Upcoming events
Eden Mills Writers Festival
Our Stories, Our Rules
Hosted by: Amil Niazi, author of Life After Ambition
Authors: Stacey May Fowles, Therese Estacion, Rachel Phan
Women have been told what to do and how to be for millennia. The writers in this panel give us new orders — to stand up for who we are, tell our own unvarnished stories and make space for others to live differently.
From essays by Therese Estacion (Jelly, Baby) on navigating ableism, to Rachel Phan (That Asian Girl is a Problem) on flouting cultural stereotypes, to Stacey May Fowles (The Lost Season) telling the truth about the milestones that are meant to define us, the writers in this panel will inspire you to stay true to your own story, whatever that might be.
Buy your tickets here: https://edenmillswritersfestival.ca/tickets/
Toronto Public Library: In Conversation with Rachel Phan
Location:
Toronto Public Library Yorkville Branch
22 Yorkville Avenue, Toronto, ON
About:
Rachel Phan is a Chinese-Vietnamese Canadian writer whose debut memoir Restaurant Kid explores the complexities of growing up as the daughter of refugees who fled the Vietnam War and rebuilt their lives through a small-town restaurant in Canada. Through personal stories rooted in resilience, sacrifice, and belonging, Rachel sheds light on the impact of colonialism, intergenerational trauma, and the emotional weight of cultural and societal expectations.
A Q&A and book signing will follow the presentation.
No registration required.
Link to the event: https://tpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/events/69b2ee806583d22e3c0ec318
Markham Reads: In Conversation with Rachel Phan
Location:
Markham Village Branch
6031 Highway 7, Markham, Ontario L3P 3A7
About:
Mark your calendars for an extraordinary literary experience! The one and only Rachel Phan, is joining us for an exciting author talk. Rachel is the best-selling author of Restaurant Kid: A Memoir of Family and Belonging, winner of this year's Markham Reads. This is your chance to connect with one of the most celebrated authors in Canada right now, and her book was featured on CBC's Canada Reads Longlist. Come with your questions, your curiosity, and your passion for stories, this is a not-to-be-missed celebration of books, family history, immigration and memoir! After the program, be sure to stick around as Rachel will be signing books
About Markham Reads
Markham Reads is a our community one read program, where Markham comes together to read and celebrate one book through dynamic programming and other activities. It's like a city-wide book club! It's a great way to connect as a city and meet new friends.
In the 14th year of Markham's city-wide book celebration, we’re diving into the interesting and relatable memoir, Restaurant Kid, by Rachel Phan.
This is a free event, but registration is required.
Register here: https://markham.bibliocommons.com/events/69d6c602491b809c6f261cae
Toronto Public Library: Author Talk with Rachel Phan
Location:
Toronto Public Library - Bloor/Gladstone Branch
1101 Bloor Street West
Toronto, ON M6H 1M7
About:
The Bloor/Gladstone Library is hosting Rachel Phan, author of bestseller and Canada Reads 2026 Longlist Restaurant Kid, for an intimate conversation about growing up as the daughter of Chinese-Vietnamese refugees, navigating the pressures of cultural expectations, and writing through the complexities of identity, community, and care.
This reading and conversation will invite reflection on community, culture, and coming of age in a colonial society.
A Q&A and book signing will follow the presentation.
No registration required.
Link to the event: https://tpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/events/69e93cb01e64afd01e6b0592
Celebrating New Asian Canadian Novels
Location:
Flying Books
784 College Street, Toronto, ON M6G1C6
About:
House of Anansi, Cormorant, and Flying Books are thrilled to to host Diaspora Dialogues alumni and authors Jane Park (Inheritance) and Leslie Shimotakahara (The Breakwater) for a conversation and book signing. Moderated by Rachel Phan.
This evening will explore family, migration, and memory through readings and conversation.
FREE to attend, but RSVP required.
For more information, visit: https://diasporadialogues.com/upcoming-event-celebrating-new-asian-canadian-novels/
Rachel Phan @ Queen Books
Location:
Queen Books
914 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1J5
About:
Come celebrate Indie Bookstore Day! Throughout the day, Queen Books will have guest author booksellers hanging out to chat with patrons about their favourite reads and their own books.
Asian Diaspora in Canadian Lit: Conversation with Canada Reads Longlisters
Location:
Librairie Saint-Henri Books
4622 Rue Notre Dame, Montréal, QC H4C 1S4
About:
Join us for a discussion with Canada Reads longlisters, Jinwoo Park, Rachel Phan, & Clarissa Trinidad Gonzalez.
This panel will explore the Asian diaspora in Canadian literature—from questions of representation to the evolving voices shaping contemporary writing in Canada.
The discussion will run from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m., followed by a casual mingle. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the authors, ask questions, and get books signed.
This is a free event, but space is limited. Registration is required.
Asian Diaspora Book Dongne
Asian Diaspora Book Dongne is back for April! We are thrilled to announce Restaurant Kid by Rachel Phan as the book of the month, with a special visit from the author herself!
⭐ What: ADBD Monthly Book Club
⭐ When: 11:00AM ET, April 11, Saturday
⭐ Where: Online Zoom meeting
⭐ Who: Hosted by Jinwoo Park, author of Oxford Soju Club and Director of ADBD, and author Rachel Phan
⭐ RSVP at the link here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfv7NGbY4C5mDFTvZrHmhLlpgwiZUPvQEKSu_9uuDx7l-le9A/viewform
To join the meetings of the ADBD book club, please sign up through this form using your email address and full name. We will email you the Zoom link.
We strongly encourage participants to read the book. Feel free to join in and share your stories.
A message from Jinwoo Park, Director of Book Dongne, about Restaurant Kid:
“We chose this book for ADBD because it embodies the kind of work we at Arts East-West seek to uplift. Through her upbringing in her family’s restaurant in a small town in Ontario, Rachel Phan writes about growing up in a community where racism was normalized, shaping how she understood identity and belonging. At the same time, she offers a portrait of a family whose struggle to survive will feel familiar to many diaspora families across Canada. It is a quintessential Asian diaspora story that resonates through how grounded and lived-in it is.”
If you have any questions, please reach out to bookdongne@artseastwest.ca.
The True Story of Publishing Restaurant Kid: An Author Evening with Rachel Phan
Event Details:
Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM ET
Location: Online
This is a pay-what-you-can fundraiser hosted by Firefly Creative Writing; tickets are here.
April marks one year since Rachel Phan published her bestselling memoir, Restaurant Kid: A Memoir of Family and Belonging.
On the surface, this looks like a dream publishing success story, beginning with an essay accepted by CBC and leading quickly to an agent, a book deal, a manuscript, and bestseller status within a week of publication.
But there’s always more to a story than what we see on the surface.
Behind the scenes, Rachel was navigating self-doubt, isolation, and deep anxiety—during the writing process, through publication, and beyond. By staying true to the work and leaning into community, she learned some hard-won lessons:
How to believe in herself even when it felt impossible.
How to throw out most of what she'd been taught and write this book on her own terms.
How to accept help instead of trying to do it alone.
To celebrate Restaurant Kid's first bookiversary, we're inviting you to an intimate evening exploring the fine art of believing in ourselves. Rachel will be in conversation with Firefly coach Kim Abrahamse—who was her writing coach for much of this journey—about the joys and struggles of the book-writing process, the parts no one talks about, and the essential role of community in creative work.
Always honest, generous, and willing to be vulnerable, Rachel will mark this milestone with our community, inspiring us to loosen our grip on how we think we "should" write—and to trust ourselves as our own guides.
Canada Reads Asian
Join us for Canada Reads Asian: Diaspora Voices Reshaping Canadian Literature at Queen Books on Friday, March 13 (6–9 p.m.) for an evening of conversation, community, and (optional but highly encouraged) karaoke.
🕕 6–7 p.m. — Panel with five Asian Canada Reads longlisters
🎤 7–9 p.m. — Mixer + karaoke
📍 Queen Books (914 Queen St E, Toronto)
Featuring:
Rachel Phan, author of Restaurant Kid
Clarissa Trinidad Gonzalez, author of Celestina’s House
Leanne Toshiko Simpson, author of Never Been Better
Liann Zhang, author of Julie Chan is Dead
Jinwoo Park, author of Oxford Soju Club
We’ll be talking about diaspora storytelling, writing between cultures, and the many ways Asian voices are reshaping Canadian literature.
Free to attend. Refreshments served. All are welcome.
So come for literature, stay for the karaoke, leave with new friends!
Special thanks to the ACWW for working with us to throw this amazing community event.
Queen Books’ Book Club
Queen Books, 914 Queen St E, Toronto, ON
Restaurant Kid is Queen Books' Book Club Pick for October!
More information to come.
Toronto: Word on the Street
Join The Word On The Street's 36th Annual Festival at David Pecaut Square!
Panel: “Setting the Table: On Food & Friendship”
The event is free to attend! Save the date here
From the Margins to the Centre: Asians Writers Reclaim the Page
Perfect Books, 258A Elgin St., Ottawa, Ontario
Join us for a dynamic evening of literary conversation as LiterAsian Ottawa presents From Margins to the Centre: Asian Writes Speak Out—a panel featuring acclaimed Asian Canadian authors who are challenging the limits of diaspora storytelling and reshaping the national literary landscape.
This discussion will explore how and why writers are expanding, subverting, and reimagining what it means to write from the margins—and how their stories are making space at the centre of Canadian literature.
Speakers:
Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio, REUNITING WITH STRANGERS
Wayne Ng, JOHNNY DELIVERS – Moderator