The Toronto Public Library is seeking a professional romance author for a two-month residency this fall at its newly renovated North York Central Library branch.
Denise Drabkin, North York’s library services manager, says the last time the TPL hosted a romance writer in residence was in 2009. “More recently, we have hosted mystery, graphic books, screenplay, and science-fiction authors,” she says. “Romance was selected as this year’s genre for a variety of reasons. Namely, it is often the genre where many writers get their ‘start’ in the publishing world. It is a huge industry, often overlooked, and the Toronto Public Library aims to encourage would-be writers.”
The library system hosts two residency programmes a year – one at North York, and the other at the Toronto Reference Library – jointly funded by the Canada Council for the Arts and the TPL.
The successful candidate will have a minimum of two romance fiction titles published and be active in the writing community. The position requires the author to engage with the public 14 hours a week for activities such as readings, workshops, and manuscript evaluations. The deadline to apply is May 11.