Writers’ Trust Storytellers Ball supports Canadian writers, IDS Toronto marks opening night | Canada Voices

Writers’ Trust of Canada Storytellers Ball, January 15, Toronto

Some 500 guests, including 55 authors, gathered on the evening of Jan. 15 in Toronto to mark the Writers’ Trust of Canada’s 50th anniversary with its annual Storytellers Ball. The gala, held at the Fairmont Royal York, was as much a celebration of the milestone year as it was a fundraiser, with a record-setting $600,000 raised by night’s end. The funds will go toward the organization’s decades-old mission to support writers in Canada through grants, awards and other financial support. “It feels more important than ever to put our focus directly where it belongs: on the fabulous literary talent we have right here at home in Canada,” said executive director David Leonard during his remarks. Writers’ Trust founders Margaret Atwood and David Young, as well as fellow authors Ian Williams, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Waubgeshig Rice, Nita Prose, Vincent Lam and Emma Knight, all took to the stage to speak about the power and importance of the trust. Between courses, Anne-Marie Turza was announced as the recipient of the inaugural $50,000 Writers’ Trust Board Fellowship. Tables hosted by sponsors including Netflix, Alamos Gold and gala patrons Marla Lehberg (chair of the Writers’ Trust Board of Directors) and her husband David Lehberg, each one seating a special guest author, lined the room. Yours truly was seated with author and event committee member Lisa Rochon, whose best-selling novel Tuscan Daughter (HarperCollins Canada) went home with everyone at the table. In attendance were gala co-chairs, architects Cheryl Atkinson and Don Schmitt; Don Tapscott and Ana Lopes; musician Leslie Feist; Chrystia Freeland, Economic Advisor to the President of Ukraine; and authors John Irving, Anne Michaels, Carley Fortune, André Alexis and Emma Donoghue.

The IDS Party, January 22, Toronto

Since its founding in the late 1990s, Interior Design Show (IDS) Toronto been a key showcase for design in Canada. The annual event, which takes over the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, brings together top brands and independent makers for a weekend of creativity and connection. Before the event opened to the public, a reception was held for key sponsors and design industry players to take a first look at this year’s offerings. Among the attendees were industrial designer Yves Béhar; TOM Design Collective’s Lindsay Mens, Tommy Smythe and Kate Stuart; stylist Chad Burton; chef Howard Seivright; and IDS national director Will Sorrell. IDS West will run in Vancouver this fall from September 24-27.