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Roland Gulliver has been appointed director of the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA).
His appointment comes after former director Geoffrey Taylor retired in November 2019. Gulliver will be the third director in the 40-year history of the festival, and the first non-Canadian in the role.
Gulliver, who stepped down as Edinburgh International Book Festival associate director in December, says he aims to "to expand, reboot and re-energise" TIFA’s programme.
He said: "I am immensely excited and honoured to be coming to Toronto and to lead the Toronto International Festival of Authors, a festival I have known and admired for many years, into its next ambitious phase.
"I had the pleasure of participating in the 30th anniversary of the festival, working with the team to program a number of Scottish authors as part of their celebration of Scottish writing. I am looking forward to celebrating Canada’s rich, diverse and dynamic literary scene, and to sharing with its audiences the joy of books, stories and writing, and to creating conversations on issues that affect Toronto, Canada and beyond."
Gulliver will join TIFA later this month, after a 13 year tenure at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Marah Braye, c.e.o. of Harbourfront Centre — where TIFA is situated — said: "The Toronto International Festival of Authors is an important part of Toronto‚Äôs rich cultural landscape and attracting someone of Roland‚Äôs calibre to lead the festival forward is a testament to its reputation and its accomplishments."
TIFA board president Charles Baillie added: "We believe that TIFA has the potential to grow from Canada’s largest and longest-running festival of words and ideas to be one of the world’s top literary events. Roland’s experience and vision will greatly enhance our ability to achieve that objective."