By Jael Richardson and Ardo Omer
When classrooms and libraries across Canada began seeking new ways to connect young readers with diverse stories, the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) created a solution: an online literary festival built for students and schools.
FOLD Kids Book Fest is an annual celebration of children’s and young adult literature that highlights Canadian authors from underrepresented communities. It helps teachers bring important voices directly into the classroom. But what sets it apart isn’t just its mission—it’s the technology and the resources that are an integral part of its delivery.
Rethinking Access to Literary Festivals
The festival’s story began before the pandemic, when in-person literary events were often limited by time, travel, and cost – available to a limited number of schools and typically only found in large, urban centers. Teachers wanted to introduce students to more diverse authors and experiences, but field trips were expensive, and visits from authors could only reach one class at a time.
When COVID-19 hit, FOLD’s team transformed those challenges into opportunity. Rather than cancelling or simplifying its events, FOLD Kids Book Fest – a festival that was just a year-old at the time – expanded to include a new kind of virtual space for literary learning. The virtual platform which was first introduced at the flagship Festival of Literary Diversity in the spring, was adapted into a kid space designed to mirror the feel of an in-person festival with its virtual entryways and specialized rooms, while expanding access to thousands of students across the country.
Since inception, the Virtual Clubhouse has become a fully interactive online environment where classrooms can explore panels, author talks, and creative workshops. Years later, it remains a permanent and defining feature of the festival.
“We wanted to make the virtual experience more than just a Zoom event. We wanted students to be able to enter different spaces and discover the space, in addition to seeing events,” Executive Director, Jael Richardson
Jael Richardson launched FOLD Kids Book Fest four years after founding the Festival of Literary Diversity and has guided the virtual expansions of both festivals.
A look at the 2024 virtual clubhouse at FOLD Kids Book Fest. Credit Christina De Melo.
Inside the Virtual Clubhouse
The Virtual Clubhouse is much more than a livestream hub. It’s a digital platform for resources, connection and creativity—a safe, moderated space that teachers can navigate easily with their students from kindergarten through Grade 12.
“Virtual events that are designed to be virtual are important. They create an opportunity for connection that allows us to include Canadian authors from anywhere in the country—or around the world—for any classroom.” Jael Richardson
In October, registered educators gain access to the platform, where a handful of pre-recorded bonus events are available to enjoy and where resources in the Exhibit Hall and the Library are available to explore. From November 4-6, educators can enjoy three days of live virtual programming, including The Illustrator Battle and other key events, all curated by Kids Program Coordinator, Ardo Omer.
Making Maps with Rebecca Thomas
Author Rebecca Thomas shares *Sem’s Map*, a picture book that reimagines Canada through a decolonial lens. Students create their own maps to explore new ways of seeing the land. (Kindergarten–Grade 3)
Finding Your Happy Place with Briana Corr Scott
Author Briana Corr Scott (*I Lost a Day*) leads a creative exercise that helps students explore emotional awareness and imagination through art. (Grades 5–8)
The Illustrator Battle
Illustrators Mei Yu, Azby Whitecalf, and Ken Daley face off in lively drawing challenges hosted by Ardo Omer and guest Marty Chan, celebrating creativity and collaboration. (Grades 5–8)
“When planning this year’s festival, I kept asking myself, ‘What am I doing to make change in my community? That question became the heart of our theme—Activism and Community Engagement—which invites authors, educators, and readers to think critically about how we face big issues together.” Ardo Omer, Kids Program Coordinator.
An Educator Guide graphic, highlighting how the guide connects festival sessions to Ontario curriculum through discussion questions, activities, and author information.
Supporting Educators in Real Time
One of FOLD Kids Book Fest’s most innovative aspects is how intentionally it’s built around educator needs. From lesson planning to classroom discussion, everything in the virtual space and for the virtual events, is designed to make teachers’ jobs easier.
The virtual clubhouse is not only accessible but immersive, providing teachers with the structure and resources they need for meaningful classroom integration.
The festival’s Educator Guide acts as a teaching toolkit and includes:
- Author Profiles: Brief introductions and insights into each featured author and their work.
- Discussion and Reflection Prompts: Curriculum-linked questions and creative activities that encourage empathy, critical thinking, and meaningful classroom conversations.
- Colour-Coded Reading Levels: Session titles and activities organized by grade range for easy navigation.
- Comprehensive Book List: A complete catalogue of featured titles, including publishers and recommended classroom pairings.
The guide can be used before, during, or after the festival, allowing schools to prepare students in advance or extend learning afterwards. Many teachers use the materials to create unit plans around representation, identity, or storytelling.
A Model for Inclusive, Interactive Learning
FOLD Kids Book Fest demonstrates what’s possible when accessibility and equity guide innovation. Instead of treating virtual spaces as temporary solutions, the festival has developed a core educational tool that reaches classrooms across the country.
- Accessibility: Virtual programming removes barriers of geography, mobility, and cost. Schools in remote or underserved areas can now attend the same high-quality literary events as those near major cities.
- Representation: The festival’s line-up is intentionally intersectional, centering authors from marginalized communities whose stories reflect a wide range of cultural, linguistic, and lived experiences.
- Engagement: Gamified features like the leaderboard and scavenger hunt transform passive viewing into active participation.
- Collaboration: By connecting educators, librarians, publishers, and writers, the platform fosters a community committed to diverse storytelling.
This approach doesn’t just expose students to new books—it helps educators build confidence in selecting and teaching inclusive materials. For librarians and literacy leaders, it offers a tested model of how to merge technology with equity-driven pedagogy.
Why It Matters
In an era when educators are confronting shrinking budgets, increased workloads, and growing challenges, the need for accessible, diverse literary programming is urgent. FOLD Kids Book Fest provides a solution that is innovative, sustainable, and deeply rooted in community.
Through its Virtual Clubhouse, the festival gives every teacher the ability to bring national-level author engagement into the classroom. Through its Educator Guide, it turns inspiration into instruction. And through its commitment to representation, it helps ensure that Canadian classrooms reflect the multiplicity of Canadian life.
As one participating teacher summarized, “FOLD Kids Book Fest doesn’t just introduce students to new authors—it shows them that stories like theirs belong in the world.”
Kids Program Coordinator, Ardo Omer, hosting The Illustrator Battle from FOLD Kids Book Fest 2023. Credit Christina De Melo
Looking Forward
As FOLD Kids Book Fest approaches its seventh anniversary, its virtual clubhouse stands as a model for the future of literary education. By pairing digital innovation with inclusive storytelling, the festival continues to redefine what a literary event can be—and who it can reach.
It reminds educators and readers alike that diversity isn’t a trend, but a technology of connection—one that, when used creatively, can transform classrooms, libraries, and the stories we share.
Getting Involved
FOLD Kids Book Fest ran live virtually and in Brampton, Ontario from November 4 to 9, 2025. Registration is still open at foldkidsbookfest.org for Individual Virtual Passholders until December 9 and for Individual Virtual Pass PLUS or School Board-Wide Passholders until June 30, 2026. Staff/educators from the following school boards will have a school board specific code to register for a pass free of charge:
- Durham District School Board
- Halton District School Board
- Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
- Peel District School Board.
- York Catholic District School Board
- Waterloo Region District School Board
Learn more about the FOLD and FOLD Kids at thefoldcanada.org/kids.
Jael Richardson is the founder and Executive Director of the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) and the co-host of Into the FOLD: A Book and Lit Fest podcast. She has written a memoir, a novel and three children’s picture books. Her debut novel, Gutter Child was a finalist for the Amazon First Novel Award and the White Pine Award, and her middle grade anthology Today I Am: 10 Stories of Belonging was a finalist for the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award. Richardson holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph and lives in Brampton, Ontario.
Ardo Omer is a Somali Canadian writer of short comics and the short story, Sagal, the Witch-in-Training, published by Augur Magazine. Omer lives in Toronto, Ontario, where she serves as the Kids Program Coordinator for the FOLD.