The International Visitors (IV) Programme, in association with the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA), today announced that Carolyn Forde (Partner, Senior Literary Agent and International Rights Director at Transatlantic Literary Agency) has been appointed as the new IV Programme Committee Chair. The IV Programme also announced the Canadian Editorial Fellowship has been awarded to Laura Cameron, Literary Agent at Transatlantic Agency. Furthermore, the 2021 IV keynote speaker will be Ottawa-born author and First Lady of Iceland Eliza Reid, in partnership with Nordic Bridges. This October, the IV Programme celebrates its 14th year of hosting publishing professionals from around the world during TIFA. The Toronto International Festival of Authors, Canada’s largest and longest-running festival of words and ideas, is celebrating its 42nd edition from October 21 to 31, 2021. The IV Programme will take place during the Festival from October 25 to 29, 2021.
The IV Programme provides a cultural exchange between Canada’s publishing community and some of the most influential publishing figures from around the world – facilitating networking opportunities and serving as a catalyst for business negotiations. It has become a fertile setting for international publishers to gain a deeper understanding of the Canadian literary scene and its writers. Local, national and international participants will partake in five days of scheduled inter-industry dialogue with the goal of increasing opportunities for Canadian authors and publishers abroad.
In 2020, given the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 regulations, the IV Programme shifted to a digital platform that delivered the programme in a reimagined virtual landscape. As future travel and quarantine regulations in Canada remain uncertain, the 2021 IV Programme will take place virtually once again.
IV PROGRAMME COMMITTEE CHAIR:
Effective immediately and as a result of extensive search, Carolyn Forde has been named the new IV Programme Committee Chair, stepping into the role previously held by the Programme’s original Chair, Iris Tupholme, Senior Vice President and Executive Publisher, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
Carolyn is a Partner, Senior Literary Agent and International Rights Director at Transatlantic Agency. She represents a wide variety of authors, ranging from bestselling commercial fiction to award-winning literary fiction, memoir, narrative non-fiction and investigative journalism. Carolyn is an active member of the literary community and has participated as speaker or mentor with the Surrey International Writers Conference, Word on the Street, Writers Guild of Alberta, Ontario Writers’ Conference, Diaspora Dialogues and the Sarah Selecky School. She is a founding member and current President of the Professional Association of Canadian Literary Agents (PACLA) and has served on the Toronto International Festival of Authors’ International Visitor Committee for several years. She is a graduate of Trent University and Robert Gordon University Publishing Program and Simon Fraser University’s Publishing Intensive Program. She has lived in the UK, Czech Republic, Mexico and Japan.
“I have always loved and advocated for the wonderful IV Programme that Iris Tupholme created and I’m so thrilled and honoured to be stepping into the role of IV Chair. The committee is a dynamic group of publishing professionals and we are so excited to continue welcoming international visitors from around the world to Canada to learn about our thriving publishing community and to continue facilitating meaningful international relationships that further the interests of Canadian authors and publishers,” said Carolyn Forde.
2021 CANADIAN EDITORIAL FELLOW:
Laura Cameron is a literary agent based in Vancouver who represents books across all genres and ages with a specialization in book-to-TV/film representation. Laura joined the Transatlantic Agency after six years at Penguin Random House Canada, where she worked in editorial, sales and publicity. Before her career in publishing, Laura did a Master’s in Journalism at Columbia University, interned with the Economist Group and worked for Canadian Business magazine.
“I had the pleasure of attending the International Visitors Programme last year and was inspired by Lennie Goodings’ keynote speech and the many excellent conversations I had with publishing colleagues around the world. I can’t think of a more fascinating time to be in the business of storytelling, and I’m honoured to be selected as the Canadian Fellow in 2021,” said Laura Cameron.