The Inspire! Toronto International Book Fair team has announced there will not be a second edition of the consumer event.
Executive directors John Calabro, Rita Davies, and Steven Levy said in a press release that they “were not able to secure a timely commitment from exhibitors regarding their participation for a second year.”
Last November’s event at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre boasted 300 hours of programming over three and a half days, including the country’s first self-publishing awards and appearances by Margaret Atwood, Sylvia Day, Jeff Kinney, Dav Pilkey, and hundreds of other authors.
Jesse Bernstein, director of sales and development, said in the press release:
“After spending the last few months with a variety of stakeholders, there was a strong desire for and a palpable, positive feeling surrounding the second installment of INSPIRE! This is a tough loss for me and the entire INSPIRE! team; we’re really sad to see this go.”