author talks, authors, children's books, What's New, writing, writing conference

The Art of Story: SCBWI Canada East Conference

I always look forward to my regional SCBWI conference. This year it's especially exciting because I'll be giving a workshop myself. My topic: revision. I used to dread revisions. I loved drafting; I loved polishing; but I loathed the grunt work in between the two. I spent the past year revising a middle-grade animal adventure… Continue reading The Art of Story: SCBWI Canada East Conference

books, contests, public libraries, short stories, What's New, writing, young writers

Good Reading

I just received my copies of the latest Pot-Pourri -- that's the annual volume of youth writing published by the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA). This lovely book contains all the winning poems and stories from last year's Awesome Authors Contest, a youth writing competition held every winter by the Ottawa Public Library.… Continue reading Good Reading

book reviews, books, children's books, Friday faves, middle grade novels, picture books, teen novels

Friday Faves–Books I Read and Loved this Spring

I updated my Goodreads account this afternoon, adding a dozen or so titles that I read and loved this spring. If you're looking for a summer read, here are a few of my recent faves. Picture Books Once I Ate a Pie Written by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest; illustrated by Katy Schneider (HarperCollins,… Continue reading Friday Faves–Books I Read and Loved this Spring

author talks, authors, public speaking, reading, writing

A Celebration of Reading

My home town, Gatineau, is one of this year's hosts of Canada's largest festival of reading. We're an official "Reading Town" this month, with events and presentations that come to a close tomorrow. It's all part of the National Reading Campaign's mission to make reading a national priority. I'm doing my bit to celebrate. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll… Continue reading A Celebration of Reading

book covers, books, writing

Judging Books by their Covers

While browsing my online library catalogue, this book caught my eye: It captured me not because of its great reviews but because I could have sworn it was in my TBR pile with a different name. I searched through the pile and found this: Ah yes. Not quite the same book. Extremely similar cover, completely different book. Apparently, this… Continue reading Judging Books by their Covers