TORONTO, September 13, 2023 — The International Visitors (IV) Programme, in association with the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA), today announced that Alana Wilcox, Editorial Director at Coach House Books, will be the 12th recipient of the Ivy Award, given annually to an individual who has made a substantial contribution to Canadian publishing.
Wilcox will be honoured during the 2023 Ivy Award & Conversation taking place at Harbourfront Centre Theatre during TIFA on September 25 at 2:30 p.m. ET. The event will also feature a conversation with keynote speaker award-winning author, journalist and professor, Order of Canada member and co-founder of the Carol Shields Prize For Fiction Susan Swan.
This year’s special event will also include the presentation of the PACLA Award (Professional Association of Canadian Literary Agents). TIFA, Canada’s largest and longest-running literary festival, will take place from September 21 to October 1, 2023. Passes are available to purchase at FestivalOfAuthors.ca or by calling the Harbourfront Centre Box Office at 416- 973-4000 and select option #1.
“I’m gobsmacked and ecstatic to be receiving this award. There’s no greater honour than being celebrated by one’s peers,” said Alana Wilcox. “I’ll be introduced by Tamara Faith Berger, a brilliant and groundbreaking novelist I’ve had the pleasure of working with over four books, which will make receiving the award even sweeter.”
“On behalf of the IV Committee I want to state how delighted we all are that Alana Wilcox has been selected to receive this year’s Ivy Award,” said Carolyn Forde, IV Chair, Partner and Senior Literary Agent at Transatlantic Agency, President, PACLA (Professional Association of Canadian Literary Agents).
“As the Publisher of Coach House Books, Alana’s name has become synonymous with literary excellence and hardworking determination – she has continuously, year after year, brought beautiful novels and important non-fiction to not just the Canadian marketplace, but to global readerships.
Alana’s work over the years, in the quirky and beloved actual Coach House stands at the very highest level of independent publishing and our literary community is so much stronger thanks to her tireless work and support of her authors. Her reputation internationally is absolutely stellar and we are so pleased for Alana to receive this well deserved recognition.”
This year’s Ivy Award jury is composed of Carolyn Forde (Partner, Senior Literary Agent & International Rights Director, Transatlantic Agency), Roland Gulliver (Director, TIFA), Alison Jones (Publisher, Quill and Quire), Jennifer Lambert (Senior Editorial Director, HarperCollins Canada) and Kyle Wyatt (Editor-in-Chief, Literary Review of Canada). Past Ivy Award recipients include: Iris Tupholme (2022), Errol Sharpe (2021), Nurjehan Aziz (2020), Anne Collins (2019), Brian Lam (2018), Phyllis Bruce (2017), Linda McKnight (2016), David Kent (2015), Dean Cooke (2014), Louise Dennys (2013) and Scott McIntyre (2012).
The International Visitors Programme, now in its 16th year of hosting publishing professionals from around the world for cultural exchange and industry networking, will welcome 14 fellows to TIFA this year.
The 2023 IV Programme Delegates are: Marine Alata (HarperCollins France, France), Lexy Cassola (Penguin Random House, US), Esther Hendriks (Singel Publishers, Netherlands), Lauren Hook (Feminist Press, US), Katrin Kroll (Rowohlt Verlag, Germany), Paivi Koivisto-Alanko (Tammi, Finland), Martyna Kowalewska (Booklab Literary Agency, Poland), and Sarah Pocklington (London Literary Scouting, UK). The Canadian Fellows are: Bethany Gibson (Goose Lane Editions), Matthew Joudrey (At Bay Press), Karen McMullin (Nimbus Publishing). Distinguished guests include: Luke Brown, Lettice Franklin (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) and Lisa Sharkey (HarperCollins Publishers).
The IV Programme committee includes Carolyn Forde (Co-Chair), Transatlantic Agency; Jennifer Lambert (Co-Chair), HarperCollins Canada; Emily Ferko, ECW Press; Olga Filina, Five Otter Literary; Maria Golikova, Doubleday Canada/Penguin Random House; Roland Gulliver, TIFA; Hazel Millar, Book*Hug Press; Jay MillAr, Book*Hug Press; Synora Van Drine, Portage & Main Press. The IV Programme is supported by the Canada Book Fund and Ontario Creates.
About Ivy Award Recipient Alana Wilcox
Alana Wilcox is the Editorial Director of Coach House Books, an independent publisher of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, where she has acquired and edited many books, including the Scotiabank Giller Prize winners Fifteen Dogs (André Alexis) and The Sleeping Car Porter (Suzette Mayr). She is the co- founder of the uTOpia series of anthologies about Toronto and the author of a long-out-of-print novel.
She has served on the boards of the Literary Press Group, the Ontario Book Publishers Organization, and currently the Association of Canadian Publishers. She was awarded the Janice Handford Award for her contribution to literary publishing in 2018. About Keynote Speaker Susan Swan Novelist, journalist, activist, teacher, Susan Swan’s impact on the Canadian literary and political scene has been far-reaching. Her fiction has been published in 20 countries.
She is best known for her novels The Biggest Woman in the World about the giantess Anna Swan who exhibited with P.T. Barnum; and The Wives of Bath, a gothic tale about a murder in a girls’ boarding school. It was made into the feature film Lost and Delirious starring Mischa Barton, Piper Parebo and Jessica Pare. Swan is the co-founder of the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, which is the largest literary award in the world for women and nonbinary authors. She recently received an Order of Canada for her writing and her work on the Shields Prize. She is currently writing a memoir, Too Big.
About the IV Programme The International Visitors (IV)
Programme provides a valuable cultural and economic exchange between Canada’s publishing community and some of the most influential publishing figures from around the world. Since 2008, it has generated visibility and marketability for Canadian literature abroad, by acting as a Canadian rights fair, introducing international publishers to the Canadian literary scene, and strengthening relationships with international counterparts that have led to new business development initiatives and the creation of new literary works. Organized by a committee of Canadian book industry representatives, the IV Programme takes place every fall during the Toronto International Festival of Authors.
Its selected fellows participate in structured inter-industry dialogue and activities led by distinguished professionals. Over 300 fellows have taken part in the Programme since its inception. About Toronto International Festival of Authors The Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) inspires, empowers and connects through the art of stories, offering book lovers a breadth of bold, ambitious and accessible literary experiences.
As Canada’s largest literary festival, the charitable organization provides engaging opportunities to meet, hear and learn from the world’s best contemporary writers and thinkers, and to celebrate the power of stories. Since 1974, TIFA has presented thousands of authors, including 22 Nobel Laureates, who represent diverse perspectives and a range of literary genres for all ages.
TIFA’s creative programmes continue to adapt to changing times, capturing the most innovative and enlightening forms of storytelling, on stage and online. Based at Harbourfront Centre, TIFA delivers a year-round programme of events and activities that reflect Toronto to its residents, its literature to the nation, and its creative ambition to the world.
The 2023 flagship festival will take place September 21 – October 1, 2023. TIFA is grateful for the support of the Government of Canada – Department of Canadian Heritage; the Canada Council for the Arts; the Government of Ontario; Ontario Creates; the Ontario Arts Council; and Toronto Arts Council. Lead philanthropic support is generously provided by the Global Authors Club: Gail and Mark Appel, The Marilyn and Charles Baillie Family Foundation, The Bennett Family Foundation, The Honourable Nicole Eaton, Janet and Willard L’Heureux, Harriet Lewis and Eldon Bennett, Miles Nadal and Peerage Realty Partners, Beth Nowers and Jack Curtin, Nalini and Timothy Stewart.
