About this Event
It’s a night of words, dance, drag and music featuring:
ELIAS JAHSHAN (words)
ANOUSH ELLAH (drag)
FATIMA (dance)
NIKOTINE (music)
ZANE BANYAN (music)
ZEID AL-NASR (words)
with a special virtual messsage from SALAH BACHIR
This is a celebration of the new book This Queer Arab Family, which itself is a celebratory book that explores how queer Arab communities reimagine family beyond traditional expectations. Edited and compiled by Elias Jahshan, the book features ten queer writers, such as Zeid Al-Nasr, from across the Arab world and diaspora, with stories that honour chosen kinship, everyday acts of care and the creativity and resilience that sustain queer Arab communities. In many Arab cultures, family roles are tightly defined, often prioritising unity over individual desire. This Queer Arab Family questions what happens when queer Arabs challenge those norms and build a family on their own terms. Fierce, vibrant and unapologetic, This Queer Arab Family celebrates community, survival and joy against all odds.
Presented in partnership by Glad Day Lit and MEEM Toronto.
This is a Pay-What-You-Can event and 100% of all proceeds will be shared among the local artists for their performances. No one turned away due to lack of funds.
Everyone with love in their hearts is welcome to attend this event.
7:15pm - Doors
7:45pm - Event Begins
There will be a mix of performances and readings, with a conversation between Elias and Zeid and time for a Q&A.
ACCESSIBILITY
The entrance, washrooms and event space are all fully wheelchair accessible.
ELIAS JAHSHAN (he/him) is a Lebanese-Palestinian journalist and writer, and the editor of groundbreaking anthologies THIS ARAB IS QUEER (2022) and THIS QUEER ARAB FAMILY (2025), both published by Saqi Books. This Arab Is Queer was a 2023 Lambda Literary Awards finalist in the USA and shortlisted for the 2023 Bread & Roses Award in the UK, and has been translated into Italian and soon in French. He has had short memoirs published in several anthologies and has been published in The Guardian, The New Arab, Gay Times, Attitude, My Kali, and more. A former editor-in-chief of Star Observer, Australia’s longest-running LGBTQ+ media outlet, Elias was born and raised in Sydney, Australia and now lives in London, UK.
ANOUSH ELLAH Fusing culture, Drag and gender with an unapologetic flair, Anoush Ellah is the one and only Armenian pop princess — a title that has naturally earned her the moniker “the hottest hairiest girl in the world.” A Jill of all trades, Anoush is best known for HOEBIBI, Pride Toronto’s The Yalla Barra Extravaganza, and "Drag Brunch Saved My Life” streaming on Crave.
FATIMA The Devil's favorite jinn, and the Blue Ball Queen that will get you on your knees, saying yes please Lebanese. Fatima is your friendly neighbourhood queer, Muslim auntie. With a deadly combination of belly dancing, and striking storytelling, Fatima teaches the ways of sensuality, seduction, and killer seductive instinct, for she is the Blue Ball Queen of the Hara'am Arts.
NIKOTINE نيكوتين is a Lebanese-born singer-songwriter and cabaret artist based in Toronto and Beirut. Ahead of her multi-lingual, multi-genre DEBUT ALBUM, you can catch Nikotine نيكوتين hosting and performing in The Dancing Djinn Cabaret.
SALAH BACHIR who immigrated to Canada from Lebanon in the 1960s, has been a gay activist who worked in the film world for over four decades. While this has given him undeniable front-row access to Hollywood’s biggest stars, he was also the bedrock and often the behind-the-scenes champion of many queer organizations that increased justice and liberation in Canada and beyond.
ZANE BANYAN is a millennial multi-hyphenate spotlight slayer living in Tsi Tkaronto. She thrives on connecting with people through music, singing and dancing, a passion that is commonly found among the Arab diaspora who she is proud to represent.
ZEID AL-NASR (he/him) is a multidisciplinary artist working in wood, ceramics, painting and writing. Based in Toronto, he is also an adult performer and OnlyFans star. During his time as a student in South Africa, he published his journal online. He is currently writing his first book, From Damascus to the Moon, which weaves together prose, poetry and visual art to tell his story as a Syrian refugee and artist. Zeid is also a contributor of THIS QUEER ARAB FAMILY, with his chapter 'One Way Trip to The Moon: My Journey With Only Fans'.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Glad Day Lit, 32 Lisgar Street, Toronto, Canada
CAD 0.00
