Next week I'll be in Atlantic Canada on an author tour as part of the Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award celebrations. My middle-grade comedy, 26 Tips for Surviving Grade 6 (Lorimer) is a nominated title in the 2012/13 English Fiction category. Classes all over the eastern provinces have been reading my book and other nominated titles this… Continue reading Hello Hackmatacks!
Author: Catherine Austen
I'm a Canadian author of books for all ages. My short stories are published in literary journals including The Fiddlehead and The New Quarterly. My books for young readers have won multiple awards, including the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award and the Quebec Writers Federation Prize for Children's Literature. I live with my family in Gatineau, Quebec.
Friday Fable: The Writer and the 138,000 word manuscript
You may know the old story, The Boy and the Nuts: A child visiting a wealthy home was pleased to find on the table a jar full of nuts and figs. (This was in the days before Skittles, keep in mind.) He plunged his greedy little hand into the sweet jar and took all that… Continue reading Friday Fable: The Writer and the 138,000 word manuscript
Quebec Writing Competition
If you are a writer in Quebec, you have about ten days left to submit your short prose masterpiece to this year's Quebec Writing Competition, brought to you by the CBC and its exceptional provincial partners. (It's like the regular CBC short story competition, but just for Quebec writers. And if you think it's unfair that Quebec… Continue reading Quebec Writing Competition
Friday Fable: The Writer and the Inspiring World
You may know the old fable, The Widow and the Hen: Once there was a widow who found a hen wandering the yard. The widow gave the hen a handful of barley and, lo, it laid an egg. The next day, the widow tossed the hen another handful of barley, and she was blessed with another… Continue reading Friday Fable: The Writer and the Inspiring World
Thanks!
Thanks to the Montreal Children's Library for organizing such a fun author visit with the grade five classes of Westmount Park Elementary School yesterday (and thanks to Via Rail for getting me through the storm safely). It was great to meet the students, their teachers and the lovely librarian, Elizabeth. (I now know two lovely librarians named Elizabeth.) I hope… Continue reading Thanks!
Catherine Austen 