#1 Media & Literary Event
This year marks the 20th anniversary for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the richest literary purse for fiction in Canada, at $70,000. Last year’s award went to Will Ferguson for his novel 419 at a gala full of literary luminaries in Toronto. Next: November 5, 2013
#2 Media & Literary Event
In 2013 the festival highlighted emerging authors and literary translations. It also included readings by finalists for the Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Awards, and Rogers Writers' Trust Prize, and awarded the Harbourfront Festival Prize. Next: October 14-November 3, 2013
#3 Media & Literary Event (up from #6)
Word on the Street, billed as the largest book and magazine festival in Canada, this year attracted almost 220,000 readers who interacted with more than 200 authors, including Joseph Boyden, Austin Clarke, and Meg Tilly. Next: September 2014
#4 Media & Literary Event (up from #7)
Actor Zaib Shaikh hosted this year’s National Magazine Awards gala at the Carlu, bestowing the title of Magazine of the Year to Corporate Knights. Next: June 6, 2014
#5 Media & Literary Event (new to the list)
Held May and November, the Munk Debates provide a forum for leading thinkers to discuss topical issues in front of a live audience. The debates, which started in 2008, have outgrown two previous venues and now are held in Roy Thompson Hall. Next: November 15, 2013
#6 Media & Literary Event (new to the list)
The $60,000 prize for Canadian nonfiction was awarded to Candace Savage in 2012 for Geography of Blood at an invitation-only gala held at Koerner Hall. The 2013 winner is Graeme Smith. Next: October 21, 2013
#7 Media & Literary Event
Dubbed “Canada’s Premier Meeting of the Minds,” Ideacity features 50 presenters and three parties. Ticket sales were capped at 600 in 2013, when speakers included innovation guru Don Tapscott and publisher-turned-prisoner Conrad Black. Next: June 18-20, 2014
#8 Media & Literary Event
The 2013 award gala was the biggest event in the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s history. The Winnipeg Free Press won the Excellence in Journalism award in the large-media category, while British Columbia’s the Tyee won for small media. Next: Summer 2014
#9 Media & Literary Event
At Canada’s largest magazine conference, held every June, attendees from all levels of the industry come to listen to speakers from top publications at more than 50 sessions. Next: June 3-6, 2014
#10 Media & Literary Event
The Canadian Journalists for Free Expression honours those in the media who have risked their jobs, freedom, and lives to tell otherwise unheard stories. The 2012 Gala hosted more than 500 guests at the Fairmont Royal York hotel. Next: December 4, 2013
