It's back! In person! And I want to see you there. Young writers and artists in eastern Ontario and western Quebec can sign up now for the MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Festival (MYAIF) to be held in Ottawa on April 4th. This year's Festival will offer one day of workshops at the fab venue… Continue reading MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Festival 2023
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
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
[Updated March 18th 2022] Hey kids, I know you're hustling to get your poems, stories, and graphic narratives finished in time to enter the Ottawa Public Library's Awesome Authors Youth Writing contest. Some of you might even be prepping for tomorrow's Awesome Author teen workshops or fondly remembering the pre-teen workshops of the past few… Continue reading MYAIF: More Fun for Young Writers in Ottawa/Gatineau
A “talking tales” episode -- all interviews – about how to begin a story. With guest authors Frieda Wishinsky; Sarah Raughley; Don Cummer; David McArthur; and Wendy McLeod MacKnight, speaking about their favourite first lines, their advice to young writers on how to begin, and how they began to write professionally. 45 minutes. All ages.… Continue reading Author Interviews about Beginnings (Episode 6.5)
Catherine Austen 