FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 1, 2025
THE 13TH ANNUAL LITERASIAN FESTIVAL
SPOTLIGHTS ASIAN CANADIAN LITERATURE, HISTORY, AND CULTURE
Vancouver, BC - The 2025 LiterASIAN Festival arrives with the theme of "Origins," an exploration of heritage and resilience that reflects two significant milestones: the 30th anniversary of the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop (ACWW) and the recent centennial of the Chinese Exclusion Act. This year’s theme is particularly poignant as it connects ACWW’s decades-long commitment to amplifying Asian Canadian voices with a critical period in history, when the voices and presence of Chinese Canadians were institutionally silenced. Through this fusion of past and present, the festival will encourage a renewed appreciation of identity, cultural preservation, and creative empowerment in today’s Asian Canadian literary scene.
The ACWW’s 30th anniversary serves as a reflection of its journey from a small but passionate collective of writers into a leading organization that advocates for Asian Canadian literature. To honour this legacy, LiterASIAN 2025 will feature retrospectives and discussions that explore the evolution of Asian Canadian literature over the past three decades, tracing how community-led efforts have influenced broader Canadian literary landscapes.
The theme of “Origins” takes on an even deeper meaning in light of the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned most Chinese immigration to Canada from 1923 to 1947 and had lasting repercussions on Chinese Canadian communities. Through panels, exhibits, and creative performances, LiterASIAN revisits the stories of those affected by the Exclusion Act, showcasing how this dark chapter of exclusion has shaped—and, in many ways, strengthened—the determination of later generations to claim their rightful place within Canadian society and culture.
This year’s featured authors include award-winning writer and curator Catherine Clement (Paper Trail), Rachel Phan (Restaurant Kid), Eddy Boudel Tan (The Tiger and the Cosmonaut), and JF Garrard (Ghost Bride of Gum San), Wayne Ng (Johnny Delivers), Leanne Toshiko Simpson (Never Been Better), and Mai Nguyen (Sunshine Nails). Festival events include panel discussions, author talks, writing workshops, and book launches, including Ricepaper’s new anthology Infusion, featuring new and emerging writers.
LiterASIAN will take place in Toronto and Vancouver, where stories of origins, geography, and journeys intertwine. Events will be held at the Chinese Canadian Museum, the Chinatown Storytelling Centre, Centre A (Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art), the UBC Learning Exchange, and the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library on the University of Toronto's downtown campus.
Tickets go on sale May 1, 2025 and are available for purchase online at http://literasian.com
About LiterASIAN Festival
LiterASIAN 2025 marks the 13th annual year the festival will bring Asian Canadian writing to the forefront. Launched in 2013, the festival was the first of its kind in Canada. It was created with the desire to promote and celebrate Asian Canadian writing, while engaging the broader community through readings, workshop events, and panel discussions. LiterASIAN is a community-building initiative of the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop (ACWW), a not-for-profit organization founded in the late 1960s to foster a community of Pacific Rim Asian Canadian writers and to encourage and publish new works of literature.
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