Industry Talks: Funding Support for Writers & Publishers in Canada

This year's Industry Talks event features industry professionals with years of experience working at The Canada Council for the Arts, The Ontario Arts Council, The Toronto Arts Council, and Ontario Creates. Guests will have the opportunity to learn more about how government agencies can provide funding and support to both writers and publishers at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels.

As Program Consultant for Publishing at Ontario Creates, Bianca Spence administers the Trillium Book Awards and other programs that support the economic development of Ontario's publishing industry. She has previously worked at the Canada Council for the Arts, Livres Canada Books, Cormorant Books, the Literary Press Group, and McClelland & Stewart. Bianca has served as Co-Chair of the Women’s March in Toronto, and she sits on the Board of Directors for Project Bookmark Canada and the Mammalian Diving Reflex performance company. When not at work, you can find Bianca championing a number of important artistic endeavours from literature to dance.

Sue Carter is the Literary Officer at the Ontario Arts Council, overseeing publishing, literary organizations and writing programs. She is the former deputy editor at Inuit Art Quarterly and editor-in-chief at Quill & Quire. A prolific cultural writer, Sue's words have appeared in The Guardian, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, and The Walrus, among other publications.

Noora Sagarwala is the Program Manager of Arts Across Canada and Abroad at the Canada Council for the Arts, where she manages granting programs that support the mobility, visibility, and impact of Canadian artists and arts organizations across the country and around the world. With over two decades of experience in the cultural sector, she brings a deep understanding of public arts funding, policy development, stakeholder engagement, and strategic program design.
Prior to joining the Council, Noora held roles at the Ontario Arts Council, Emancipation Arts/FreeUp!, MANIFESTO, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts/Soulpepper Theatre Company, and the Canada Dance Festival. Her work has consistently focused on supporting artists, advancing equity, and strengthening systems that serve the arts community.
Noora holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business with a focus on arts and media management. She is passionate about public service, inclusive leadership, and building funding programs that are transparent, responsive, and forward-looking.

Rudrapriya Rathore is the Literary Arts Program Manager at Toronto Arts Council, where she also manages the Music Operating program. She holds a Master's in English and Creative Writing from the University of Toronto and her writing can be found in The Walrus, Brick, Hazlitt, and Quill & Quire, among other publications, as well as in After Realism, a 2022 anthology published by Véhicule Press. She is the founder and manager of the Flying Books Mentorship Program, where she facilitates literary mentorships designed to empower writers and improve their craft.

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