CanLit for LittleCanadians: authors

Showing posts with label authors. Show all posts

April 19, 2023

Forest of Reading®: Festival of Trees coming soon

If it's April, then young readers are voting for their favourite books in the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading® award programs. And those votes will be tallied and awards announced at the Festival of Trees. These award ceremonies were always a big event at Toronto's Harbourfront, though over the pandemic, award ceremonies were conducted online. For the first time in several years, young readers will have the opportunity to attend in-person events which include workshops by authors and/or illustrators, get their books autographed by authors, and cheer in person when the award winners are announced. The Festival of Trees will be held from Tuesday May 16 through Thursday May 18, 2023. If you're still not convinced to attend (tickets available here), check out the full schedule of events below.

TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2023

SILVER BIRCH EXPRESS

AWARD CEREMONY 10:30-11:30 AM

WORKSHOPS

11:45 AM-12:15 PM Eric Walters: Bear in the Family

12:15-12:45 PM Shenaaz Nanji: Alina in a Pinch

12:45-1:15 PM Alma Fullerton: Flipping Forward Twisting Backward

AUTHORS AUTOGRAPHING

11:45 AM-12:45 PM

Alma Fullerton: Flipping Forward Twisting Backward
Greer Stothers: Kaleidoscope of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life: Their colors and patterns explained

Rachel Poliquin: The Strangest Thing in the Sea: And Other Curious Creatures of the Deep

1:00-2:00 PM

    Shenaaz Nanji: Alina in a Pinch
    Eric Walters: Bear in the Family
    Juliana Armstrong: This is What I’ve Been Told / Mii yi gaa-bi-wiindmaagooyaan

Kallie George (tentative): Crimson Twill: Witch in the City

SILVER BIRCH FICTION

AWARD CEREMONY 12:00-1:00 PM

WORKSHOPS

10:15-10:45 AM Colleen Nelson: The Undercover Book List

10:15-10:45 AM J. Torres and David Namisato: Stealing Home

10:30-11:00 AM Wesley King: Butt Sandwich & Tree

11:15-11:45 AM Catherine Egan: Sneaks

11:15-11:45 AM Meagan Mahoney: Meranda and the Legend of the Lake

1:15-1:45 PM David A. Robertson: The Stone Child (The Misewa Saga, Bk 3)

AUTHORS AUTOGRAPHING

10:00-11:00 AM

Rosena Fung: Living with Viola
Meagan Mahoney: Meranda and the Legend of the Lake

Catherine Egan: Sneaks

David A. Robertson: The Stone Child (The Misewa Saga, Bk 3)

1:00-2:00 PM

Wesley King: Butt Sandwich & Tree

Colleen Nelson: The Undercover Book List
J. Torres and David Namisato: Stealing Home

BLUE SPRUCE

DIGITAL AWARD CEREMONY 1:30-2:00 PM EST

• • • • • • •

WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2023

RED MAPLE

AWARD CEREMONY 10:30-11:30 AM

WORKSHOPS

11:45 AM-12:15 PM Teresa Toten: Eight Days

12:15-12:45 PM Meaghan McIsaac: The Bear House

12:15-12:45 PM Chad Lucas: Let the Monster Out

12:45-1:15 PM Kevin Sands: Children of the Fox (Thieves of Shadow, Bk 1)

1:15-1:45 PM Paul Coccia and Eric Walters: On the Line

1:15-1:45 PM Lori Weber: The Ribbon Leaf

AUTHORS AUTOGRAPHING

11:45 AM-12:45 PM

Kevin Sands: Children of the Fox (Thieves of Shadow, Bk 1)
Paul Coccia and Eric Walters: On the Line

Lori Weber: The Ribbon Leaf

Joanne Levy: Sorry for Your Loss

Kathy Kacer: Under the Iron Bridge

1:00-2:00 PM

Leisl Adams: Batter Royale
Meaghan McIsaac: The Bear House

Teresa Toten: Eight Days

Chad Lucas: Let the Monster Out

WHITE PINE

AWARD CEREMONY 12:00-1:00 PM

WORKSHOPS

10:15-10:45 AM Christy Goerzen: River Mermaid

10:15-10:45 AM H. N. Khan: Wrong Side of the Court

10:30-11:00 AM Kate McLaughlin: Daughter

11:15-11:45 AM Nicola Davison: Decoding Dot Grey

11:15-11:45 AM Jen Ferguson: The Summer of Bitter and Sweet

AUTHORS AUTOGRAPHING

1:00-2:00 PM
Kate McLaughlin: Daughter

Nicola Davison: Decoding Dot Grey

Christy Goerzen: River Mermaid

Jen Ferguson: The Summer of Bitter and Sweet

Louisa Onomé: Twice as Perfect

H. N. Khan: Wrong Side of the Court

YELLOW CEDAR

Digital Award Ceremony 1:30-2:00 PM EST

• • • • • • •

THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2023

LE PRIX MÉLÈZE

AWARD CEREMONY 10:30-11:30 AM

WORKSHOPS

11:45 AM-12:15 PM Andrée-Anne Gratton: L'enfant qui jouait du piano dans sa tête

11:45 AM-12:15 PM Marie-Andrée Arsenault: La Guerre des pupitres

12:15-12:45 PM Patrick Blanchette: Aube du monde des rêves 01 Le réacteur onirique

12:15-12:45 PM Carole Tremblay: La chose dans l'étang

12:45-1:15 PM Jocelyn Boisvert: La ligue des (pas si) champions

12:45-1:15 PM Pierre Chastenay: Une visite guidée du système solaire

AUTHORS AUTOGRAPHING

11:45 AM-12:45 PM
Jocelyn Boisvert: La ligue des (pas si) champions
Pierre Chastenay: Une visite guidée du système solaire

1:00-2:00 PM

    Patrick Blanchette: Aube du monde des rêves 01 Le réacteur onirique
    Carole Tremblay: La chose dans l'étang
    Andrée-Anne Gratton: L'enfant qui jouait du piano dans sa tête
    Marie-Andrée Arsenault: La Guerre des pupitres

LE PRIX TAMARAC

AWARD CEREMONY 12:00-1:00 PM

WORKSHOPS

10:15-10:45 AM Annie Bacon: Chroniques post-apocalyptiques d'un garçon perdu

10:15-10:45 AM Dïana Bélice: L'escouade du bonheur

10:30-11:00 AM Isabelle Roy: Brûlé 01 Premier degré

10:30-11:00 AM Marie-Hélène Jarry: Les carnets de novembre

11:15-11:45 AM Simon Lafrance: Carnet de bord d'un (aspirant) chef de meute

11:15-11:45 AM Alexandre Côté-Fournier: Quincaillerie Miville

1:15-1:45 PM Suzanne Aubry: Le Septième étage et demi

AUTHORS AUTOGRAPHING

10:45-11:45 AM

    Isabelle Roy: Brûlé 01 Premier degré
    Marie-Hélène Jarry: Les carnets de novembre
    Suzanne Aubry: Le Septième étage et demi
    Paul Tom: Seuls
Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay: La voix de la nature

1:00-2:00 PM

    Simon Lafrance: Carnet de bord d'un (aspirant) chef de meute
    Annie Bacon: Chroniques post-apocalyptiques d'un garçon perdu
    Dïana Bélice: L'escouade du bonheur
    Alexandre Côté-Fournier: Quincaillerie Miville

LE PRIX PEUPLIER

Digital Award Ceremony: 1:30-2:00 PM EST

• • • • • • •

Links to purchase tickets for these Festival of Trees (including General Admission tickets without award ceremonies but all other events) as well as those that are only available as Digital Ceremonies (Blue Spruce, Yellow Cedar and Le prix Peuplier) are available at https://forestofreading.com/festival/.

November 02, 2022

An I Read Canadian Contest

Let's celebrate I Read Canadian Day today with

An I READ CANADIAN Contest

Think you know Canadian authors and illustrators of CanKidLit? Or want to learn more? Try my quiz and submit your answers via Google Forms here for your chance to win a box of books for young readers.

How to Play:

There are 15 questions below related to Canadian authors and illustrators. Each answer will require one or two complete names (first name and last name, in English). In total, 18 names will be needed to answer the questions. (Watch your spelling! You could lose 1/2 for incorrect spelling.)

Submission: Submit answers via Google Forms here. Only one submission per person.

Contestants: This contest is open to Canadian residents only. (Address to which the books will be sent must be a Canadian address.) There is no age restriction on submissions.

Deadline: Answers must be submitted by 12 PM EST on Saturday, November 5, 2022.

Winner: A winner will be selected from submissions with the most correct answers. If multiple submissions have the most correct, a random number draw will be made, with numbers based on submission date and time. The winner will be announced on Monday, November 7, 2022 on this blog.

Prize: A box of books for young people written by Canadian authors. (I will consult with the winner about the age group for whom the books were won.)

Good luck, Canadian readers!

📕📕📕📕📕📕📕

QUESTIONS:

1. Which Canadian author and Order of Canada recipient has written everything from dystopia, tigers, spies, space, 9/11 to Terry Fox?

2. These sisters are both author-illustrators. Though they have illustrated their own books as well as those written by others, they have never co-authored a picture book together. Who are they?

3. This author-illustrator is probably the foremost illustrator of plasticine art, winning countless awards for her artwork including the Governor General's award for illustration, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz children's book award, the Ezra Jack Keats Award and the Vicky Metcalf award. Did I mention she was also appointed to the Order of Canada? Name this author and illustrator.

4. This Canadian author can find the humour in even the most emotional dramas. No wonder a prime-time TV law series which she created is such a hit. Who is this writer?

5. He's done CBC sports, hosted CBC Sunday Morning, illustrates for others, and writes his own picture books and middle grade novels. And he once painted a mural on Yonge Street for his book launch. Who is this author and illustrator?

6. Though she's written many award-winning books, this Canadian writer was bestowed with the Order of Princess Olha by the Ukrainian President for her depictions of Ukrainian history through her books. Who is she?

7. Name two sisters who are Canadian author-illustrators who've written several picture books together.

8. This author is the founder of Canada's first festival for diverse authors and storytellers and a writer of picture books and novels for young people as well as adults. Name this author.

9. This author has written two picture books, one which highlights the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and the other relates to her grandfather's residential school experience. Who is this author?

10. Though her many novels have social justice themes from across the world including Afghanistan, Malawi, Iran, the West Bank and Bolivia, as well as Canada, her latest ventures are one word-titled short story collections that allow readers to travel to a multitude of countries in one book. Who is this author?

11. This Quebec author-illustrator is probably best known for her frightened sciurine character but my personal favourite is her red marker-wielding feline with cheek. Who is this creator?

12. This Swampy Cree author has written more than 20 picture books, middle grade, and YA books and won two Governor General Literary Awards. Who is this author?

13. This Toronto author blends the surreal with the real so flawlessly that his steampunk airships seem to be historic stories, an attack by aliens with plants and insects seems imminent and the voices of his chiropteran characters totally believable. Name this author.

14. This Irish Canadian author has been awarded the Governor General Literary Award twice, both for novels of historical fiction set in the mid-1800s but one originating in Ireland and the other in Virginia, USA. Who is this author?

15. Most young children will recognize this picture book author's name but they're also probably recognizing the artist who has illustrated more than 25 of his books. Name both the author and the illustrator.

Good Luck and Bonne Chance

to all reader-participants!

February 22, 2021

13 Moons 13 Reads: GoodMinds video podcast series

Over the next thirteen months, GoodMinds, a First Nations family owned business, located on the Six Nations of the Grand River, will present a series of video podcasts of interviews with Indigenous authors and illustrators. Using the creation story of 13 Moons on Turtle's Back as the basis, GoodMinds has scheduled different guests for each of the 13 moons. Young readers, their teachers and parents, and everyone is invited to subscribe to the GoodMinds channel and enjoy these video podcasts. As an added bonus, GoodMinds is offering free downloads of the pdfs of 13 Moons on Turtle's Back Lunar (Cut-Outs) Calendar and Info Book to accompany the cultural teaching of 13 Moons on Turtle's Back.

GoodMinds YouTube Channel is located at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA8VGqqpPOeKzsHXhzZXf1w/featured

🌒 🌒 🌒 🌒 🌒 🌒 🌒

Here is the schedule of guests by date and moon:

February 27, 2021 EAGLE MOON

Author/illustrator Jay Odjick (Algonquin) and host David Bouchard

March 28, 2021 GOOSE MOON

Authors Katherena Vermette (Métis) and Nicola Campbell (Nłeʔkepmx, Syilx and Métis)

April 27, 2021 FROG MOON

Author/Illustrator Lisa Boivin (Dene) and Poet Circle with authors Joseph Dandurand (Xalatsep), Rebecca Thomas (Mi’kmaw) and Rosanna Deerchild (Cree)

May 26, 2021 BUDDING MOON

Authors Tanya Talaga (Ojibwe) and David A. Robertson (Cree)

June 24, 2021 BLOSSOM MOON

Author Wilfred Buck (Cree) and Author/Illustrator Sara Davidson and Robert Davidson (Haida)

July 24, 2021 BERRY MOON

Authors Lee Maracle (Cree) and Cindy Blackstock (Gitxsan)

August 22, 2021 HARVEST MOON

Authors Drew Hayden Taylor (Ojibwe) and Sean Lyons (Algonquin)

September 20, 2021 FALL MOON

Authors Waubgeshig Rice (Ojibwe) and Brett Huson (Gitxsan)

October 20, 2021 MIGRATING MOON

Authors Jesse Thistle (Metis/Cree) and Dr. Betty Lynxleg (Ojibwe)

November 19, 2021 FROST MOON

Authors Wab Kinew (Saulteaux) and KC Adams (Ojibwe- Cree)

December 19, 2021 FROZEN MOON

Author Michael Hutchinson (Cree)

January 17, 2022 SPIRIT MOON

Author Nancy Cooper (Ojibwe)

Do check out GoodMinds for its impressive collection of books by Indigenous authors and illustrators at its website at https://www.goodminds.com

December 11, 2018

Helping Me Helping You with promoting youngCanLit (Revised post)

No, this is not a parody of an ABBA song. This is actually a revised post of one originally published on June 30, 2016 called "May I suggest . . . ? Five ways to help me help you promote your youngCanLit." My intent was, and still is, to help promote Canadian authors' and illustrators' work. But I am painfully aware that I can always use a little help from writers, artists, publishers and readers to achieve this mandate. Because I can tell, through analytics on Blogger, Twitter and Facebook and more, when a review is getting support from the youngCanLit community, I know when an effort is being made to help me help you. There are so, so many who work to support my work and I wish I could acknowledge every one of you. But for those who don't realize that you can help yourselves and me, here are a few handy suggestions to help.

First let me thank those generous authors, illustrators, publicists and publishers who are so kind to provide me with copies of their books for review, as well as include me in blog tours and allow me to interview our contemporary youngCanLit A-listers. Without these submissions, I could not afford to review as many books as I do on CanLit for LittleCanadians.

By the way, thank you to all those publishers who make an effort to send me hard copies of your books. I appreciate having a book that, after reading it, I can share with others, including schools, if I don't squirrel it away on my own shelves. I know that it's less expensive to send me a pdf or an unbound copy but, when I'm not receiving any remuneration for my reviews, having a final copy feels like a nice trade.

That said, please limit the books you send for review to those written for young people by Canadian authors or illustrated by Canadians, born or residing here. Just because there is a young person in the book does not mean that it is a book appropriate for or of interest to younger readers. Imagine expecting Timothy Findley’s The Piano Man’s Daughter (HarperCollins, 1995) or Heather O’Neill’s Lullaby for Little Criminals (HarperCollins, 2006) to be reviewed as youngCanLit. Not going to happen. And just because a younger reader is able to read the book doesn’t mean it’s youngCanLit. If your catalogue is promoting a book as adult fiction, it’s not a juvenile or teen read, regardless of the age of the protagonist. Save yourself the review copy and the disappointment, and save me my reading time and the communication explaining why I’m not reviewing the book.

If I do review your book, there are several ways to ensure that review gets read by more and more people. While I may not get the million hits of a kitten playing with a bird on YouTube, CanLit for LittleCanadians does very well as a book blog. It is linked through multiple schools and school boards and universities with teacher education programs, English and creative writing programs and library studies, as well as the Canadian Children’s Book Centre and other blogs. But it could always do better. Add a link to www.canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.ca on your website with a quote from the review or add me to your blog roll or become a subscriber. Doesn’t hurt, always helps. Publishers, this is especially important for you to do.

Post a comment on the review. Thank you to so many of you who leave comments on reviews of your own books and those of others, who share with me what they are reading, and correct my mistakes (of which there are many). Judging by the numbers on Google Analytics, comments always brings in more readers. It suggests that readers of the reviews are engaged with the text and that helps get others interested too. And don’t be dissuaded by my need to moderate the comments. I do this to avoid horrific amounts of spam, both commercial and irrelevant.

Support CanLit for LittleCanadians on social media. Each time I post on my blog, I will tweet several times about the book or the review or the event, ensuring the relevant parties (author, illustrator, publisher) know. Your retweets and likes bring in more and more followers and links and you know that in the end that means sales, the all-important bottom line for YOU. Whether I’m using the hashtags for youngCanLit or for teachers or teacher-librarians, those tweets are getting read. And don’t be shy about retweeting multiple times or with multiple tweets about the same book. What catches one reader on Twitter may not be the same as for another. They all count. Toot your own horn or at least join the band as I’m tooting away. I have worked with amazing publicists over the years who retweet religiously and ♡ my tweets and do so on the day the review hits the blogsphere but also weeks later. And all those publishers who bring attention to my reviews through your Facebook pages and book pages, thank you.

Please don’t take it personally if I don’t review your book or don’t do it in a timely fashion. (BTW, sending a book months after it has been published and expecting me to review it immediately assumes that I don't have hundreds of books already waiting in my TBR pile. And you know what they say about assuming.) Sometimes life takes precedence over blog and I get backlogged in reviews and can’t catch up. And sometimes the book just doesn’t grab me and I’d rather not review it than write a rant of an opinion piece. I firmly agree with Paulo Coelho who said, "The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion." I alone write posts for CanLit for LittleCanadians, except for rare student reviewers, and I do what I can under constraints of time, health and motivation. With the plethora of outstanding Canadian authors and illustrators out there ready to have their works promoted and applauded, it’s a daunting task. (Also, I do have a difficult time reading stories, whether fiction or non-fiction, in which animals are key characters. I'm not talking cartoon characters. I'm talking stories in which animals are integral to a dramatic story. I have to find a compelling reason to read these books and I rarely do. I almost missed Shari Green's Missing Mike from Pajama Press for this reason.)

I know from the comments I receive regularly that many of you get it. You understand what I will and won't read and that I can't do it all. And you respect what I do get done. Thank you to author-illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi who recently honoured me with a badge (to the right of this post) for championing kidlit. Though I don't always feel deserving, it is wonderful to have my efforts encouraged. For those who never knew how to help me help you, I hope this blog post will be a first step in doing so.

Let's continue to get everyone reading youngCanLit!

September 25, 2018

Canadian KidLit Masquerade Gala (Toronto, ON)

Writers! Illustrators!
Lovers of youngCanLit!

On October 29, 2018, the TD Children's Literature Awards will be presented in an exclusive event in Toronto. Because of limited venue capacity, many authors and illustrators and members of the Canadian Children's Book Centre will not be able to share in honouring their peers on this special night. As such, a special event, the Canadian KidLit Masquerade Ball, the brain child of authors Kari Maaren, Ishta Mercurio, Claudia Osmond and Star Spider, will be held as the official *unofficial* after party. It will be a great opportunity to celebrate, schmooze, imbibe, and share with writers and illustrators of youngCanLit.

Come celebrate the nominees and winners of this year's TD Children's Literature Awards and all those who create great books for children and teens in Canada.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Here's the scoop on the event and how you can attend:

Date:

Monday, October 29, 2018

Time:

7 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Location:

Lula Lounge

1585 Dundas West, Toronto, Ontario M6K1T9

Tickets:

$45

(includes free coat check, canapés, one drink ticket and performance by Tia Brazda and more)
are available at

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/canadian-kidlit-masquerade-gala-tickets-50607201502

Musical guest Tia Brazda will perform

Dress:

Fancy dress with mask

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Please join us at the

Canadian KidLit Masquerade Gala

and

help celebrate the writing and art achievements of creators of youngCanLit.

May 24, 2017

Thousand Words Art Auction: Eden Mills, ON

On Saturday, June 17, 2017

a mystery art auction (and silent auction)

for CanLit book lovers

will be held at

Rivermead

19 Cedar Street

the new home of the Eden Mills Writers' Festival

in the village of Eden Mills, Ontario

Art preview: 7-8 p.m.

Live auction begins: 8 p.m.

Silent auction throughout the evening

Authors who have read at the Eden Mills Writers’ Festival were invited to ‘think outside the book’ and create a small piece of art to be auctioned off to raise funds for the Festival’s new home, Rivermead.

The auction includes the artwork of more than 30 Canadian authors and illustrators (I've highlighted those of youngCanLit) including:

Gary Barwin
Arthur Black
Claire Cameron
George Elliott Clarke
James Clarke
Lorna Crozier
Emma Donoghue (The Lotterys Plus One)
Wallace Edwards (What is Peace?; Once Upon a Line; Unnatural Selections)
Terry Fallis
Doug Gibson
Steven Heighton
Michael Helm
Linda Hendry (Pup and Hound series; Erik the Viking Sheep; Priscilla and Rosy)
Maureen Jennings
Plum Johnson
Don Kilby (Hold On, McGinty!; The Prairie Fire; One Christmas in Lunenburg)
René Meshake (Blueberry Rapids; Moccasin Creek)
Lisa Moore (Flannery)
Debbie Ridpath Ohi (Where Are My Books?; I'm Bored; Sea Monkey and Bob)
Ruth Ohi (Fox and Squirrel, The Best Christmas Ever; Kenta and the Big Wave; Shh! My Brother's Napping)
Heather O'Neill
Leon Rooke
Jesse Ruddock
Nicholas Ruddock
Mary Swan
Claire Tacon
Andrea Wayne von Konigslow (Toilet Tales; Bing and Chutney; Would You Love Me?)
Janet Wilson (One Peace; Our Earth; Our Heroes; In Flander's Fields)
Alissa York

Bidders will not know the identity of the art’s creator until the big reveal at the end of the evening, so part of the fun will be trying to detect which author created which piece of art!

The gallery of some artwork is posted here.

In addition there will be

two pieces by friends of the festival,

Barb Minett and Cheryl Ruddock,

and

a 1st edition book of poetry by Margaret Atwood

accompanied by a signed, numbered relief print,
hand cut by Ms. Atwood

(donated by Kim Lang, Artistic Director of Eden Mills Writers' Festival)

A silent auction of quality items for books lovers

will also take place throughout the evening.