Antonio Michael Downing

Antonio Michael Downing

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Toronto, Ontario

Author & Musician | Identity, Creativity & Cultural Expression Expert

  • Videos
  • Expertise
  • Podcasts
  • Media Interviews
  • Books
  • Articles
Antonio Michael Downing

Antonio Michael Downing | Keynote Speaker | Speakers Bureau of Canada

Main Video

Antonio Michael Downing

"Saga Boy" with Antonio Michael Downing & Michael Kleber-Diggs at Unabridged Bookstore

Video 2

Antonio Michael Downing

An Interview With Antonio Michael Downing

Video 3

Antonio Michael Downing

Antonio Michael Downing reflects on his search for identity after moving to Canada | Your Morning

Video 4

  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • Cultural Diversity
  • Gender Equality
  • Generational Differences
  • Racial Justice
  • Employee Engagement
  • Resilience & Adversity
  • Change Makers & Advocates
  • Bestselling Writers & Authors
Antonio Michael Downing

Source Booksellers

Saga Boy Release Celebration
Antonio Michael Downing

Story Untold Podcast

The Mask Is How We Unleash [our Stories]
Antonio Michael Downing
CTV Your Morning
Antonio Michael Downing Reflects On His Search for Identity After Moving to Canada | Your Morning
Antonio Michael Downing
Scotiabank Giller Prize
Giller Power Panel: Africanlit – Contours & Conflicts
Antonio Michael Downing
Global News
‘saga Boy’ Author On His Search for Belonging in Canada
Antonio Michael Downing
Saga Boy
Antonio Michael Downing's memoir of creativity and transformation is a startling mash-up of memories and mythology, told in gripping,...
Saga Boy
Antonio Michael Downing
Molasses
“My real name is Amanda Vrazda and I suppose I owe you a story.” Thus begins an extraordinary narrative. In passage after passage of...
Molasses
Antonio Michael Downing
Antonio Michael Downing Shares His Lifelong Search for His Black Identity in the Memoir Saga Boy
Antonio Michael Downing is an author, musician and activist. But he has been many things, and has answered to many different names. As a...
Antonio Michael Downing
From A Trinidadian Childhood in the Rainforest To, Hours Later, A New Home in A Northern Ontario Blizzard: Antonio Michael Downing’s Powerful New Book ‘saga Boy’
One day, 11-year-old Antonio Michael Downing is in Trinidad, being raised in the bush, which “is really a rainforest, and it spread its...
Antonio Michael Downing
Wrdsb Introduces Black Artist-in-residence Program, Antonio Michael Downing Becomes First Mentor
Antonio Michael Downing—artist, musician, creator—is the first mentor in Waterloo Region District School Board’s (WRDSB) Black...

ANTONIO MICHAEL DOWNING BIOGRAPHY

Antonio Michael Downing is an author, musician, and speaker whose creative work explores themes of identity, belonging, and transformation. Born in Trinidad and raised between Toronto and Brooklyn, Antonio’s cross-cultural upbringing shaped his voice as both an artist and storyteller. He was named one of Canada’s best emerging authors by the RBC Taylor Prize for his early nonfiction writing.

His acclaimed memoir Saga Boy: My Life of Blackness and Becoming chronicles his search for identity and home across continents and cultures. Saga Boy earned national acclaim and was nominated for the Toronto Book Award and the Speaker’s Book Award. Giller Prize winner Ian Williams described the book as “the triumph of Blackness everywhere.”

Antonio’s forthcoming debut novel Black Cherokee will be published by Simon & Schuster in 2025, expanding his literary voice into fiction. He is also the author of the children’s picture book Stars in My Crown, a celebration of imagination, self-expression, and pride.

Under the musical persona John Orpheus, Antonio performs a distinctive blend of Afro-Caribbean rhythm, soul, and poetic narrative. His music bridges genres and cultures, expressing stories of freedom, identity, and resilience.

Antonio is currently the guest host of CBC Radio’s The Next Chapter, Canada’s national book program highlighting the country’s literary voices. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Waterloo, where he also competed in varsity basketball and contributed to campus publications.

Before pursuing a full-time career in the arts, Antonio held leadership roles in sales, coaching, and business development with organizations including BlackBerry and Conestoga College.

Across his writing, music, and public speaking, Antonio explores how creativity can illuminate the shared human experience.

Through his work, he continues to honor the legacy of his grandmother, whose influence first taught him that stories have the power to heal and unite.

Antonio Michael Downing Topic Presentations

Antonio Michael Downing Toronto, Ontario, Canada delivers keynote presentations, workshops, fireside chats, moderated Q&A, and other presentation formats on a wide variety of topics. Each presentation is unique, customized and tailored for audiences, industries, conferences and event formats.

The Stories That Shape Us: Finding Belonging Through Narrative

Becoming Through Change: Resilience As A Creative Act

Seeing Ourselves Clearly: The Power of Representation

Rhythms of Identity: How Music Shapes Culture and Connection

Becoming Whole: The Journey of Personal Transformation

Antonio Michael Downing Speaking Testimonials

Antonio Michael Downing electrified our audience of entrepreneurs, corporate stakeholders, and Members of Federal and Provincial Legislatures, as well as federal, regional, and municipal representatives who attended the epochal unveiling of the LiftOff Black Entrepreneurship program to the public for the first time. Given the theme, context, and historic milestone of the occasion, his words, presence, and candour were compelling and perfect highlights of the evening. Relevant, eloquent and engaging; his presentation was the cynosure of all of us at the event. He is an inspirational and evocative speaker; one whom I highly recommend, unreservedly

Uche Onuora

Venture Coach 
Lift Off Program

The entire WRDSB has a such deep appreciation for you. The students are made better in each moment shared with you.

Teneile Warren

Equity and Inclusion Officer
Waterloo Regional District School Board

Your keynote to our budding entrepreneurs today was truly awesome!

Folake Owodunni

Program Manager
LiftOff Venture Program

Antonio Michael Downing is simply a rock star! His keynote on Storytelling at our Canadian Sales Educators Symposium in 2021 was, in itself, a master class in storytelling. Dynamic and engaging, Michael captured the attention and imagination of the entire room while imparting valuable insights. This was the most highly rated session of the symposium with attendees starting their emails with “As Michael said”!

Rose Mastnak

Director, Conestoga Entrepreneurship Collective
Conestoga College ITAL

Singularly dazzling, Saga Boy is a brilliant collage of the twenty-first century’s most incredible memoirs. Told with an unforgettable and innovative pace, this a book I will reread forever.

Kiese Laymon

Author of Heavy

Antonio Michael Downing’s Saga Boy is a vibrant, evocative, and searing account of the lives of Black immigrants. Downing helps us understand the rage and resilience of Black boys—motherless, fatherless, itinerant—and the communities that intervene to raise them. The triumph of Saga Boy is the triumph of Blackness everywhere—the irrepressible instinct for survival in a world where Blacks are prey.

Ian Williams, Giller Prize

Winning Author of Reproduction

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FAQ

How to book Antonio Michael Downing for an event?

Antonio Michael Downing keynote speaker is an expert presenter and has a wide range of experience speaking to a wide variety of audiences and organizations. Antonio Michael Downing delivers keynotes, workshops & training sessions. They may also host or emcee events. Hire Antonio Michael Downing from Toronto, Ontario for your event to inspire the audience to take action and make change in their work and their lives. Your workplace will benefit from our keynote speaker and their keynote talks and speeches will shift the mindsets or behaviours for the audience members in Canada. 

Interested in booking Antonio Michael Downing for an event?

Are you looking to hire Antonio Michael Downing for your event? Antonio Michael Downing Toronto, Ontario is a dynamic and engaging speaker that offers audiences researched content paired with expertise and a dynamic speaking ability. Antonio Michael Downing is also a Canadian corporate consultant and coach and facilitates workshops and training sessions for a corporate audience. Antonio Michael Downing is an expert keynote presenter and speaks on wide variety of topics. Hiring a great speaker for your event is important and working with a thought leader like Antonio Michael Downing from Speakers Canada's roster will engage audiences into the content of the presentation to bring awareness and a fresh perspective for their approach to their work and their lives. Book Antonio Michael Downing to educate, motivate and activate the audience through an interactive and entertaining presentation at corporate meetings and gatherings.

Known as a popular key note speaker in Canada, Antonio Michael Downing creates life changing experiences for the participants with practical insights and strategic advice they can implement right after the session. Working with one of our leading expert speaker like Antonio Michael Downing from Toronto, Ontario offers organizations a fresh perspective to assist the people of the organization. No matter if it is a government, association, or business crowd, Antonio Michael Downing is a perfect speaker for your event. Through unique practical insights for trending topics and years experience speaking to different organizations, Antonio Michael Downing focuses on changing individuals to make better decisions at work and their lives. No matter if you are holding an in person or virtual event, having an influential speaker such as Antonio Michael Downing will engage, motivate, and activate the audience to make a change in their lives and inspire action for results to meet organizational goals. Your workforce will benefit from Antonio Michael Downing's presentations and speeches, with measurable results set to shift the people of the organization and core direction of the company. Book Antonio Michael Downing speaker for your annual general meeting, conference, summit, or convention in Canada.

How much does it cost to hire Antonio Michael Downing for a keynote presentation or virtual event?

Antonio Michael Downing is an expert professional key note speaker with a lot of experience speaking and delivering engaging talks to organizations and audiences in Canada. Each of Speaker Bureau Canada's talent have different ways to assess their fees, and Antonio Michael Downing speaker fee ranges depending on the size of the audience, event format (in person or virtual), event location, and if the organization booking them is a non profit, association, government department/government agency or business/corporation. The speakers we work with are flexible with their fees, and it is important for us to learn more about your event before we approach them, as it is our role to work for you, and to help you find a speaker within budget. 

Please contact Speakers Bureau of Canada and provide us with your event details so that we can contact Antonio Michael Downing to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like Antonio Michael Downing for your event. As Antonio Michael Downing's agent and as a Canadian top speaker bureau and talent agency for speakers, we are able to propose each event opportunity from each host organization's behalf to try to help you get in touch with Antonio Michael Downing and confirm them for your in person or online meeting/event. We can also provide and advise on the booking process and potentially negotiate their fee. Speakers Canada is a client focused speaker agency, and we work for you in finding good speakers for your team meetings and booking processes.

Antonio Michael Downing Disclaimer

Speakers Bureau Canada assists companies and event planning teams seeking to hire talent like Antonio Michael Downing for speaking engagements, virtual meetings, conference appearances, training sessions and workshops facilitations. Our Canadian speakers bureau does not claim to exclusively represent Antonio Michael Downing, however they are represented by Speakers Canada, and we work with them closely for their Canadian speaking opportunities and bookings. As Canada's top speaker bureau, we represent Canadian motivational keynote speakers and professional guest speakers that will be available on your upcoming events date and location that are withing the budget. Our talented bureau speaker booking agency can help find business speakers or celebrity speakers that aligns with each organization, audience, event theme and the topic themes you hope for the speaker to address in their presentation. 

When SBC receives a request to book Antonio Michael Downing we provide you with their speaker fees, travel costs and check their schedules. We work closely with the host organization's event planning team and the speaker to handle the logistics and to relay or negotiate associated costs. Our talented team members then will work with our talent directly or their agent/manager/assistant to confirm the Canadian speaker fee and travel expenses, so that event planning teams can receive an official quote for the speaker appearing at the event. Speaker fees and travel costs vary per speaker and our role is to contact Antonio Michael Downing about your event, after we have connected with the event organizers to learn all the event details and/or conference program. Each booking request is unique since session durations and audience sizes can vary which may affect the speaker's fees. If you are looking to hire Antonio Michael Downing, we recommend filling out the booking request form so a booking agent from Speakers Bureau Canada can get in touch with our talent to help you coordinate with your team to engage the speaker for a successful event.