Fadi Zaghmout

TIFA invite possibility

I have been working on this since the beginning of the year. First, in January, I knew that The Man of Middling Height will be published by Syracuse University Press in August. I wanted to do a proper launch for it and was hoping that my friend Hani Yakan, who is an Event Coordinator at Toronto’s Festival of Authors (TIFA), would get me invited to the festival this year. We discussed it early, and although he said it was a possibility, no promised was made. I had to wait till June/July to get the official invitation letter.

Les Utopiales

Meanwhile, my publisher in France, Davide Knecht from Hikaya, was working hard to get me invited to the Les Utopiales this year. Hikaya published my book Heaven on Earth last year in French as Paradise Synthetique, and Davide has been a relentless advocate for me and my work since he translated my friend book to French, L’Epouse D’Amman in 2021. He was so excited when he secured for me and invitation to Les Utopiales in May. It was a big deal, for me as an author, and for Hikaya as a publisher to get invited to such an important festival, one of the biggest and most respected science fiction festivals in Europe, which is held every year in Nantes, France.

Two Great Opportunities

I was over the moon, having the potential of attending two important literary festivals across the Atlantic in same year. One (TIFA) is Canada’s largest and longest-running literary festival, a huge deal in the literary world. And the other (Les Utopiales), as stated above, one of the biggest and most respected science fiction festivals in Europe. At TIFA, I would launch The Man of Middling Height, and at Les Utopiales, I would promote my Sci-fi Eternal Youth trilogy and meet important European science fiction enthusiasts.

The Problem

I wanted to do both but the problem was that both take place at the same time!!!! They start on 29th Oct and conclude on 2nd of Nov! Same week! same 5 days! Across the ocean!

STILL I WANTED TO DO BOTH!

I knew it is insane, and probably won’t work, but I thought why not trying? I can do first 2-3 days at Nantes then fly to Toronto and do a day or two. At that point I didn’t have TIFA’s official invite yet, so I proceeded with the French Visa. When TIFA’s invited arrived in July, I got excited and started the Canadian Visa process.

I thought everything was under control, telling myself that IT IS DOABLE, until I realized that my session in Toronto was initially set on Saturday, 1st of Nov at 3pm. When I communicated this to my French publisher, they were not happy. They knew that the most important days for Les Utopiales were Friday and Saturdays, and if I couldn’t make either, then it is not worth the participation. They insisted that I be there on Friday. When I communicated this to TIFA, they said initially that Saturday is the most important day for them and it is the day they usually have Arab authors session. It was very unlikely to change the date.

Doing either festival would be good for me, but I still wanted to do both. I didn’t want to choose. I didn’t want to skip either. So I went on google, and for few days kept trying all possible routes from Nantes to Toronto. Anything that would leave on Friday’s evening from Nantes, and arrive Saturday morning to Toronto. ANYTHING! A train to Paris? I initially thought I could make it, assuming the train would take 2 hours. Later I realized it would take 4! A connection through Amsterdam? Barcelona? Lisbon? Nothing worked.

It was IMPOSSIBLE.

Wish all stress could be like that

When I talked to my friend Lana about how stressed I was trying to make it work, she said “I wish all stress could be like that!“, which is so true. I was stressing about making such great opportunities work for me, when if either works, it is a big deal.

Nevertheless, TIFA’s, thankfully, tried to accommodate. I know it put them under lots of stress, trying to reprogram, communicate to my fellow panelist, and move my session to the 2nd of November. And for that I am so thankful for Hani and the team. THANK YOU. It took few weeks, but today, it was confirmed! Communication is out, my session will be on Sunday, and I can leave Nantes comfortably on Saturday! Hurrayyyy.

Also today, my participation at Les Utopiales got announced!

Going to Toronto means that I can fly to the US afterwards, and probably arrange for other book events over there. Nothing is confirmed at the moment, but I will let you know once it becomes clearer.

For now, I am so happy!

And still waiting for the Canadian Visa.. but I still have time, so no stress!

Les Utopiales Sessions

If you happen to be in Nantes end of October, please join us. The following two sessions are confirmed:

Session one:
Is technology our only hope or our greatest enemy? (La technologie est-elle notre seul espoir ou notre premier ennemi?)
In a science fiction genre that sees the return of dystopia and ultra-technological worlds, can we still believe that technology will save us? Can resistance also rise up against certain forms of technology or its use? How can we approach these new tools without turning them into saviors or enemies?

Date: 30 Oct (16:15-17:15)
Panelists: Pleynet Audrey, Ligny Jean-Marc, and me!

Session Two
Towards an intimate future (Vers un futur de l’intime)
Science fiction takes many forms and identities. Sometimes set in space, geopolitics, sagas, or standalone novels, it also explores more intimate themes through its relationship with intimacy and the future. How can we find this literary and forward-looking balance?

Date: 31st Oct (9:15-10:15)
Panelists: Minard Céline, North Emet, Roussin Simon, and me!

TIFA’s Session

And if you are in Toronto on 2nd Nov, please join me and Ziyad Saadi at 4:30pm for a nice conversation on masculinity, identity and the quiet revolutions of everyday life.

Session Details:
Join Palestinian Canadian writer and filmmaker Ziyad Saadi and acclaimed Jordanian author and activist Fadi Zaghmout for a powerful conversation on masculinity, identity and the quiet revolutions of everyday life. Darkly funny, and full of surprises, Saadi’s Three Parties pays twisted homage to Virginia Woolf’s literary classic, Mrs. Dalloway – gleefully upending the western coming-out narrative, and exploring the traumas and pressures faced by Palestinian immigrants. In his groundbreaking allegorical novel, The Man of Middling Height, Zaghmout imagines a society whose deepest prejudices are about height – rather than race, gender, or sexuality – delivering a powerful meditation on discrimination and desire.