I love speculative fiction. I also loved discovering the term speculative fiction, because after growing up enjoying any books that were "strange", it finally gave me a proper way to refer to all of them. The definition of the term is actually a bit loose and changes depending on who you ask, but in general "speculative fiction" refers to any work that explores a "what if" scenario. This means it can encompass genres such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, alternate history, and fairy tales, plus any number of works that don't fit neatly into any genre.

If you love speculative fiction or think it sounds interesting, the Toronto Public Library wants you to give our own northern brand a try. TPL is just a few days into a six-week series of talks and other events highlighting speculative fiction in Canada. The events are all free and are taking place at six different branches: Eatonville, Beaches, Cedarbrae, Centennial, Oakwood and Lillian H. Smith.

Authors in the series include Kelley Armstrong, Guy Gavriel Kay, Emily Pohl-Weary, Cory Doctorow, Peter Watts, Terence Green, Phyllis Gotlieb and others. And if none of those names mean anything to you, the works being discussed include elements like half-demons, mythic figures, girl pirates, teen hackers, alien communication, and travels through time and space.

• For a list of all events, see the TPL's Foresight: Speculative Fiction in Canada webpage.