In the lead-up to the inaugural Newcomer & Refugee Literary Festival in March 2026, Qissa curated a special panel at the 2025 Toronto International Festival of Authors exploring some of the questions at the heart of the festival. Bringing together newcomer and refugee writers, the conversation examined what happens to a writing practice when it moves into a new cultural context: how relationships with audiences change, how industry expectations shape what writers produce, and how labels such as “newcomer” and “emerging artist” influence how their work is understood and valued in Canada.
The panel featured Mostafa Al-A’sar, an Egyptian journalist, researcher, human rights defender, and founder of REDWORD for Human Rights & Freedom of Expression; Salman Haider, a poet, playwright, satirist, and academic whose work uses poetry and satire to engage with exile, political violence, and resistance; and Sana’a Jaber, a Lebanese writer, filmmaker, and refugee whose work explores exile, motherhood, belonging, and displacement. The conversation was moderated by Anam Zakaria, writer, oral historian, and Co-Founder and Strategic Director of Qissa.
