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Vancouver author Jess Singh has been invited to appear at Toronto’s Word on the Street Festival, marking her first Canadian book festival and a significant step for a writer whose career has, until now, found its largest audiences abroad.
Singh will sign copies of her third novel, There Is No You and I, during the festival. The book follows Kavya, a young woman whose life is upended by a chance encounter, in a story that moves between Mumbai and New York City. It continues the territory that has defined Singh’s work since her 2022 debut, All That She Wanted.
A CAREER BUILT ACROSS TWO CONTINENTS
Singh’s rise has unfolded largely outside Canada. Her second novel, I Never Loved You, released with Notion Press in 2023, and the publisher’s reach carried her through a string of events across India, including launches in Kashmir, Bangalore, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Shimla. Toronto marks the first time that momentum has circled back home, placing her on one of the country’s largest literary stages.
Singh credits Vancouver’s neighborhoods and communities with shaping both her characters and her voice.
“Creating characters who take readers on a journey that is joyous, humorous, and, many times, deeply dramatic is what excites me most about writing in the South Asian rom-com space, with a modern twist,” she said. “It matters to me to share pieces of my own lived experience, and the experiences of the people I have met along the way who inspire these characters. Voices like mine remain underrepresented in Canadian romance fiction, and their stories deserve to be told with humor, honesty, and heart.”
A GROWING PLATFORM, LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY
Helen Siwak of EcoLuxLuv Communications & Marketing, who has worked with Singh since her novel’s launch, sees the Toronto invitation as part of a broader trajectory for British Columbia-based writers reaching beyond the province. “Working with BC-based creatives and giving them the tools they need to grow locally, across Canada, and to reach an appreciative audience around the world is key to Jess’s success,” Siwak said. “Her voice deserves a national and international platform, and this appearance at Word on the Street is an important step in that ongoing growth.”
The recognition arrives as Singh’s readership continues to expand on both sides of the border. Three novels in a short span is a demanding pace for any author, particularly one building an audience across two continents, and Singh is already well into a fourth. The Toronto appearance reads less like an early milestone and more like the natural next chapter in a career built steadily over time.
Canada’s South Asian diaspora numbers well over three million, giving Singh access to a readership that has had few opportunities to meet her in person. For a writer whose work centres on representation, that access carries particular weight.
Details on the full Word on the Street lineup and schedule are available at toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca. For more on Jess Singh and her work, read her journey story in Portfolio.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine here.
