We are excited to be joined by a select number of authors for this year’s Word on the Street Festival in Toronto, September 26 & 27th. See which authors you can expect to see, below!
Dr. Devina Wadhwa
Dr. Devina Wadhwa, BSC(Pharm), MD, FRCPC, is a psychiatrist, writer, educator and photographer whose work explores grief, meaning, and the quiet ways loss reshapes how we live and love. Her perspective has been shaped by years of caring for others across different stages of her life and training, deepening her understanding of how the mind, body, and nervous system carry experience long before it can be put into words.
Author of What Lives Through Loss
MaryEllen Breckenridge
Mary Ellen Breckenridge, BDSc, is a spiritual teacher, Akashic Records practitioner, and pioneer in holistic dental care. With a background in human sciences and decades of experience in healthcare, her personal journey through loss, relationships, and spiritual awakening led her to explore the deeper patterns shaping human experience. Through her work with the Akashic Records, she now helps others gain clarity about the unseen agreements influencing their lives.
Visit maryellenbreckenridge.com for more.
Joanne Kimm
Joanne Kimm is an avid writer, book reader and actor. She has always loved being around animals, and often had dogs, cats, birds and fish growing up. A military brat, Joanne grew up moving a lot, thus inspiring her love of travel. Her writing reflects the many people, places and things she has met over the years.
Check out more about Joanne at her website: www.exclusivelyjk.com .
Julie Grabowski-McGowan
Julie Grabowski-McGowan is 63 years old and a recent graduate of the Honours Bachelor of Commerce Program at Lakehead University, majoring in general management and minoring in accounting. Julie and her husband Brent have custody of and raise their granddaughter Delilah. The Princess Delilah story idea started with Delilah and her Papa Brent making up stories before her bedtime.
Visit her website to learn more: juliemcgowan.com
Marielle de Vassoigne
After spending half her life in Montréal, Marielle de Vassoigne moved to Vancouver during the pandemic in January of 2021.
Just like her main character Maxime, she was born in France and grew up in Martinique, a French Caribbean Island, before moving in Canada.
An organic writer, she’s publishing her first novel, which is an outcome from her many experiences. The story has been influenced by her core belief—that a rich life is filled with kindness, curiosity, and exploration—as well as values of diversity and inclusion.
Learn more by visiting her website: marielledevassoigne.com
Edward Avanessy
Author of Kiki Coto, a genre blending action adventure that explores justice, spirituality, life beyond the physical realm, and the unseen forces that shape the human experience.
Learn more by visiting their website: edwardavanessy.com
Beatrice Mercuriano
Beatrice Mercuriano and her husband are proud parents of three girls and one miniature poodle. Upon graduating from the University of Toronto, Beatrice spent some time substitute teaching, as well as many years teaching dance to students of all ages. She enjoys interacting with the public…and walking her dog!
Learn more by visiting her website: https://beatricemercuriano.ca/
Tammy Gunn
Author of Dancing Through Diagnosis, Tammy shares her personal journey with warmth, energy, and resilience.
Through her work with youth and people of all abilities, she encourages others to navigate life’s unexpected challenges with courage, movement, and positivity.
Learn more by visiting her website here: tammygunn.com
Tina Macpherson
Jackson’s mommy, otherwise known as Tina Macpherson, is a very proud and dedicated Autism parent, who feels blessed every day that Jackson calls her Mommy.
Tina is presently a professional working in educational support for a large Canadian university. She lives in Ontario with her husband, mother, Jackson, and a very precocious tabby.
In 2012 she was a single mother, and at age 2 she was advised that her beautiful son was in need of an assessment as he was not meeting all of his milestones. Upon learning that her son was on the ASD/Neuro-Diversity spectrum, she jumped in with both feet and eyes open to begin learning what she needed to do to support her son.
Today, she continues to educate herself to ensure that Jackson receives the best support and continues to grow and succeed the way only Jackson can.
Learn more by visiting her website here: tmacphersonauthor.com
Maurice Jones
Maurice E. Jones is a certified chef, poet, and writer born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, by a single parent. He is a product of the Detroit public school system. After watching his mother cook dinner as a kid, she inspired him to become a chef. Maurice has worked at some of the finest hotels and restaurants throughout Metro Detroit.
Always having a love of reading, Maurice started writing poetry, short stories, and children’s stories as a teenager. His poem “Gratitude” was published in Collected Whispers, by the International Library of Poetry, and he was recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry by the International Society of Poets in 2008.
Passionate about giving back to the community, Maurice supports Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer, HUB-Horizons Upward Bound, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Veterans Hospital of Michigan, and several other causes. Maurice is also a member of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the Greater St. Mark Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan.
Elizabeth Evans
Elizabeth Evans is a writer and believer who shares her journey of faith, healing, and restoration through honest reflections that invite others to seek God’s peace and grace.
Drawing from her own experiences of trauma, renewal, and rediscovery, she hopes to help others find hope and healing through the love of Jesus Christ. Her heart’s desire is that everyone who reads her story will come to know God in their own lives and learn that no one is ever too far gone for God’s mercy, and that His love truly makes all things new.
Elizabeth gives all the glory and thanks to God for His faithfulness, guidance, and endless grace in every part of her story.
Leah Danis
A lifelong reader with a love of imaginative stories, Leah brings curiosity, adventure, and a sense of wonder to her writing.
Author of Anjali and Isa Go Somewhere. Learn more by visiting: leahdaniswrites.com
Geoffrey Stone
For most of his life, Geoff Stone has been grappling with a few of the deepest mysteries that reality has presented humanity with. His interests were first sparked as a student of philosophy, after having been introduced to the strange observer-dependent behaviour of both quantum objects and the speed of light. Inside academia, he covered metaphysics and psychophysics, but it wasn’t until after leaving academia that he decided to wade deeper into the unsolved problems of theoretical physics.
Learn more by visiting his website here: geoffreystonebooks.com
Jennifer Britton
Flow Flex Scale is Jennifer Britton’s eighth book, shaped by more than two decades of conversations with solopreneurs, small and medium sized businesses, and corporations, as a coach, consultant and mentor.
Jennifer Britton is a pioneer in group and team coaching, a bestselling business author, and the founder of Potentials Realized, an award-winning global coaching and leadership development company she founded and has led since 2004.
Jennifer is the author of eight books, including Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009) which helped define the field, and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Coaching Business Builder (2018), and her latest Reconnecting Workspaces series.
Nataly Restokian
Rated among the top 15 life and wellness coaches in Quebec, Canada, by Influence Digest in 2021, Nataly Restokian is the award-winning author of Masks and is working on her third novel.
She has over two decades of professional expertise in journalism and television. She has established herself as an actress and host of live television programs in Lebanon and the Arab world.
October 2021 marked a significant milestone in Nataly’s life as she embraced Christianity. Since then, she has embarked on a dedicated journey of scriptural studies under the guidance of renowned theologians, a testament to her deep spiritual connection and unwavering dedication.
Learn more by visiting her website: https://www.natalyrestokian.com/
Tzophia DeSantis
Tzophia DeSantis is a natural-born teacher. She is deeply passionate about motivating and inspiring others by planting seeds of wisdom and positivity. Her writing is driven by purpose, meaning, and the desire to tell stories that leave a lasting impression. Each word is crafted with faith, hope and love, aiming to be beacons of light that touch hearts and forge meaningful connections.
Learn more by visiting her website: https://tzophiadesantisauthor.com/
Learn more about Canada’s largest literary, magazine and publishing festival, here.
