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book covers, books, contests, What's New, young writers

Pot-Pourri 2022

It's here, awesome authors! The latest volume of Pot-Pourri, containing all the winning stories, poems, and graphic narratives from Ottawa's Awesome Authors aged 9-18. Buy your copy today. Check out the gorgeous cover design by Gaurinanda Abhilash: Once again, the anthology is generously produced by the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA), with… Continue reading Pot-Pourri 2022

author talks, What's New, writing, writing workshops

Online Character Workshop

Join me online on Saturday, January 14th at 1pm EST for a one-hour workshop on characterization: Nice is Not Enough, part of the SCBWI (Canada East) "Digging Deeper" workshop series. Here's the blurb: Nice is Not Enough: Developing Likeable and Unlikeable Characters: What makes us root for a character? How flawed can a protagonist be?… Continue reading Online Character Workshop

authors, book awards, What's New, writing

Judging the 2022 Ottawa Book Awards

It was an honour to be on the jury of the Ottawa Book Awards this year, with fellow jurors Conyer Clayton and Faizal Deen.  We considered more than 80 submissions in the English Fiction category, including poetry and prose for all ages. With such a talented pool of authors in Ottawa, it was difficult to… Continue reading Judging the 2022 Ottawa Book Awards

book reviews, books, What's New, writing

Discover the Best Books on Shepherd.com

I’m pleased to join the many authors making book recommendations on the new book discovery site, Shepherd.com. Check it out to discover the books your favourite authors recommend. You can find thousands of recommendations for books connected by theme. (And you’ll only find recommendations – no ratings, no complaints.) Whether you're looking for a cookbook,… Continue reading Discover the Best Books on Shepherd.com

author talks, authors, What's New, writing

Celebrating Literacy

I'm thrilled to be heading to Shawville, Quebec, next month for "Get the Word Out!," a literacy festival hosted by the Western Quebec Literacy Council. I'll be joining other local artists and authors Jamaal Jackson Rogers, Robin Blackburn McBride, Seymour Hamilton, Katharine Fletcher, and Venetia Crawford for a day of poetry, stories, workshops and presentations… Continue reading Celebrating Literacy