiple languages—Hindi, English, Malayalam, Bengali, and Urdu.
- Performers & Speakers: Ajay Bisaria, Annu Kapoor, Sona Mohapatra, among many others.
- For writers it will be a learning experience to attend the various panels that are offered. There’s the Publisher’s Panel located in the Noel Ryan Theatre located indoors in the adjoining Hazel McCallion Central Library, scheduled for October 3 at 6:30 – 7:45 p.m. Featuring four panelists:
Lavanya Narasimhan, Penguin Random House of Canada,
Jay Millar, Book*hug Press of Toronto,
Bala Menon, Tamarind Tree Books Inc. of Brampton
Noel Allen of Wolsak and Wynn of Hamilton.
Whether you are an emerging or an established writer and wish to become a traditionally published author our panel of experts will share their knowledge and expertise to assist you in becoming a published author. Mary Ellen Koroscil, Chair of the Courtney Park Writers is panel host and you will learn about:
- The latest trends within the industry, what’s hot and what’s not?
- What steps do you need to take to become published?
- And how do you go about retaining an agent?
Just to mention a few of the topics covered by our panelists. Following the interview there will be a half hour question and answer session so start formulating the question you want answered.
Another exciting panel is scheduled for: October 4 at 12:00 p.m. at the Noel Ryan Theatre, the topic is: “Crime and Thriller.” Panelists are:
- Hannah Mary McKinnon – Holly
- Peter Edwards
- Carolyne TopoJian
- Alice Fitzpatrick
Another panel will be scheduled for: October 4 in the Noel Ryan Theatre at 1:00 p.m. The Topic will be: “The Relationship Between Nature and Writing.” Panelists include:
- Raven Murphy
- Anna Yin
- Coltrane Seesequasis
The last panel will be conducted on October 4 in the Noel Ryan Theatre at 3:00 p.m. The Topic will be: “The Seen and Unseen.” Panelists include:
- Samreen Ahsan
- Margaret DeRosia
- Katia Rose
- Oyindamora Oladeine
Panelists will be celebrating diverse voices and stories from global literature in Canada highlighting human experiences.
A festival where words meet performance, ideas spark dialogue, and culture creates connection — the Canada Literature Festival is free and open to all.
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