It's not surprising that artist Charles Pachter's quirky take on iconic Canadian imagery has found its way into a children's book. It's more surprising that it's taken this long for his fun and seemingly kid-friendly artwork to make its way there. M is for Moose (Cormorant Books, 2008) takes a trip through the alphabet accompanied by some of the most famous images from the Toronto artist's portfolio—including the Hockey Knights in Canada that adorns College......

THEATRE: Puppeteer troupe The Old Trout Puppet Workshop will be presenting their project Famous Puppet Death Scenes at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. The Dora-nominated production explores what happens when extremely well-crafted puppets get annihilated. The show runs until October 16. Young Centre for the Performing Arts (55 Mill Street, Building 49), 8 p.m., $20-$30 WORDS: Internationally renowned printmaker Akira Kurosaki is speaking today at OCAD. Kurosaki's work is displayed at MoMA, the......

MUSIC: Lambchop frontman Kurt Wagner will make a rare solo appearance tonight: the Nashville alternative-country singer is playing at the Drake Underground. The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen Street West), 8 p.m., $15. POLITICS: There is a debate tonight for Toronto Centre MP candidates, featuring Green candidate Ellen Michelson, NDP candidate El-Farouk Khaki, Conservative candidate David Gentili, and Liberal candidate Bob Rae. The event is free and open to the public. Isabel Bader Theatre (93 Charles......

ART: "Off Camera" is an exhibition at the new Filmport Studios, featuring more than 200 works from 50 artists currently working in the Toronto film industry. The reception tonight will include musical performances and a silent auction, and did we mention you get to go inside Filmport Studios? Filmport Studios (Studio 7, 225 Commissioners Street), 6 p.m.–1 a.m., FREE. WORDS: Ruckus Magazine, a new online magazine for student artists in the GTA, is celebrating......

In her ambitious new book, The Walkable City (Véhicule Press, 2008), Mary Soderstrom writes: "The walkable city, the oldest kind of city is going to be the key to whatever success we have in meeting the challenges of the future." After all, until the early nineteenth-century people moved only as fast and as far as their feet could carry them. Urban centres had to mirror this fact, whether they developed organically, like in Europe, or......

MUSIC: Today, War Child Canada is presenting "Busking For Change," a day-long busking event featuring a number of reasonably successful Canadian performers. Among those performing are Our Lady Peace's Raine Maida (a fervent supporter of War Child Canada), Chantal Kreviazuk, Zack Werner, The Waking Eyes, and Neverending White Lights. Expect to see lots of teenaged girls unable to control their excitement, and a slough of disgruntled buskers who've had their spots stolen by real musicians......

Every Tuesday afternoon, Torontoist rounds up the city's literary news, including book deals, events, local sales, author happenings, and insider information from the book industry. On Thursday evening Derek McCormack will launch his latest, The Show that Smells (ECW Press), at Trash Palace (89B Niagara Street). Only a few pages into this sprint-paced novella, it's immediately apparent that McCormack has created something innovative, entertaining, and quite possibly (dare we say it) ground-breaking. With its biting......

MUSIC: Tonight's No Shame music showcase is over at the Silver Dollar Room, and will serve as a Pop Montréal preview for those lucky enough to attend the festival this weekend (and presumably as some sort of compensation for those who are not). Toronto favourite the Rural Alberta Advantage will be playing, along with the similarly indie pop groups Hooded Fang and Mt. Royal. The Silver Dollar Room (486 Spadina Avenue), 9 p.m., $7.......

MUSIC: The Polaris Music Prize Gala is happening tonight at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, where the winner of this year's best Canadian album will receive $20,000. The gala will include performances from nominees Holy Fuck, Shad, Two Hours Traffic, Basia Bulat, and Plants and Animals—but it's also invite-only. Those of you who can't get in have still got a number of options, though: CBC Radio 3's Grant Lawrence will be hosting a live broadcast......

WORDS: Torontonian artist Steve Driscoll is launching his new book, Steve Driscoll: Conversations, this afternoon at David Mirvish Books. The book showcases the changes and developments in Driscoll's paintings over the last eight years, and the launch will also include an exhibition of the work presented in Driscoll's book. David Mirvish Books (596 Markham Street), 2 p.m., FREE. FUN: Improv Everywhere is hosting the MP3 Experiment in Toronto today. At 2 p.m. in Riverdale......

Photo by Jen Cooper. Once a year, on the last Sunday of September, Queen's Park is transformed into a haven for lovers of the written word. Not only is Word On The Street a great chance to find both book and magazine publishers offering deep discounts and freebies, but readers also get a chance to meet their favourite scribes in person. With more than 250 exhibits, about 250 of Canada's top authors, poets, storytellers,......

FESTIVAL: The TrekZac FestiCon, a day-long celebration of Star Trek, returns to The Tranzac today for its second year. The mini-convention kicks off at 1 p.m. with a Steam Whistle Brewing beer tasting, along with performances from Laura Barrett, Mackenzie King (formerly Ontario Power Generation), and Woodhands frontman Dan Werb. At 3 p.m. the “convention” begins and will include a lecture by David Dineen-Porter, a demonstration of Klingon ceremonies and rituals, and a panel......

ART: In the aftermath of May Karp’s slightly controversial street art exhibit opening/closing, the Show & Tell Gallery is putting on a fundraiser to pay the "dramatic" legal costs they've incurred. “With All Due Respect” is an exhibition and auction happening tonight at Charlie’s Gallery. The exhibit will feature an auction of original work from the artists whose work was photographed for Karp’s show. Charlie’s Gallery (112 Harbord Street), 6 p.m., FREE. WORDS: There......

WORDS: Zoocheck Canada founder Rob Laidlaw wants your kids to be as jaded as possible from an early age. To implement this idea, he's releasing Wild Animals in Captivity, a new non-fiction kids book that examines animal life in decidedly un-Disney-like settings. Laidlaw will be speaking to elementary students this morning at the Yorkdale Indigo (3401 Dufferin Street, 10 a.m., FREE). Later tonight, he's giving a lecture at the George Ignatieff Theatre called "The......

Every Tuesday afternoon, Torontoist rounds up the city's literary news, including book deals, events, local sales, author happenings, and insider information from the book industry. It's only the third week of September and we're already well into the madness that is the fall book season—for book lovers it's one cocktail-filled night after another until December. And with the introduction of This Is Not A Reading Series' TINARS for Tots program, which had a very successful......

WORDS: “This Is Not A Reading Series For Tots,” a new monthly literary program for children that we told you about a few weeks ago, is launching today at the Gladstone Hotel. Kids aged two to eight will get to meet the authors of childrens’ books and participate in art activities, sing-a-longs, and puppet shows. Speaking today is Matt Hammill, who will be giving a PowerPoint presentation about his new book, Sir Reginald’s Logbook.......

ART: As part of the continuing Manifesto Festival of Music and Art, there will be an opening party tonight at the Well and Good Art Space for “Us & Them,” a four-section art expo that will run until September 30. One section will showcase the work of artists who over the last ten years have been a part of Canada’s largest street art organization, them.ca (Dstrbo, Fauxreel, Omen, and Specter, to name just a......

FESTIVAL: The Manifesto Festival of Music and Art is returning for its second year. The festival runs until Sunday and will feature art exhibitions, a street dance competition, a market devoted to the wares of young entrepreneurs, and musical performances from Rascalz and k-os. Tonight's event is a music showcase at The Mod Club featuring performances by Torontoist fave Shad, and Hey Ocean (722 College Street, 8 p.m., $12). Tomorrow, check out a special......

Every Tuesday afternoon, Torontoist rounds up the city's literary news, including book deals, events, local sales, author happenings, and insider information from the book industry. Obviously the big Canadian literary news this week is Monday morning's announcement of the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist. The jury, comprised of Margaret Atwood, Bob Rae, and Colm Toibin, selected 15 worthy titles out of 95 books submitted. The list includes some obvious choices, such as Nino Ricci and Austin......

WORDS: We all have a couple of things lying around, maybe hidden in a box somewhere, that carry serious emotional ties: borrowed sweaters, mix tapes, love letters, and the like. Most of those items come with a great background story, so tonight the Victory Café is presenting "Awkward Show and Tell: Things My Ex Gave Me," an open mic night dedicated to presenting relationship baggage in front of a group of people so speakers can......

SPORTS: A community meeting is being held tonight by City Councillor Bill Saundercook to discuss bike lanes running along Annette Street between Runnymede Road and Jane Street. The Toronto Cyclists Union is encouraging "strength in numbers," asking that "everyone who wants Toronto to have a secure, connected bicycle network should attend." James Culnan Catholic School (605 Willard Avenue), 7 p.m., FREE. WORDS: Author Rebecca Rosenblum is speaking tonight at the Gladstone Hotel as This......

To most people, a map is a tool used strictly to figure out which route will get them from point A to point B with the least amount of pain. As time passes, these maps reveal much about period styles of illustration, methods of planning, promised developments that never got off the ground, and changes in street names—Lot West Art Crawl, anyone? In his new book, Historical Atlas of Toronto, Derek Hayes provides commentary......

MUSIC: There comes a time in every band's career when they bid farewell to their fanbase and stop playing shows forever. Tonight, that band is Shitt Hottt, who are having their last hurrah at the Horseshoe Tavern. It's not just a goodbye show—they'll also be releasing their new (and final) EP, The Low Five. There will be a free giveaway of Shitt Hottt collectors items including t-shirts, CDs, and handjobs from band members. Did......

Every Tuesday afternoon, Torontoist rounds up the city's literary news, including book deals, events, local sales, author happenings, and insider information from the book industry. No real surprises or upsets at today's Toronto Book Award shortlist announcement by Mayor David Miller at the Toronto Reference Library. As anyone could have predicted, the list included Barbara Gowdy's Helpless and David Chariandy's Soucouyant, novels that have both already racked up a number of other nominations and awards.......

THEATRE: Back by popular demand, Monty Python's Spamalot is having a month-long return engagement at the Canon Theatre. The Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Spamalot follows King Arthur (played by the hilarious Gary Beach) and his knights on their quest for the Holy Grail. The show is a must-see for Monty Python fans, but will still be lots of fun for everyone else, even if they don't grasp the multitude of subtle Python......

ART: There are two cool art openings today. The first is StreetSpeaks, a new photo exhibition by May Karp, a 30-year advocate of expression through street art. The exhibit showcases the street art photographed by Karp while travelling through France, Portugal, Miami, New York, Spain, the Canary Islands, and Toronto. Until September 27 (The Moore Gallery at 404-80 Spadina Avenue, 2 p.m., FREE). The second is The Artillerist, an installation by Pixel Immersive Gallery,......

WORDS: Chris Carlsson, one of the founders of Critical Mass and the author of 2008's Nowtopia, is speaking this evening at CineCycle as part of Pages' This Is Not A Reading Series. He'll be discussing Nowtopia, which researches social challenges faced by outlaw bicyclists and others looking to get away from urban consumer lifestyles. Spacing's publisher and creative director Matthew Blackett will be interviewing Carlsson, and there will be an audience Q&A following the......

ART: This month's exhibit at the Steam Whistle Brewing Gallery is called "It Figures" and celebrates the human form through varied and unique artistic interpretations. The artists featured this month are Michael Tenaglia, Aurora Pagano, Jessica Gorlicky, and Jacqueline Okuhara. There is an opening reception tonight for the exhibit, with the artists in attendance. Steam Whistle Brewing Gallery (255 Bremner Boulevard), 6 p.m., FREE. WORDS: This Is Not A Reading Series continues this evening......

Every Tuesday afternoon, Torontoist rounds up the city's literary news, including book deals, events, local sales, author happenings, and insider information from the book industry. The Eden Mills Writers' Festival—the Toronto literary community's annual out-of-town oasis—is celebrating its twentieth birthday this summer. This year's festival, a mere forty-five minutes west of Toronto, starts this Friday and includes workshops, seminars, and the popular "festival day" on Sunday. Some of the big appearances this year include David......

MUSIC: David Berman and the rest of his Silver Jews are stopping by Lee's Palace tonight as part of their North American tour. They're joined by Boston rock group Hallelujah The Hills. Lee's Palace (529 Bloor Street West), 9 p.m., $15. THEATRE: The Dora Award–winning production of Wajdi Mouawad's Scorched is being remounted briefly at Tarragon Theatre, after a successful run in February 2007. The show is directed by Richard Rose, and runs until......