Author Visit Featuring Uzma Jalaluddin and Leanne Toshiko Simpson

Appropriate for all ages.

Hosted at Main Branch.

Free of charge.

Enjoy dessert, coffee, and a compelling conversation with authors Uzma Jalaluddin and Leanne Toshiko Simpson. A book signing will follow.

Presented in partnership with Blue Heron Books.

Uzma Jalaluddin is a critically acclaimed and bestselling novelist, playwright, and teacher. She writes nuanced and entertaining stories about Muslims, South Asians, and Canadians and is the author of Much Ado About Nada (2023), Hana Khan Carries On (2021), and Ayesha At Last (2019). Her novels have been optioned for film and television, including by Amazon Studios and Mindy Kaling.

Leanne Toshiko Simpson’s debut novel Never Been Better, is a romantic comedy which has been described as “My Best Friend’s Wedding meets The Silver Linings Playbook” and was inspired by the community she has found through her mental health advocacy. Named Scarborough’s Emerging Writer in 2016, Leanne co-founded a reflective writing program at Canada’s largest mental health hospital. She loves writing joyful, messy, laugh-out-loud stories about living with mental illness and the moments of hope that help us get out of bed day after day.