It has been a long time coming! My new picture book, When the Squirrels Stole my Sister, illustrated by Sean Cassidy, will be published by Fitzhenry and Whiteside this fall. Just in time to stock up on nuts. Love squirrels? Check out all the info and activities below and on my Squirrel book page. There's… Continue reading My Latest Picture Book
April 2021 Update: The readings listed below have passed, but I have one more National Public Reading coming up on June 9th, hosted by the Muskoka Authors Association, about writing for children and adults. Many thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts and the Writers Union of Canada for the NPR Program. While I'm… Continue reading national public readings
Featuring interviews with five Canadian illustrators about creating narratives in words and pictures. Featuring guest author-illustrators Peggy Collins, Katherine Battersby, Farida Zaman, Christine Tripp, and Chris Jones. 45 minute. All ages. To listen to this special episode of my Cabin Tales Podcast, visit CabinTales.ca or the podcast host Podbean. A full transcript of this episode is… Continue reading Picture a Story: Interviews with Illustrators
Featuring guest authors Cary Fagan, Philippa Dowding, Raquel Rivera, Ishta Mercurio, and Kari-Lynn Winters, talking about plotting—how and when they plot, how they feel about tormenting characters with obstacles, and what they recommend to those who want to improve their own plotting. Check out the Episode 4.5 webpage for audio, show notes, and author bios.… Continue reading Author Interviews about Plotting (Episode 4.5)
Welcome to Cabin Tales: Spooky Stories for Young Writers. This is Episode Two: Nasty People meet Nasty Ends. It's a long one at 50 minutes. I’m Catherine Austen. And my guests today are great Canadian writers Karen Krossing, Monique Polak, and Tim Wynne-Jones. Today we’ll be talking all about characters. Check out the Episode 2… Continue reading Nasty People Meet Nasty Ends (Episode 2: Characters)
Catherine Austen 