Christopher DiRaddo

This month: November events, VHBC & Expozine, the Guignolée des Drags Patronnesses, how you can support Violet Hour, book news and literary links.Read on Substack

Greetings friends…

After sending out monthly dispatches for over six years now, I figured it was time to take things up a notch. I’m now using Substack as the main platform for The Violet Letter. Not only will this allow me to archive each issue and find new readers, but it will also allow me to publish additional content, like interviews and features and behind-the-scenes looks into the work that goes into producing the Violet Hour Literary Series & Book Club.

For the past few years, people have asked me how they can contribute to the success and sustainability of these events, and I now finally have a way for them to do so. While The Violet Letter will continue to be a free publication, people now have the option to pay for it if they like. Paid subscribers will also have exclusive access to the extra content I’m planning, including personal reflections about my writing projects/process and Violet Hour events.

If you’d like to see me grow as both an events producer and a writer, I encourage you to subscribe to The Violet Letter on Substack. Thanks for being a part of this community!

I’m not sure if you were following the news a few weeks ago, but our little ol’ book club made quite the stir when we were told we’d be unwelcome at a Montreal city library.

The short of it is, I wrote to Bibliothèque Père-Ambroise in January, asking if we could hold our meetings in its space. Regulars know how much the group has grown (at our last two meetings at the Archives, we ran out of chairs). The library got back to me, informing me that we would have to make changes if we wanted to use their rooms. They cited Law 14 (Bill 96), Quebec’s new language law, in their response. They said, the only way we could use its premises is if we 1) made our club bilingual (no problem with that, we have francophone members, any of whom would be welcome to share thoughts in French), and 2) could ensure translation services for any francophones present.

Well, that sounded ridiculous to me. We are an English book club that reads English books. Our francophone members are bilingual and have chosen to read and engage in work in English. Providing these services would be cost-prohibitive and unnecessary. It felt like they were purposely creating barriers to access.

I have lived my whole life in Quebec and have seen these issues come up over the years. I find it extremely tiresome and divisive. Laws do not create culture, people do. I posted about my disappointment online and before I knew it our book club was in the headlines. Political pundits weighed in and I spoke to every major English-language media in the city. Here are some of the reports:

CBC TV
CTV News 
The Gazette
CityNews Montreal
The Globe and Mail
OMNI TV

(Unfortunately, The Gazette is the only one I did after my hair cut).

The story has a happy ending, thankfully. By the end of the week, the language minister had released a statement that the charter does not apply to groups like ours, and the City of Montreal apologized, saying they would send out directives across the island so situations like this don’t happen again. This means we have created a precedent in the province, so similar groups will know their rights when dealing with officials around this draconian law.

Because of the attention, I also received dozens of suggestions and offers to host us. Last week, I visited one of the places and it’s perfect. The Espace des Possibles Petite-Patrie is a collaborative community space that hosts dozens of events, including repair cafés and game nights. It’s big and comfortable and free to use. It’s also close to a metro (Beaubien) and as of this spring it will be accessible (they are putting in a ramp in March).

We might still hop around from time to time to check out other spots in the city, but it looks like we have found our new home base for now . See you there in March!

Writer Carolyn Marie Souaid and I have been invited to lead a joint poetry/prose workshop in Vasto, Italy (Southern Abruzzo) from September 6-13, 2025. Hosted by Vasto Arts Workshops (an initiative of Canadian writer and painter Luigi Monteferrante), “The Sea and The Olive Tree” is open to writers of all levels who are looking to create new work and exercise their skills. I’ve never been, but Vasto is a breathtakingly beautiful seaside town by the Adriatic. Our days will be spent taking part in writing activities inspired by the village’s beauty, history and culture. We’ll also study book passages, share and critique our work, and engage in discussions on craft and publication, and interact with the local arts community.

For more information, click here.

Last month, I appeared on Shawn Mooney‘s YouTube channel, Shawn Breathes Books, to discuss epigraphs, and in particular the one I chose for The Family Way. It’s a quote from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”

Shawn invited me because the same year he read my book he also read Birding by British author Rose Ruane. It, too, has the same epigraph (it’s quite a popular quote, I’m sure there are others out there). Shawn thought it might be interesting to have Rose and I read each other’s books and then have a discussion about the purposes of epigraphs and how we both interpret ours.

You can watch the discussion below.

Last week I was awarded the Judy Mappin Community Award at the QWF Literary Awards gala. The honorary award goes to someone who has made a significant and longstanding contribution to English-language literature in Quebec (kind of like a cross between a lifetime achievement award and Miss Congeniality). I was awarded the prize for my work with both the Quebec Writers’ Federation and the Violet Hour Reading Series & Book Club. You can read the QWF’s statement here.

The evening was a lot of fun. The theme was “Reflecting the Future” and everyone was encouraged to dress up. As you can see from the photos (credit Kevin Calixte), my partner Greg and I came in some bling.

I’ve been involved with the QWF since 2005, when I started working for them as publicist for their literary awards. As I mentioned in my acceptance speech., I remember standing at the bar that night, impressed with such an amazing, supportive community. To be now acknowledged by them means the world to me.

You can watch my short speech below.