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Bram & Bluma Appel Salon

New books. Big ideas. Join the conversation.

Our signature literary series, The Appel Salon, hosts local and international authors in conversation about their new books and big ideas.

The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon is a literary and cultural programming space on the second floor of the Toronto Reference Library.

Upcoming Events

Free tickets are required for all events. Learn more about event tickets

Thomas Homer Dixon: Commanding Hope In Thomas Homer Dixon's long-awaited, and especially timely new book, Commanding Hope, he calls on his extraordinary knowledge of complexity science, of how societies work and can evolve, and of our capacity to handle threats...

Mena Massoud: Evolving Vegan The Evolving Vegan cookbook celebrates both flavours and stories from a wide array of plant-based eateries all across North America. From actor and avid traveler, Mena Massoud, this cook book is a collection of diverse, delic...

Jeff Rubin: The Expendables Jeff Rubin is the author of the internationally acclaimed Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller , The End of Growth, and The Carbon Bubble. His new book, The Expendables: How the Middle Class Got Screwed by Globa...

Lorna Crozier: Through the Garden When Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane met in 1976, they had no idea they would go on to write more than forty books between them, how the depths of their devotion to each other would evolve, or the unexpected ways a serious ill...

Natalie Zina Walschots: Hench Natalie Zina Walschot's Hench is a sharp and witty new novel that explores the individual cost of justice through a fascinating mix of millennial office politics, heroism measured through data science, body horror, and a prof...

All Events

The Other Shelf @ the Salon

This popular subseries of the Appel Salon continues this fall and features exceptional artists and writers whose work explores lives on the margins. See the entire lineup here.

Event tickets

Free tickets are released three weeks before each event and are available to book starting at 9 a.m.

As most events are free, it is our policy to overbook. In case of a full program, your reservation may not guarantee admission. Unclaimed reservations will be released to standby customers ten minutes before the start of the program. We recommend that you arrive early.

There is a limit of two tickets per valid email address.

Reading List

Get started on the conversation and read the books that will be featured in this season's Appel Salon. There's something for everyone: poetry and prose, the highs and lows of romance, intellectual and celebrity biographies, religion, graphic novels and so much more!

See the reading list

Past events

Watch videos of past events on our YouTube channel.

Looking for a Salon event that isn't listed here? Check the On Civil Society program series.

Get Appel Salon updates

Newsletter

Our bi-weekly email newsletter has the latest news about upcoming programs and links to videos of recent events.

Sign up for our newsletter

Twitter

Follow the #AppelSalon hashtag for news and live tweets from events.

Rent the Appel Salon

Book now for your event The Appel Salon is a versatile, centrally-located venue for meetings, weddings, and special and corporate events.

Accessibility

Toronto Public Library is committed to providing equitable access to library service in a welcoming and supportive environment. A limited number of hearing assist devices are made available to all attendees at the Appel Salon bar. If special seating is required for any of the Appel Salon events, prior arrangements can be made by contacting event staff at salonprograms@torontopubliclibrary.ca. Please contact staff only once you have obtained an event ticket. We may not be able to accommodate requests on the day of our Appel Salon events.

Toronto Public Library is committed to the protection of your privacy and will never sell, rent, trade, or disclose your personal information, including your e-mail address, to a third party without your consent or where not explicitly authorized by the Municipal Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.M.56.