These are just of few of the several hundred books I’ll be donating to the Galiano Island Library in celebration of International Literacy Day. How are you celebrating this important day?
08 Sep 2011 Leave a comment
in News Tags: International Literacy Day, libraries, literacy
September 8 is International Literacy Day
08 Sep 2011 Leave a comment
in For Educators, For Kids, For Parents, Helping Hands, News, Worthy Causes Tags: ABC Life Literacy Canada, CODE, International Literacy Day, literacy, Literacy USA, Raise a Reader, UNESCO
Happy International Literacy Day! Today is a great day to celebrate literacy, but also to reflect on the riches that being literate has brought to each of us, our families and our communities. Of course it’s a great day for those of us who want to celebrate, but what about the one in five adults who aren’t literate? And what about the 67.4 million children who don’t have the chance to attend school? There are so many ways to support literacy in your community with programs like “Raise a Reader”, nationally through organizations like ABC Life Literacy Canada, Literacy USA and internationally via UNESCO and CODE. If we all do a small part to give others a chance to celebrate life with literacy, we’ll make our world a better place.
Flash Fiction and Facebook
07 Sep 2011 Leave a comment
in News
Flash Fiction and Face Book…This will be my facebook post tomorrow.
Last Night’s Paddle
Seven dip paddles into sparkles dancing across blue.
At the harbor’s mouth, sunset lights sky and water orange.
Seven paddling as one are an inky silhouette on their return.
Canadian Children’s Book Centre presents: a Get Published Seminar
02 Sep 2011 Leave a comment
in Help for writers, News Tags: Canadian Children's Book Center, Get Published Seminar
For those of you who are in or near Toronto and want to write for kids or teens, don’t miss
THE CANADIAN CHILDREN’S BOOK CENTRE PRESENTS: GET PUBLISHED! SEMINAR
TORONTO, SEPTEMBER 1, 2011: On September 17, 2011 in Toronto, three panels of
experts will discuss how children’s books are written, illustrated, edited,
and selected for publication and sale in Canada. There will also be a question
and answer period where panel experts will discuss participants’ questions.
CREATORS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE: Award-winning authors Barbara Reid
(children’s books), Gillian O’Reilly (non-fiction), and a third fiction writer
(TBA) will talk about the creative process and how their careers took off.
PUBLISHERS TELL ALL: Margie Wolfe (Publisher, Second Story Press) and Sheba
Meland (formerly Publisher of Maple Tree Press) give the inside scoop on the
children’s publishing industry and what publishers are really looking for in a
manuscript.
BOOKSELLERS REVEAL THE INs AND OUTs OF BOOKSELLING:
Highly successful wholesaler Maria Martella (owner of Tinlids Inc.) and sales
executive Saffron Beckwith (Vice President of Kate Walker & Co.) explain how
booksellers decide which books to showcase in their stores.
WHEN: Saturday September 17, 2011
9:00am to 12:00pm
WHERE: Canadian Children’s Book Centre
Room 222
2nd Floor, Northern District Library
40 Orchard View Blvd
(One Block North of Yonge and Eglinton)
COST: $75 per participant (includes the CCBC’s best-selling ‘Get Published!’
kit)
Registration is limited. Please register with Dawn Todd by phone at
416.975.0010 ext. 224 or online at
www.bookcentre.ca/store/products/get_published_seminar by Thursday September
15, 2011.
All proceeds go to the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, a national, not-for-
profit organization founded in 1976 to encourage, promote, and support the
reading, writing, and illustrating of Canadian Children’s literature.
For further information contact:
Dawn Todd, General Manager
Canadian Children’s Book Centre
416 975-0010 ext. 224
dawn@bookcentre.ca
Creativity is all about looking at things in a new way…just like in this cool video
30 Aug 2011 Leave a comment
in News Tags: Creativity, Michel Gondry, Paste Magazine, PES, Sharon Creech
This comes by way of Sharon Creech and facebook. As Sharon says, it’s brilliant. Thanks for sharing it. If you like it pass it on.
The writer and director is Adam Pesapane, known as PES . You’ve probably seen his work on TV commercials but didn’t know it was his. According to Wikki,
Director Michel Gondry was quoted in Paste Magazine as saying “Clicking on a PES film is to open a safe and suddenly see a million ideas glittering and exploding. The only reason you close the door is to re-open it just after and discover what will pop this time.”
This could not be more true. PES has a lot of very cool films under his belt, so check some of them out. I think you can also follow him on twitter.
AS Byatt gives the nod to Terry Pratchett
30 Aug 2011 Leave a comment
in News Tags: AS Byatt, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Terry Pratchett, Writing for Children
Children’s book writers take heart. The queen of Literary fiction and Booker Prize winner, AS Byatt has a surprise favorite writer. And guess what? It’s a children’s author! According to The Guardian, at the
Edinburgh international book festival AS Byatt has declared Terry Pratchett her hero, for having “caused more people to read books than anyone else – because he tells them something they want to know, that they can laugh at, and because he writes really good English”.
Indeed, the author of Possession and, most recently, the Man Booker-shortlisted The Children’s Book, suggested that a free distribution of Pratchett to all 12-year-olds would “have a very good effect” on getting young people to read.
So, when someone asks when you’re going to write a “real book,” you can just roll your eyes and dismiss them knowing full well that kids who read are more likely to become adults who read, and they are one of the most important audiences a writer can have.
Dragon Boat Racing
27 Aug 2011 1 Comment
in Events Tags: Dragon Boat races, The Gorge Water Way, Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club
coming in from our winning race. I'm 4th back on the left
I’ve really been missing dragon boating, as our team is finished the season. But this morning there were dragon boat races on the Gorge Waterway here in town. Even though our team was not participating, myself and a few of the female members of our mixed dragon boat team helped fill out an all women’s team that was short of paddlers. It was a beautiful day for racing, and we had so much fun. We even won our first race despite the fact that half of us usually paddle on one team, and half of us usually paddle on a different team. We did lose our second race, but the beer garden and the sunshine helped to cheer us up.
Two publishers, two best sellers!
25 Aug 2011 5 Comments
in News, Publishing News Tags: A Pod of Orcas, best seller, children's books, Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Jessie's Island, Marsha Skrypuch, Orca Book Publishers, Sheryl McFarlane
It’s always nice to get a bit of good news. Just heard through a writer friend, the wonderful Marsha Skrypuch, that A Pod of Orcas is Fitzhenry and Whiteside’s number one selling title…and that includes both adult and children’s books! Hurray! Not only that, but Orca Books number one seller is another one of my picture books, Jessie’s Island, which has been a continuous best seller for the last 19 years!
Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO – World – CBC News
24 Aug 2011 Leave a comment
in News Tags: Apple CEO, end of an era, Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs is stepping down as Apple’s CEO. It is likely due to poor health as he’s been on a medical leave, but the fact that he won’t be front and centre any more is a really big deal. In so many ways, I grew up with Apples. I used MAC’s when I completed my education degree, and used Apples in my first few years of teaching. The very fist computer I ever purchased was an Apple that used 5 3/4 inch floppy discs instead of a hard drive. This man, along with a few others, changed the face of communication…and it all started in a garage! This is truly the end of an era. Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO – World – CBC News.
Sheryl McFarlane 