Toronto is writing a book, one tweet at a time

Thestar.com
August 15, 2018
Clare Rayment

Have you ever wanted to be a published author?

Well, now is your chance. The Toronto Public Library is holding a competition called Toronto Writes a Book, where people can take part in adding lines to a story written by the community.

Wednesday's edition of Toronto Writes a Book, a community initiative put on by the Toronto Public Library.

People can tweet a line to the library, using the hashtag #TorontoWritesABook. Every day, the library chooses two of its favourite lines to compete in a Twitter poll. Whichever line wins is added to the story.

Toronto Public Library’s Michelle Leung said the idea was brought to them through an agency and they “absolutely agreed” to participate.

“We were also thinking that with all the things that had been happening in the city, it hasn’t been a great summer for everybody,” Leung said. “And this would be a fun way to end the summer and link us, so we have a shared voice and see what we could all come up with.”

Launched earlier this month, Leung said so far they’ve been receiving 10 to 20 entries per day.

Tamera Dunn (@tamera) was one of the people whose line was selected. Dunn said she thinks the competition is a great idea to help promote reading in society.

Shannon Mulligan (@shannmulligan) also had her line chosen and she said she’s excited to see where the story is heading.

“I think part of the reason (the library started this initiative) is to promote that two-way conversation,” Mulligan said. “It’s really easy to talk at your fans or at your community, but it’s really important to hear what they have to say, as well.”

Along with the general public, the library will be working with local authors, TV and radio hosts, the Ontario Science Centre, and the TTC’s Brad Ross to name a few collaborators.

One contributor is the Toronto Star’s books editor, Deborah Dundas, who said she wanted to take part because she feels it’s a unique initiative.

“In the days of Twitter being a place where quick thoughts and reactions can be divisive, it's great to see it being used in a positive way where social media becomes truly social and collaborative,” Dundas said.

Chad Campbell (@ChaddyCampbell), another winner, said he never expected his line to beat the competition.

“I mean, I was going up against the Science Centre so I didn’t think I had much of a chance,” Campbell said, “but I guess it really resonated with the readers.”

Campbell said he’s excited to be part of a book about Toronto, because it’s a great way to bring people together who wouldn’t usually have a chance to interact.

“I mean, I’m just a 25-year-old from Toronto and I’m connecting with authors and TV personalities and other people from all over the city,” Campbell said.

Leung said the contest was initially supposed to run just for the month of August, but they want to see the story take shape and have a good ending. So, for now, there’s no set end date.

“I think we all have a unique voice and it’s fun to see it all come together,” Leung said, “And to say we collectively wrote a book.”