Church Street has had its share of flashy festivals from Halloweek to Pride to last week's Fetish Fair, but this Sunday the main strip is going to be closed for something the queer and trans community has never had here before: a literary festival.

The idea grew out of Adrienne De Francesco's frustration, shared by many of her friends and co-workers, that mainstream literary festivals were not queer enough, especially since Canada has produced gay literary giants like Ann-Marie MacDonald and Timothy Findley. That's why De Francesco joined forces with formerly Toronto-based poet Sandra Alland (we recently lost her to Scotland) and Jon Pressick, publisher of the now defunct queer magazine Trade, to create and claim a big outdoor room of their own.

The first literary festival of its kind in Canada, Writing Outside the Margins celebrates and explores queer literature, featuring readings by icons like the notorious James St. James of Disco Bloodbath/Party Monster fame (see eyeweekly.com for our review of his new novel, Freakshow and an interview with the author and DB's Best Bets page 40). WOTM will also be holding a book and zine fair, a youth open mic, panel discussions for budding writers about the ins and outs of the publishing industry, a children's space and an “instant anthology” made of open submissions.

“A lot of queer and trans folks, especially those who are not writing about conventional experiences of the world – queer and trans people who break norms in other ways, who are oppressed on various counts and less [accepted than] mainstream, marketable homosexuals – these are sometimes the only breaks they get. Venues like this are still very often how people say they got started,” says Montreal-born performer and activist Tara-Michelle Ziniuk, whose first book, Emergency Contact, came out last year with McGilligan Books. Ziniuk also appreciates the party atmosphere that goes with street festivals. “Any reason to shut down the street that doesn't involve anyone getting hurt is a good reason to me.”

Many authors and activists have said that a project like this is long overdue, but new festivals inevitably face obstacles and challenges.

“It's incredibly expensive and it's a huge pile of work,” De Francesco says, adding that a festival has to prove itself over the first year or two before it can access necessary financial support. “But, of course, it's the first year that you really desperately need funding. It's kind of the same situation with possible sponsors.”

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