Writers Off the Page: From the TIFA Archives

About Writers Off the Page: From the TIFA Archives

A monthly series produced and curated by Toronto Public Library (TPL), celebrating the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA). Episodes feature recorded on-stage interviews, readings or panel discussions with some of the 20th century's best-known writers and thinkers. Hosted by novelist, Randy Boyagoda.

Publisher

Toronto Public Library

Category

arts · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

11 Sept 2019

Latest episode

22 Apr 2026

Latest episodes

34 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Apr 2026

   Martha Gellhorn: The Face of War

   Martha Gellhorn, one of the twentieth century's most fearless war correspondents, delivers a searing indictment of militarism, the global arms trade, and the myth of the "good war" in this archival recording from the Toronto International Festival of Authors, captured in October 1992.

2. 

   21 Jan 2026

   Linda Gray Sexton: Anne Sexton's 45 Mercy Street

   Linda Gray Sexton, daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Anne Sexton, discusses her 1994 memoir Searching for Mercy Street: My Journey Back to My Mother, Anne Sexton in this powerful archival recording from the Toronto International Festival of Authors.

3. 

   2 May 2025

   Seamus Heaney: Death of a Naturalist

   Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney reads some of his best-known poems in a 1990 performance in front of a Toronto crowd as part of the Harbourfront Reading Series (now called Toronto International Festival of Authors).

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

4 ratings

Spotify

4.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 18 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

23

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

31

Contact Writers Off the Page: From the TIFA Archives

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.