Toronto youth literacy outreach program celebrates new publication!

Anyone wandering the city, looking for a Wednesday night destination take note:  April 8th is an evening for celebration in the Toronto literary community.

Now Hear This!, a youth literacy outreach program that partners with the Toronto District School Board to bring the city’s authors into its classrooms, is set to launch the BARRACUDA — its second book-length anthology of student writing.

BARRACUDA cover!

Join the city’s young literati as they enjoy public recognition of their success as new authors.

Wednesday night’s launch is the biggest event on the already packed NHT! calendar. It is offers students (and the program’s Writers-in-Residence) the chance to take the stage and share work straight from the pages of this newly printed, truly beautiful book.

Wander in off the street

All are welcome: the event is free and open to locals and visitors alike. This is a prime opportunity to check out some of the best work being done in Toronto’s literary arts scene and to show support for the city’s talented, young authors. Join the NHT! community in celebrating a second successful publication and in honouring the hard work of everyone that made it possible. In return, they promise you a night of good food, literary-minded friends and readings by a host of exciting new voices.

official e-vite!

The details are as follows:
The BARRACUDA Launch
Wednesday, March 31, 2010, 7-9pm
The Gardiner Museum, Terrace Room
111 Queen’s Park (at Bloor Street), Toronto
(accessible by the Museum Subway Station, on the University Line)
Check out the Facebook event page for more info.

A Word From Now Hear This! about the project and the publication:
“The BARRACUDA contains the best student writing culled from NOW HEAR THIS!‘s 2009 series of S.W.A.T. (Students, Writers & Teachers) creative writing workshops, which partner professional Toronto writers with youth around the city.

We’ve created a 2-colour, perfect bound anthology (using all the design elements and standards familiar to readers of DESCANT) that showcases the greatest hits: student written stories, poems and personal essays documenting the success of Toronto’s first-ever ongoing writers-in-schools program. Also featured in the book are creative pieces describing their time as S.W.A.T. Writers-in-Residence from Toronto writer-extraordinaires Andrew Daley, Desi Di Nardo, Larry Frolick, Rebecca Rosenblum, Jenny Sampirisi, Julia Tausch and Aaron Tucker. The BARRACUDA is also home to ten gorgeous illustrations by Toronto artist/cartoonist/jack-of-all-trades Marc Ngui.”

Check out the Now Hear This! website for more information about the program’s outstanding initiatives.

NHT! runs in affiliation with DESCANT, one of Canada’s finest literary and fine art publications, and with the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation and Ontario Arts Council. Check out the DESCANT website for more information about the magazine’s exciting upcoming publications, launch events and for subscription or submission details.

[images courtesy of Now Hear This!]