Scream Literary Festival honors fallen books

Chelsea Miya of NOW Toronto reports on the Scream Literary Festival, a conference of Canadian writers, publishers, graphic novelists, poets, and artists that satirically eulogizes the death of the book. The festival, which began on July 2, will last until Sunday the 11th.

The Scream Literary Festival brings together some of the best Canadian authors, poets and artists. Hymns, readings, performances, and workshops explore the imminent demise of books and book culture.

Because it’s not just the books themselves that suffer.

Beneath Toronto’s storefronts is a graveyard. From the recently demised David Mirvish Books to Yorkville mainstays the Book Cellar and Britnell’s, Bloor Street is a virtual cemetery of loved and lost bookstores.

“When people hear dead bookstores, they think we’re poking fun,” said Carey Toane, who organised the July 4 Bankruptcy Walking Tour — a memorial trek for the lost.

“But it was a serious walk. We left flowers. People talked about their memories. When you ask writers and fans of literature they all have a favourite independent bookstore. It’s the only place you can find small press books, so when they disappear so does a huge chunk of Canadian culture.”