Upcoming Events
Picture Book Fun! Book reading and chat (virtual) - Books of Wonder, NYC—October 18, 2022, 1 pm est
Come join us with your kiddies (virtually) in NYC at the iconic Books of Wonder. Suharu Ogawa and I are chatting about our new playful picture book HOORAY FOR TRUCKS! (Owl Kids) alongside (woo-hoo!) fab author Ashley Spires with THE MOST MAGNIFICENT IDEA, Laurie Keller with WAKE ME UP IN 20 COCONUTS, and Ethan T. Berlin and Jimbo Matison with HOW TO DRAW A HAPPY CAT! This Sat, October 8 at 1.00 est. Click the link to register.
Past Events
School Library Journal Day of Dialogue panel (virtual) - May 19, 2022, 2.50 pm est
Looking forward to speaking about my new nonfiction middle-grade picture book Same Here: The Differences We Share, along with Sophie Casson, the illustrator of the book, and also the authors of two other new Owl Kids books!
Post-event: If you missed the event, you can watch the 30-min video of our chat: New and Notable Nonfiction.
Ontario Library Association Super Conference (virtual)— Thursday, February 3, 2022, 11.00 est
Hope to chat with you about my new non-fiction picture book Same Here: The Differences We Share! Online at the Owl Kids booth. http://ow.ly/SN3950HH07m
Kids Can Book Relay— Monday, July 26 to Saturday, July 31, 2021
It’s time for another Kids Can Press Reading Relay! Watch for relay posts 2x a day starting Monday, showcasing new books and their creators. I’ll be posting on Thurs July 29 at 2.oo. Ready, Set, GO! #KCPSummerReadingRelay
Virtual Double Picture Book Launch — Monday, May 10, 2021, 2.30 est
Please join the four creators of two new picture books from publisher Owl Kids Books, Carmen and the House that Gaudi Built and This House is Home. Award-winning authors, Susan Hughes and Deborah Kerbel, and illustrators Marianne Ferrer and Yong Ling Kang will be reading both books, chatting and answering questions. Join in the Q and A and win prizes, including an original illustration and virtual chats with one of the creators for you or your school/library.
Ask Someone Awesome, Whitehorse, Yukon, May 4, 2021
Fun zoom chat about my life as a writer with the wonderful grade 3 students at Grey Mountain Primary School, Whitehorse, Yukon.
OLA Conference, Toronto, Canada (virtual) -- Friday, February 5, 2021, 1.00 - 1.30 pm e.s.t.
I chatted with Ontario librarians about my new picture book Carmen and the House that Gaudi Built, especially how and why I decided to blend fact with fiction in my story. Online at the Owl Kids booth.
Interview with Mustafa Sherif for #urbanistica video and podcast series, July 10, 2020
In July, 2020, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Mustafa Sherif, an urban planner in Sweden, about writing WALKING IN THE CITY WITH JANE: A STORY ABOUT JANE JACOBS for his youtube and podcast series #urbanistica. Hope you'll find it informative! Here’s the youtube link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0d0Tn8pWF0
Toronto Jane’s Walk Festival, May 1-3, 2020
I’ll be doing a virtual reading of my picture book biography Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs (Kids Can, 2018) in advance of, and during, the Jane’s Walk festival weekend in Toronto! Join me here: https://www.janeswalkfestivalto.com/activities
CANSCAIP Book Signing, INDIGO book store, Yonge-Eglinton, Toronto, ON - December 11, 2019, 4-7
Join me and many, many other Canadian authors as we sign our selected books tonight!
Jane’s Walk Community Birthday Party, Ottawa-Gatineau, Cube Gallery, 1285 Wellington St. Ottawa, ON — Saturday May 4, 2019, 4 - 7
Join me at the Jane’s Walk Ottawa-Gatineau family-friendly party marking what would have been the 103rd birthday of urbanist Jane Jacobs. This event is free and open to all! As a special guest, I’ll be reading Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs. And yes, there will be birthday cake and colouring too!
Canadian Independent Bookstore Day at Queen Books, 1914 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON – Saturday, April 27, 2019
I’ll be a guest bookseller and reading during story time at Queen Books, this Saturday from 10 to 11 am ! Lots of other amazing Toronto-based authors and illustrators will be at the store throughout the day as well. Hope to see there!
Packaging Your Imagination, CANSCAIP, Toronto, November 10, 2018
I'm pleased to be one of the editors invited to provide One-to-One Manuscript Evaluations at this Saturday's sold-out CANSCAIP Packaging Your Imagination conference. Hope to see you there!
Interview with Shelagh Rogers on CBC Radio, the Next Chapter - October, 2018
Shelagh interviewed me for a segment of the CBC radio show The Next Chapter about my new picture book biography Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs (Kids Can, 2018). Stay tuned for the link to the podcast!
Interview on Global TV Morning Show -- Thursday, May 9, 7.50
I'm being interviewed about my new book Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs (Kids Can, 2018) by hosts Liem Vuong and Carolyne Mackenzie. Here's a link.
Launch of Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs -- Sunday, May 6, 12 - 2
Join me and the urban planners, ages 8 to 10, at the Evergreen Brickworks, Toronto, as we chat about the amazing urban planner and activist Jane Jacobs, read my new book Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs (Kids Can, 2018) and then take a mini Jane's Walk to visit the diorama they designed themselves! Signed books available to be purchased.
Presentation to York Catholic District School Board of Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs -- Monday, April 23, 2018, 9.00
I'll read my new picture book biography Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs (Kids Can, 2018) and chat with teacher-librarians about the many ways they can use this book in the K to 10 classroom. Thanks to Eleanor LeFave at Mables Fables children's book store, Toronto, for inviting me to come along!
Launch of What Happens Next -- Saturday, March 3, 2 - 4
Join illustrator Carey Sookocheff and I, and our publisher Owlkids, at our book launch on March 3, 2018 at Queen Books, Toronto, as we celebrate the publication of our picture book What Happens Next!
I'll read the story aloud and Carey will do an art activity with the kids. We'll also be pleased to sign copies of our book.
OLA Conference, Toronto, Canada -- Friday, February 2, 2018, 11 - 11.30
I'll be signing and giving away copies of my picture book What Happens Next (Owlkids, March 2018) along with the book's amazing illustrator Carey Sookocheff at the Ontario Library Association conference at the Toronto Conference Center on Friday, February 2, 2017 between 11 and 11.30. We can't wait to meet you and share our book with you!
OLA Conference, Toronto, Can. Feb 2, 2017, 9 - 9.30
I'll be signing and giving away copies of UP! How Families Around the World Carry Their Little Ones (Owlkids, spring 2017) along with the book's amazing illustrator Ashley Barron at the Ontario Library Association conference in Toronto on February 2, 2017 between 9 and 9.30. We can't wait to meet you and share our book with you!
OLA Conference, Toronto, Can. Feb 2, 2017, 10.30 - 11.15
My nonfiction book Making Canada Home (Owlkids, 2016) was chosen as an OLA Best Bets! I'll be speaking to librarians about my book alongside other Best Bet nominees at the conference.
Visit to First Nations School of Toronto, Toronto, Can. Feb 10, 2017, 9 - 10.30
I'm looking forward to sharing my picture book Maggie McGillicuddy's Eye for Trouble (Kids Can, 2016) to K to 2 students at this Reading Celebration organized by First Book.
News
My nonfiction book Making Canada Home (Owlkids, 2016) was chosen as an OLA Best Bets, 2017 in the nonfiction category! I know the book's up-to-date informative text and colorful primary and secondary source photos will be ideal for teachers and students studying Canadian history, culture and citizenship.
Skype Session
I now offer book talks with teachers and students via Skype, and I will Skype with interested writer-clients during critique and coaching sessions. Please get in touch if you'd like to find out more about arranging a Skype session with me.
From 2015 to 2017, I wrote a monthly blog about children's literature called Kid Lit Can for Open Book Toronto. To read the dozens of my interviews with Canadian authors, illustrators, and publishers, and get insights on writing and publishing, please look at the columns in the archive by accessing the Open Book website:http://open-book.ca/ .
In 2016, I was pleased to be an adjudicator in the Braille Writing Contest for Kids, in Toronto. Here I am with the winning writers; (left to right) Joshua Schramm; Marie-Eve Letourneau; and Margaret Ingleson.