authorsbooking (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} authorsbooking) wrote,@ 2006-11-05 11:52:00 |
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Meet the Author:
(Authors listed in alphabetical order)
Helaine Becker
Helaine wrote her first children's book when she was in grade 6. It was called "The Great Plan" and earned rave reviews from the grade 4 kid who lived next door. There was a pretty long dry spell between that novel and the next one. But once lap tops were invented, her writing career took off! Now, Helaine says, she can write without ever getting out of bed - heaven on earth for a gal who thinks morning starts somewhere around noon.
Once she's rousted from bed, Helaine enjoys getting the chance to talk about books with kids in schools all across the country. She thinks it's a riot that when she was a school kid, all her teachers were constantly telling her to stop talking in class. Now she actually gets paid to do it!
Her school tours have taken her as far as Whitehorse, YK in the North and Peru in the south. In Peru, she taught for a week at an English-language school in Lima. One of her favourite moments there, aside from hiking the Inca Trail, was when the kids told her where she could enjoy the best meal of grilled cuy (psst -that's spanish for guinea pig!).
Helaine has two sons who inspire much of her work. Andrew's hockey team was the "real" Looney Bay All-Stars. Michael inspired the poem, Wallace P "Wiggy" Wigden, in which the main character is such a fidgeter, he wiggles the hair right off of his head. Both kids think their mother is highly embarrassing. Both are correct.
People always ask Helaine, "Where do you get your ideas?" She has a simple answer. "Ideas are everywhere. You just have to catch them."
Anita Daher
Anita Daher draws writing inspiration from the many places she's been blessed to spend time which include Summerside, PEI, Yellowknife, NT, Churchill, MB, Baker Lake, NU, and Sault Ste. Marie, ON. She's been entrenched in the book publishing industry for several years writing books, articles and reviews, leading workshops and presentations, and has worked on the publishing end of things as a marketing director and an editor. Anita has two juvenile novels published with Orca (Flight From Big Tangle, Flight From Bear Canyon) and in April will launch two new books: Racing For Diamonds, a juvenile novel with Orca, and Spider's Song, a young adult psychological thriller with Penguin.
When she's not writing, Anita likes to spend time baking, playing her guitar (badly), and turning her backyard garden into a haven for neighbourhood bunnies. Anita currently resides in Winnipeg with her husband, two daughters, a basset hound, and a camper van named Mae.
Rachna Gilmore
Rachna Gilmore, the critically acclaimed Governor General’s Award winning author of sixteen books, writes everything from children’s picture books, early readers, middle-grade novels to young adult novels.
A student of life, Rachna loves to dream and imagine, to play with words, and to explore the ideas that spark and seize her imagination. Rachna says that because she writes child-centred stories because never really grew up, and that because she is weird, she writes weird and wonder-filled tales.
She calls the process of what she does plarking – work, she says, is too tedious and grinding a word to describe the delight of the creative process, and play doesn’t quite convey the real time and effort that goes into completing a book, whereas plarking covers it all, especially as it also echoes the joy and song of larking about. She has done umpteen school visits over the years and loves to share her enthusiasm for reading and writing with children and teachers.
Anita Horrocks
Anita Horrocks doesn’t need props to help her captivate an audience’s interest. Even so, the author of four highly acclaimed novels enjoys using items as varied as rattlesnake skins, highways signs and her own secret box from childhood.
Blending readings with her highly interactive presentations, Anita shares her love of literature in order to encourage young people to read. How well she does this is reflected in Librarian Maureen Wakeford of Calgary’s words: “The students thoroughly enjoyed Anita's visit. Thanks to her enthusiasm I still have students waiting to sign out her novels five months later.”
Horrocks’s work has won awards such as the Red Maple and the Writers’ Guild of Alberta, as well as receiving numerous other nominations. Her most recent novel, Almost Eden, was recently reviewed in CM Magazine.
Karen Krossing
Educators and librarians, you're in for a treat if you invite Karen Krossing to your school. This young adult author is a superb presenter. She is a writing instructor with Centennial College and also teaches an after-school writing program for teens and children. Karen's novel, *Take the Stairs* was a White Pine nominee for 2005 and her latest YA is *Pure*.
Karen is a featured author on the CM site, and an extensive interview can be
read here <http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/profiles/kros
Karen lives in Toronto, so there are no travel fees for Toronto area
schools. Additionally, her fees are a bargain at just $200 per session.
Peggy Dymond Leavey
It wasn’t until her three children were all in school that Peggy Dymond Leavey enrolled in a writing course. For one of her assignments she interviewed a local woman who was well over 100, and the piece was subsequently published.
Peggy discovered that she enjoyed developing the personal stories of seniors. She wrote a series of feature articles, “Quinte’s Living History”, for the newspaper in Trenton, Ontario, her hometown. Her first book, “The Movie Years”, (Mika, 1989) was the story of the time (1917-1934) when Trenton was Canada’s film-making capital. While gathering information for it, Peggy interviewed numerous local people who’d been involved in the industry, some of them as extras in those early, silent movies.
Since then, Peggy has written seven novels for young readers. And in all but one, although she insists she didn’t plan it that way, a fascinating senior found a way to be part of the story.
Deb Lougheed
Are you a Toronto school or library on a tight budget? Why not invite Deb Loughead?
Deb is from Toronto, so travel costs are minimal. And Deb's presentation rates are one of the least expensive on our roster. She charges only $150 for a 40 minute presentation and can do up to four presentations ($600 total) in a day.
Deb has been writing since she learned how to read. She is a poet and a writing workshop leader in addition to being an author of picture books and young adult novels. She also writes and directs children's plays.
She is available for writing and poetry workshops, storytelling and presentations.
Larry Verstraete
There's no doubt about it – Winnipeg author and retired teacher Larry Verstraete brings non-fiction to life! With topics that grab readers' attention, and gritty descriptions that hold their interest right to the last page, it's no wonder that Verstraete's Survivors: True Death Defying Escapes won both the Silver Birch and Red Cedar awards.
When asked why he writes non-fiction, Larry answered, "Mostly it's the thrill … the thrill that comes from uncovering the raw material - facts, rare bits of information, hard-to-believe stories, from sculpting the raw stuff into something readable and exciting, and from when readers get hooked, when they turn on to a subject from one of my books."
Larry uses stories and activities to get students involved in the subject matter, and shows the process used to write non-fiction, from inspiration to publication. His aim is to get kids excited about a subject.
It's the genuine passion Larry has for his subjects that make his presentations as exciting to hear as his books are to read.
Frieda Wishinsky!
Are you looking for a visiting author who can present to a broad range of students? Why not invite Frieda Wishinsky?
Frieda has written more than 30 books and has received awards for her writing from around the world.
Her newest book, It's Your Room: A Decorating Guide for Real Kids was just nominated for a Red Maple Award. She is also the author of Jennifer Jones Won't Leave Me Alone and Queen of the Toilet Bowl.
Frieda is one of the most lively and versatile authors around! She has written a huge range of genres -- from picture books and chapter books to non-fiction and novels. Frieda tailors her presentations to groups ranging from kindergarten to grade seven. She can also speak to parent groups and do presentations on professional development days. Because of her background as a Special Ed teacher and vast experience writing educational material, including guidelines for writing for middle grade students for the Ministry, Frieda is a perfect match for presentations to students and teachers. Frieda knows what motivates kids. She is a lively and fun presenter and her talks are always interactive.
Frieda lives in Willowdale, but is willing to travel to different areas in the province for clusters of presentations. Let us know if you would like to get her in your area and we will assist in grouping the readings.
