authors

Vivek Shraya

Vivek Shraya is an artist whose body of work crosses the boundaries of music, literature, visual art, theatre, TV, film, and fashion. A three-time Canadian Screen Award winner, Shraya is the creator and writer of the CBC Gem Original Series How to Fail as a Popstar, which had its international premiere at Cannes. She was nominated for the Polaris Music Prize and has collaborated with musical icons Jann Arden, Peaches, and Jully Black. Her best-selling book I’m Afraid of Men was heralded by Vanity Fair as “cultural rocket fuel.” Shraya has been a brand ambassador for MAC Cosmetics and Pantene, a guest host on The Social and CBC’s Q, and she is a director on the board of the Tegan and Sara Foundation.

The Hystericals

From the bestselling author of I’m Afraid of Men comes a propulsive and chilling novel for the post-#MeToo era, set in an isolationist state where one woman’s death sparks a movement that could liberate women or destroy them all.

When Sarah Munroe is sexually assaulted on her university campus and her attacker walks free, she makes a devastating choice: she publicly takes her own life in a final act of defiance against a regime that has stripped women of their rights.

Her final message ignites a radical movement called #FreeToo. Soon, masses of women are taking up “Sarah’s Call” and “freeing” themselves as extreme acts of protest. As these deaths multiply across the state, the government declares the movement a contagion. Overnight, all women are reclassified as “hystericals.”

Forced into a new reality where her very existence is criminalized, Sarah’s sister,Kennedy, struggles with her own grief, guilt, and anger. And as the regime tightens its grip, she will have to reckon with her sister’s legacy—and decide whether to surrender or survive.

Get The Book

Festival Shows

The full Imaginairium schedule will be announced on Aug. 18, 2026.

Be Curiouser

  • Listen: Vivica. –Bandcamp
  • Watch: Reviving the Roost. –NFB.ca
  • Writer, Musician and Artist Vivek Shraya Has Done It All—and Isn’t Afraid to Fail. –CBC Books
  • Vivek Shraya is Trashing Traditional Trans Tropes. –3 Books

Avoid FOMO. Be the First to Know

We’d love to be able to connect directly with you. Sign up here to receive exclusive weekly updates and new show announcements. We promise to make every email newsworthy and entertaining (and by signing up, you help us avoid having to pay to advertise our events on social-media channels).

* indicates required

Tickets On Sale Aug 26!

Join our email list to receive a reminder when shows go on sale.