The Toronto Branch of the Canadian Authors Association was established under the Chairmanship of Pelham Edgar on April 20, 1921 at a meeting held at Victoria College, University of Toronto. Other founding members included: J.E. Middleton, Hugh Eayrs (who later served as Branch President), John W. Garvin, his wife Amelia Garvin (Katherine Hale), M.O. Hammond, Arthur Stringer, and Vincent Massey. Subsequent meetings were held at the Helicon Club. Within the first year of its existence, the Toronto Branch grew from a handful of members to well over one hundred and thirty.
The records of this sub-series are of considerable archival value and document well the early history of the branch. Documents relating to the support of projects and issues at the national level, such as submissions to the Executive on the copyright issues of 1921 and 1924, participation in the annual conventions (1931, 1935) and Canada Book Week (1926, 1932 and 1933) can be found in this sub-series. Files also contain information relating to the sponsorship of local events such as a Mazo de la Roche dinner (1927), the Toronto Centennial Novel and Poem Contest (1933) and the annual short story contest (1932, 1933). The business of the branch is documented through minutes, miscellaneous financial records, membership applications, membership lists, correspondence, clippings, newsletters and bulletins. Correspondence to and from Margaret M. Howard (who served as Secretary Treasurer and later as President during the 1930s) constitutes the largest percentage of the correspondence found in this sub-series. The correspondence file of M.O. Hammond contains interesting information on Canadian literary and historical monuments, including geographical location and inscription citations. In 1933, the CAA sponsored a literary pilgrimage to Great Britain. The tour was organized by CAA Secretary Howard Angus Kennedy and some references to Kennedy's tour can be found in this sub-series. Other documents of note include: the "CAA Directory - British Columbia Mainland Branch"(1935) and a transcript of a speech given by W.A. Deacon to membership in 1945 ("[Sir Charles G.D.] Roberts' influence on Canadian writers"). Bulletins and other materials documenting the monthly activities of the branch can be found in the files of Eula Lapp, who served as Branch President in the 1960s and Joe Holliday, who served on the Branch Executive Committee in the late 1950s. The files of this sub-series are arranged in chronological order.
