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Spring 2026 Events
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TAYARI JONES is the author of four novels, most recently An American Marriage, which was an Oprah’s Book Club selection and also appeared on Barack Obama’s summer reading list and his year-end roundup. It won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Aspen Words Literary Prize, and an NAACP Image Award and has been published in two dozen countries. Jones is the C.H. Candler Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University and lives in Atlanta.
About Kin:
A magnificent new novel from the bestselling, award-winning author of An American Marriage—Tayari Jones has written an unforgettable novel that sparkles with wit and intelligence and deep feeling about two lifelong friends whose worlds converge after many years apart in the face of a devastating tragedy.
A novel about mothers and daughters, about friendship and sisterhood, and the complexities of being a woman in the American South, Kin is an exuberant, emotionally rich, unforgettable work from one of the brightest and most irresistible voices in contemporary fiction.
AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK
TUESDAY NIGHT BOOK RELEASE PARTY
We're having a party, and you're invited!
When: Tuesday March 3rd - 6pm to 8pm
Where: In the Lobby of The Bruce Hotel
What: Tuesday Night Book Release Party. FREE EVENT.
Why: Because we love books, and you love books, so why not?
And why on a Tuesday you ask?
In the book publishing world new books are usually released every Tuesday in anticipation of weekend sales.
We're going to unbox March 3rd new releases - your chance to see them first! - and we're going to celebrate with themed cocktails, cash bar, prizes and giveaways, sales, and the first 20 people to register receive a FREE GIFT.
But that's not all.
We're going to reveal a few more surprises including more author events, something new we're doing, a book club, and we'll introduce our MEMBERSHIP opportunities, and more. We'll also have copies of Kin, Liberty Street, curated picks, my faves, and the most talked about books right now. You don't want to miss this! It's a fun way to come out and meet other book lovers in the community.
This year we're all about the 'art of gathering' - community and connection. Books bring people together. So grab your bookish friends, your book club, your writing friends, anyone who loves books as much as YOU and we'll see you at the Lobby.
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Heather Marshall is the #1 bestselling author of Looking for Jane and The Secret History of Audrey James. She worked in politics and communications before turning her attention to her true passion: storytelling. Heather lives with her family near Toronto.
About Liberty Street:
From the #1 bestselling Canadian author of Looking for Jane comes a riveting novel about one journalist's harrowing journey into an infamous real-life 1960s women's prison—and the detective who uncovers her story decades later.
Inspired by true events, Liberty Street is at once poignant and dazzling—an unforgettable, intertwining story about resilience, mental health, and the power of female connection.
Stratford Arts & Lectures BOOK BAR
{Carefully crafted} bookstore
Introducing the BOOK BAR,
a micro bookstore located inside
the fun and fabulous Matilda Gallery & Art Bar.
It's also our HQ & Box Office.
The BOOK BAR is where you can purchase tickets
to our events, shop a curated selection of great books,
and sip a cocktail, all while enjoying the incredible art.
SAL's BOOK BAR. For dreamers and thinkers.
Art, books, and cocktails.
SAL's BOOK BAR @ Matilda Gallery & Art Bar
85 Downie Street, Stratford, ON.
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A Literary Substack
On writing, and writers - from a reader and writer, and sometime bookseller.
Interviews, literary links, book recommendations, and stories. Lots of stories.
Written by Rina Barone, director, Stratford Arts & Lectures.
Our Past Events
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Book Signing with Kendra Coulter
Our Story
Stratford Arts & Lectures offers engaging programming with some of today's leading figures in the literary arts.
Year round, Stratford Arts & Lectures hosts onstage conversations and carefully crafted events with incredible authors, critics, and cultural figures as we explore the creative process, ideas, and our relationship to the world around us.
We're also a micro bookstore - SAL's BOOK BAR - located inside Matilda Gallery & Art Bar where you'll find a curated selection of new books to discover, to inspire and to spark conversation.
SAL's BOOK BAR. For thinkers and dreamers.
Stratford Arts & Lectures brings readers and writers together. This is where stories come to life.
