Library Event

The ball's new home was the Toronto Reference Library. Fixtures such as the information desk played into the evening, becoming temporary bars or service stations.

Attendees observed the library's Digital Innovation Hub in action, where on-site technicians were using 3-D printers to create busts of famous writers.

Paying tribute to the host location, servers dressed as librarians used book carts to deliver snacks.

Attendees could participate in literature-inspired activities, including playing games of Scrabble against an author.

Actors portraying popular literary characters such as Peter Pan and Captain Hook mingled with the crowd and conducted brief performances onstage.

The so-called "Book Pod Gallery" held displays of costumes and props that brought famous books to life. One such book was The Handmaid's Tale, by Canadian author Margaret Atwood.

Tables were arranged in sections named after different genres of writing, such as romance, to help guests find their seats. After the cocktail hour, volunteers held large signs with the genre name to guide guests to dinner.

Dinner tables were set up among the library stacks.

Authors sat at each dining table, and the table where that author sat held copies of his or her work. Cards with preprinted questions were designed to facilitate conversation.

During the "After Dark" portion of the evening, new to the event this year, attendees visited a "prose station" where an event staffer would type up a poem based on a word or idea posed by the guest.

At the end of the night, publishing house Harlequin let guests take home a "bedtime story" from a selection of books that were on display.