Chat with Crystal Kite Award Winners

I participated in a picture-book chat with illustrator Dawn Lo about One Tiny Bubble, which won the 2023 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award for Canada. NYC indie bookstore Books of Wonder hosted us along with other talented picture-book creators who had won the Crystal Kite Award in their regions. This award is peer-selected, voted on by members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, so it feels like a special honour.

You can watch our Chat with Crystal Kite Award Winners. Plus, there’s a link to buy signed copies of the books!

Prepping for Canadian Children’s Book Week 2023

I’m busy prepping my upcoming presentations for Canadian Children’s Book Week 2023! From April 30 to May 6, 2023, I’ll be touring along with many other talented creators (25 authors, 6 illustrators, and 1 storyteller in total), sharing our love of reading with young people in schools, libraries, and homes across Canada. Here’s the full list of touring creators, including where each will be. I’ll be touring in-person in Ontario, and I can’t wait. Check out the gorgeous Book Week poster below, illustrated by Jeni Chen, who will be touring virtually in Ontario and Manitoba. Thanks to the Canadian Children’s Book Centre and their sponsors and partners for helping to connect kids with books!

Upcoming Presentation: How to Build Character Cultural Literacy

I’m happy to announce that I’ve joined Whale Rock Literary Workshops as faculty! Whale Rock offers MFA-level workshops and mentorships with impressive faculty that I admire. My first presentation will be a lecture with discussion and writing prompts about How to Build Character Cultural Literacy. This talk is based on the critical thesis I completed during my MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and I’m excited to share it with the children’s literature community.

My 90-minute presentation starts at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 5, 2023, and the cost is just $30. The class will be recorded for those who can’t attend. Here’s what I’ll be speaking about:

Whether you are writing picture books, middle grade or young adult literature, to reflect the full and varied reality of human experience, you need to respectfully and thoughtfully depict secondary characters with a range of backgrounds and cultural beliefs. Even when your protagonists largely mirror you, can you say the same for all their friends?

Each character you create exists within a global village and within a particular nation, neighborhood, social class, and ability level. They also live within an ethnic, gender, sexual-orientation, family, and peer group—each with its own distinct culture. Awareness of your characters’ cultural beliefs will deepen their presence on the page.

Through a discussion of cultural elements in selected picture books and novels, Karen will introduce tools you can use to identify your characters’ deep-level cultural beliefs, offering insights into their motivations and story arcs. This class will focus on family culture as that’s where we first learn and express our beliefs, although these cultural tools can be applied to other cultural groups. You will develop awareness of your cultural beliefs as compared to your characters’ and consider how and when to write within your cultural elements, bridge cultural gaps and avoid bias through omission.

There are no pre-assigned readings for this class, but you will have on-the-spot writing prompts to explore.

Note: Karen speaks from her own identity elements and does not represent any cultural group. She will share her personal identity statement with the class and will encourage you to explore your own as a tool to understanding our cultural lenses.

To register, go to the Whale Rock website. While you’re there, please also check out their many wonderful offerings for new, emerging, and established writers for children and youth. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Whale Rock newsletter!

Canadian Children’s Book Week 2023

I’m happy to announce that I’ve been selected for Canadian Children’s Book Week 2023! From April 30 to May 6, 2023, I’ll be touring along with many other talented creators (25 authors, 6 illustrators, and 1 storyteller in total), sharing our love of reading with young people in schools, libraries, and homes across Canada. Here’s the full list of touring creators, including where each will be. I’ll be touring in person in Ontario, and I can’t wait!

Applications to host readings are now open. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s newsletter for monthly updates.

Happy World Read Aloud Day!

Happy World Read Aloud Day! Today, I’ll be visiting virtually with grade 3 classes at Claremont Elementary School in Ossining, New York, to share my picture book Sour Cakes.

For everyone else, here’s a link to a video I made for another World Read Aloud Day. You can listen to me read from my novel Bog, which won the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award for Canada in 2015. In Bog, a cave troll with a grudge against humans is forced to confront his own prejudice when he embarks on a quest into human territory. Read on!

Sour Cakes and Social-Emotional Learning

My upcoming picture book Sour Cakes, wonderfully illustrated by Anna Kwan, explores what happens when a sibling experiences emotions that feel too big to handle. The dual perspectives of a big and a little sister invite readers to delve into how it feels to support a sibling during a hard time as well as how to acknowledge one’s own difficult emotions. Anna Kwan’s appealing conceptual illustrations help readers map out these messy feelings.

My inspiration for writing Sour Cakes was my family history of mental health challenges. Depression, anxiety, and the effects of past traumas have impacted our daily lives and shaped each generation in different ways. I wrote this book to acknowledge and accept this difficulty, but also to honour the ways we support and sustain one another.

My hope is that Sour Cakes will spark conversations about mental health awareness and social-emotional learning in readers young, old, and in between. To help with that, Anna Kwan and I created a Resource Guide that includes discussion questions and colouring pages.

For more about social-emotional learning, please check out the panel discussion below with me, Anna, as well as author Bree Galbraith and illustrator Lynn Scurfield, who are the talented creators of Hold That Thought! – available on August 15!

An Interview on Side-Writing

Ever since I first heard Erin Nuttall read from her works-in-progress during our time together at the Vermont College of Fine Art’s Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program, I was a fan. She is a writer to watch, and I’m sure we’ll be reading her middle-grade and young-adult novels in the future. Thanks to Erin for interviewing me about side-writing on KidLit Craft – a terrific blog you’ll want to explore. You can check out Erin’s thoughts on side-writing in her inaugural post on KidLit Craft, and stayed tuned for more side-writing exercises on the blog all month.

And if you want even more on side-writing, you can sign up for my workshop Fresh Stories for a New World: Finding Your Stories Through a Practice of Side-Writing with SCBWI Canada East on April 10.

Upcoming Talks

CANSCAIP Monthly Membership Meeting: Panel Discussion

In a virtual meeting for CANSCAIP Members and Friends across Canada, I’ll be speaking with panelists S.K. Ali and Nadia Hohn as well as moderator Glen Huser about our faculty and student experiences in writing programs and schools.

Have you considered a degree in creative writing? What degrees are out there? What is the workload? What can you gain? And – is it worth the money?

Date and Time: March 10, 7 p.m. ET
Guests are welcome, and can contact office@canscaip.org to request the Zoom link.


Fresh Stories for a New World: Finding Your Stories Through a Practice of Side-Writing

As part of SCBWI Canada East’s Digging Deeper series, I’ll be delivering a virtual workshop.

Our world has been going through extraordinary changes, and so have we as writers. Who are you now? What stories are currently simmering within you, waiting to be told?

In this hands-on workshop, I’ll explore how to tap into ourselves and our stories through the practice of side-writing, which refers to stepping away from the story on the page to explore the raw heart of it through creative exercises. You’ll explore how side-writing can help us to write true to ourselves, plumb the emotional depths of our characters to better connect to readers, and spark joy and play in our writing.

Date and Time: April 10, 1 to 2 p.m. ET
Cost for members:
$15
Registration closes at noon on April 8.

My Interview on Cabin Tales

Last year, author Catherine Austen began a spooky new podcast for kids and adults called Cabin Tales, which I highly recommend. Catherine is a Canadian author of many excellent books, including including Walking Backward, My Cat Isis, 26 Tips for Surviving Grade 6, 28 Tricks for a Fearless Grade 6, and All Good Children. Please check out her books!

Now, you can listen to Catherine’s interview with me on Cabin Tales. It includes my advice to young writers with writer’s block, and tales of terror from my childhood. (Yes, I was afraid of closets. Maybe I still am.)

Cabin Tales: A Spooky Podcast for Kids

It was great fun to be part of Cabin Tales, a spooky new podcast for kids and adults.

It’s a new project from Catherine Austen, author of many books including my personal favourite All Good Children.

Each episode of Cabin Tales focuses on one aspect of creative writing, such as setting. They include original spooky stories, excerpts from creepy classics, and writing tips from authors like me. The stories are deliciously monstrous – ones you might tell around a campfire to scare your friends – so Catherine warns that they’re not for very young listeners.

Cabin Tales also encourages young writers to share their own stories with fun weekly prompts. I hope you check it out!

Upcoming Talk: SCBWI Canada East Art of Story

UPDATE: Thank you to the organizers of the SCBWI Canada East Art of Story Conference, who have wisely decided to cancel it due to covid-19. I hope to be back as a speaker at a later event. In the meantime, they’re hoping to host online workshops and distance critiques so stayed tuned!

I’m thrilled and honoured to be included as faculty at the upcoming SCBWI Canada East Art of Story Conference. This is an intimate and craft-based conference focused on writing and illustrating for children and teens. I hope you’ll be able to join us.

Date: April 24 to 26, 2020
Place: Albert at Bay Suite Hotel, Ottawa

Applications for the Rising Kite Diversity Scholarship and the Gift of Creativity bursary are available.

You can check out all the faculty and workshops. My talk will be based on my critical thesis and grad lecture I completed during my MFA in Writing at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. I’m excited to be able to share it with a wider audience.

How To Build Character Cultural Literacy
To reflect the full and varied reality of human experience, all writers need to respectfully and thoughtfully depict secondary characters with a range of cultural beliefs. Even when our protagonists largely mirror us, can we say the same for all their friends?

Each character we create exists within a global village and within a particular nation, neighbourhood, social class, ability level as well as an ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, family, and peer group—each with its own distinct culture. Awareness of our characters’ culture beliefs will deepen their presence on the page.

Using insights from contemporary cultural anthropologists, I’ll introduce tools we can use to identify our characters’ deep-level cultural beliefs, offering insights into their motivations and story arcs. I’ll focus on family culture since that’s where we first learn and express our beliefs, although these tools can be applied to other cultural groups. We’ll also compare our own cultural beliefs to our characters’ to discuss the importance of respecting #OwnVoices, writing within our cultural elements, and avoiding bias through omission.

My MFA Journey (the Final Chapter)

Note: I’ve been writing about my journey during my MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) in Writing for Children and Young Adults. You can read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, and Part 8 as well. And now, for my final MFA post…

I graduated! Two years went by so fast. I can’t quite believe I’m done.

My final residency was a celebration from start to finish as each grad in my cohort delivered a lecture as well as a reading from their creative thesis. It’s fascinating to witness the growth of writers through this program and how it radically and fundamentally changes them. Add to that the usual workshops, faculty lectures, plus specialty seminars, and this residency was jammed-packed writing fun.

Relaxing before my lecture. Notice my light-bulb dress? It made my lecture illuminating!

It’s hard to explain how this program has changed me. It’s like it disassembled then re-assembled me as a writer. It expanded my scope in terms of genre and form, and it helped me plumb emotional depths to find my stories and characters. It also gave me the language to identify where a story isn’t working yet and the techniques to re-imagine it.

Dorm life.

But even though I now have an MFA in Writing, I’ll never finish learning how to perfect this thing called writing. It is impossible to perfect, which is one reason why I adore it so much.

My Hogwarts.

Before I began this program, I had to think long and hard about why I was taking it, and I decided that it couldn’t be because of the promise of whatever publishing contracts may come. It had to be for the sheer joy of building my writing craft and community. This program delivered that and so much more.

My brilliant cohort. I’m grateful to know them.

For one thing, I have access to future VCFA lectures and critical theses, so I can continue to learn and grow. And the VCFA community is warm and welcoming even beyond graduation.

Now, I begin the next stage of my journey with my post-MFA plans firmly in place. I plan to continue to put writing first, and strive for goals that are within my control. I plan to play with words, and make time for pondering and self-exploration. I plan to revise and re-imagine till my word shine. And I hope to share my new craft knowledge through workshops and classes.

My costume for our Space Disco dance included a homemade
jet pack. To VCFA and beyond!

My MFA Journey (Part 8)

Note: I’ve been writing about my journey during my MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) in Writing for Children and Young Adults. You can read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 and Part 7 as well.

I’ve just finished my final semester! What a journey it’s been! Next stop—graduating residency!

For the last six months, I’ve been working with my fabulous faculty advisor Alan Cumyn, author of a slew of wonderful novels, like his latest one, North to Benjamin, about a boy named Edgar and the farty, lovable Newfoundland dog he cares for. My overall creative goal this semester was exploring how to write emotionally rich characters who compel readers to turn the page and publishers to say, “Yes!” Alan provided in-depth responses to my work through on-page comments, editorial letters, and video calls. His big-picture comments prompted deep revision while his enthusiasm and kindness celebrated what worked.

Fourth semester is all about writing a creative thesis, which is submission-ready creative work, and well as an academic lecture. For my creative, I revised twenty-two chapters of a middle-grade novel, and I wrote eight new chapters to complete a full draft. Through discussion with Alan, I have a plan for another round of revisions. I also revised three picture books, and my creative thesis is a combination of a fiction picture book, a nonfiction picture book and chapters from my novel. I leave this program with a pile of manuscripts to continue to work on as well as a writer’s toolbox that’s overflowing!

My lecture is titled “Peeking Beyond Our Cultural Blinders,” and I’ll be delivering it at my graduating residency in January 2020. I plan to talk about how our cultural blinders can get in the way of understanding our characters. Using insights from contemporary cultural anthropologists and touching on the #OwnVoices movement, I’ll introduce tools we can use to identify our characters’ deep-level cultural beliefs as compared to our own. I’ll focus on family culture since that’s where we first learn and express our beliefs, and show how cultural orientations provide motivation for how characters feel, what they do, what they say, and how they change. Writing this lecture has given me more confidence as a speaker and mentor, and I hope I’ll get the chance to share more of my new writing-craft knowledge with others.

At my graduating residency, I’ll also be delivering a reading from my creative thesis. And I’ll be celebrating the many talented writers I’ve been lucky enough to share this journey with. VCFA is a caring, supportive community, and I’ve met so many incredible people who’ve become lifelong friends. Here are a few friends from my class, who I’ll miss seeing at residency every six months!

Want more? You can read my final MFA post.

Workshop: Become Your Own Plot Doctor

I’m excited to be presenting at CANSCAIP‘s Packaging Your Imagination 2018 along with so many talented creators and industry experts. You can check out the full line-up here. The date is November 10, 2018. Hope to see you there!

I’ll be delivering a workshop on plot. Whether you’re outlining, writing, or revising, an analytical examination of your story will help diagnose and treat any plot problems. I’ll be discussing how to become your own plot doctor by asking yourself questions about your characters and story, and then intuitively answering those questions.

My MFA Journey (Part 4)

Note: I’ve been writing about my journey during my MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) in Writing for Children and Young Adults. You can read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of my journey as well.

I’m just back from my second residency at VCFA, and I’m exhausted and inspired by days filled with lectures, workshops, readings, and so many conversations about writing. To tell you the truth, I was a little shocked when I arrived home and my family didn’t want to constantly discuss writing. At residency, I also delivered my very first lecture, which was about picture-book revisions.

In my lecture, I talked about revision as the heart of the writer’s craft. It’s the reason an editor might eventually be able to sense the pulse of my story. It’s the reason a reader might get to thrum to the beating heart of the story I’ve finally managed to infuse with life.

But how to revise well? I explored this question with a visit to the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books in Toronto to seek original manuscripts that became acclaimed picture books. My goal was to analyze how authors of both classic and recent books had revised their manuscripts. I thought of it as a game, where I could identify what questions the author may have asked when revising or what questions they answered through revision. I could then ask the same questions about my own works-in-progress.

Each time I revise a manuscript, I seem to go through the same painful bumps in the road. My hope is that, by analyzing and learning from others’ revision processes, I’ll be able to find the beating heart of my story more directly and with fewer bumps. Perhaps each of these questions I identified can become the basis for one pass through the manuscript. Perhaps I can infuse my intuitive process with some of this analytical knowledge.

My lecture was part of a panel discussion of picture books with four amazing students I studied with during the Picture Book Intensive (PBI) semester. Together we wrote, critiqued, and analyzed picture books in an online forum, as well as working one-on-one with our faculty advisor, the talented Liz Garton Scanlon. I found the PBI discussions to be more demanding and focused than monthly writing groups. It fostered deep thinking and valuable insights.

With my lecture done, I received a PBI certificate, since this semester can be taken separately from the whole MFA program. I was also thrilled to receive the Beyond Words Scholarship! It’s awarded to a student who demonstrates a passion and commitment to picture books. Now, to use my new knowledge of this genre, I’ll be reviewing picture books for Canadian Children’s Book News as well as continuing to write my own.

I’m now back at my desk and diving into my pile of second-semester work. In this semester, my advisor is a writer with great heart and instinct—Amanda Jenkins, author of the Printz Honor Book Repossessed, among others titles. I’m super stoked to dive into how to better connect to my characters and convey emotional depth on the page, which are my goals for this semester.

Taking this MFA program is the best gift I’ve ever given my writer self. It’s a transformative experience, and I’m so grateful for it.

Want more? You can read Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, and my final MFA post.

MY MFA Journey (Part 3)

Note: I’ve been writing about my journey during my MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) in Writing for Children and Young Adults. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 of my journey as well.

Credit: Vermont College of Fine Arts

I’m currently finishing up my first semester, which was a Picture Book Intensive. As an author of young-adult and middle-grade novels, I took a head-first dive into writing a new-to-me genre. My goal was to delve into craft aspects of picture books such as the sound of language, how to think in pictures, and economy of language. I also hoped that a rigorous focus on picture-book story structure and depth of characterization would also strengthen my novel-writing skills. Finally, I wanted to analyze the revision process to gain insights into how to improve my rewriting and polishing stages.

Here’s what I did over the last six months:

  • I read and analyzed over 220 picture books, seven picture-book manuscripts from the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books, 25 audio-recorded VCFA lectures or written critical theses, as well as a few young-adult and middle-grade books and many craft books.
  • I wrote short essays on topics like meta-fictive picture books and strategies for writing dark subject matter in picture books.
  • I wrote a long essay on an analysis of revision from early drafts to final versions of three acclaimed picture books — Red is Best by Kathy Stinson (illustrated by Robin Baird Lewis), The Road to Afghanistan by Linda Granfield (illustrated by Brian Deines), and Franklin in the Dark by Paulette Bourgeois (illustrated by Brenda Clark). My goal was to identify what questions the authors may have asked when revising or what questions they answered through revision so that I can improve my own revision process.
  • For my creative work, I wrote and revised 12 picture books, including metafiction, fiction, narrative non-fiction, concept books, rhythmic/lyrical, dark/difficult topics, and wordless. I also drafted several other fledgling ideas for picture books.
  • I rewrote my long essay into a lecture script, handout, and slides in preparation for a panel presentation at my July residency. I’m so excited to share my discoveries!
  • In an online forum with my wonderful faculty advisor, Liz Garton Scanlon, and four other students, I discussed picture-book craft daily, and I critiqued each of my classmates’ draft and revised manuscripts for a total of 20 critiques.

I emerge from this first semester with this big-picture takeaway: how a process of detailed and individualized critical analysis of children’s books through my annotated bibliography and critical writing gave me insights into revision of my creative writing. Over and over again, I was able to directly apply insights to my works-in-progress. Let me tell you – this process is huge and life-changing. I explored things like how to respect both the intuitive and analytical aspects of writing, the importance of concept as structure in a picture book, how to use rhythm in writing and ways to tackle the revision process. I also gained skills in critical analysis of my fellow-students’ manuscripts.

As I finish my first semester, I can see that I’ve gained insights into myself as a writer, my process and where to go from here. This MFA has been one of the best gifts I’ve given to myself. I can’t wait to see where it’ll take me next.

Want more? You can read Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, and my final MFA post.

Young Voices Magazine 2017

I was thrilled to to celebrate tonight with Toronto teen creators at the launch of the Toronto Public Library’s Young Voices Magazine 2017. Fifty-two years in print! Wow, that’s a lot of talent. It’s a honour to be a small part of this legacy.

Teen Creators: If you love to create, don’t miss the Young Voices Writers Conference on October 28. To submit to next year’s magazine, click here. You can check out back issues here, and pick up a copy of the 2017 magazine at your local branch! The Toronto Public Library also has its first ever Young Voices Comic Artist in Residence this year! The talented Tory Woollcott will be offering workshops for teens here!

Weekend of Words Workshop

The Weekend of Words Festival on September 15 to 17 in East Toronto will feature a series of reading, writing, and performance events and workshops throughout the east end, including the What’s Your Story, East Toronto? celebration of reading and writing.

As part of the festival, I’ll be running a free writing workshop on revision. Please join me!

How to Revise Your Writing

Where: East York Civic Centre, 850 Coxwell Ave, Toronto
When: September 17
Time: 12- 2 pm

To make readers care, your memoir or fiction writing must be told with finesse. In this workshop, you’ll discuss how to re-envision a work-in-progress, explore the craft of revision, and learn tips for focusing and polishing your stories. Since this workshop will include writing activities, you’re welcome to bring a work-in-progress that you want to revise.

Thanks to the Ontario Book Publishers Organization, East End Arts and Toronto Arts Council for presenting this event.

For the Facebook Event page, click here. For the event flyer, click here.

Art MEETS: Writing in Place Workshop

An East End Arts Initiative
Saturday, April 8, 2017, 1 to 4 pm
Danforth/Coxwell Library, 1675 Danforth Avenue, Toronto
Ages 16 +
FREE
Register here

Our lives are the fuel for our writing. The everyday places where we spend time, the people we meet, the events that still haunt us or inspire us — all of these infuse our stories, poems, memoirs, and rants.

Please join me for Art MEETS: Writing in Place — a writing workshop for ages 16 and up. Using fun and inspiring prompts, like six-word stories and writing based on photos, you’ll learn writing techniques and explore how your everyday experiences can enrich your writing. You can also bring a story, poem, memoir, or rant that you’d like feedback on, as well as your questions about writing techniques or how to get published. Designed for emerging writers and diverse voices, this inclusive workshop will also help you prepare your writing for two East End Arts writing opportunities.

My City My Six is a public art project in partnership with the City of Toronto, where individuals are encouraged to submit six-word stories to be included in a local east end and City-wide exhibition in September and October. What’s Your Story, in partnership with the Ontario Book Publishers Organization and Toronto Arts Council, is a writing competition for both established and emerging writers.

Upcoming Workshops: Winter and Spring

“Girls Are” Writing Workshop

Tuesday, January 24, 2017
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Girls Are, 145B Main Street, Toronto
Ages 10 plus
Cost: $20 per person
To register, call Angela at 416-624-3006 or email angela@girls-are.com

Join me for a WordPlay writing workshop on the theme of beauty and body image. Using inspiring writing prompts, like masks and photos, you’ll write poems, stories and/or rants. Spark your imagination and enjoyment of creative writing in this hands-on workshop.

Greater Sudbury Public Library

March 13 to 15, 2017

StoryPlay (ages 4 plus): Join me for fun word games and shared story writing. Using inspiring starters like story dice, you’ll spark your imagination and enjoyment of story-building in this interactive workshop.
Tuesday, March 14, Dowling Branch, 6 to 7 pm
Wednesday, March 15, Main Branch, 10:30 to 11:30 am

How to Create a Believable OtherWorld (ages 8 plus): Whether you write about unicorns or alien planets, an imaginary world needs rules and structure in order to be believable. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to create a fully imagined fantasy or science-fiction world and the characters who live there.
Monday, March 13, Consiton Branch, 6 to 7:30 pm
Tuesday, March 14, New Sudbury Branch, 10:30 am to 12 pm
Wednesday, March 15, Lively Branch, 1 to 2:30 pm

Sophie’s Studio Workshops

Wednesdays on April 5, 12, 19, 26
4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Toronto Public Library, Evelyn Gregory
Ages 8 to 12
Registration begins March 1 at the branch or by calling 416-394-1006

In this four-week workshop, you’ll build your own characters and write scenes and stories. You’ll also create villains, write based on real-life events, and create fantastical worlds for your characters to live in. Have fun with creative writing in this free hands-on workshop.

My Back-to-School Special

Hey, teachers and librarians!

Book me for a writing workshop this Fall to help get your students writing. With great writing prompts and plenty of advice for overcoming writer’s block, my workshops inspire kids and teens to create. Popular workshops include Stories Inspired by Real-Life and How to Create a Believable OtherWorld. You can check out more of my workshop ideas here. Customized workshops are also available.

Bonus: Book before November 1 and get a FREE copy of Punch Like a Girl or Bog for your school library.

For current rates and availability, please contact Karen, or Authors’ Booking Service at abs@authorsbooking.com. Funding assistance is available through The Writers’ Union of Canada Readings Subsidy Programs.

“After Karen’s writing workshops, my students were so motivated that they set their goals high and began producing the beginnings of novels for their fantasy stories. Some of their best work this year came from Karen’s workshops.”
Kris Madill, Grade 5/6 Teacher, Beaches Alternative School

“The workshop in my opinion was freaking awesome. I enjoyed it a lot. I love to write. It is one of my favourite pastimes. It helps you figure yourself out as well as clear your head. The only thing about the workshop that I did not like was the fact that it was rather short, and in my opinion, it would have been more effective and entertaining if we were able to have you come back for a full day! The one aspect of the workshop that I really enjoyed is that the creativity level of each participant was phenomenal. Everyone was really creative, motivated, and descriptive in their short stories.”
Workshop participant at Covenant House

writer

TV Interview on Turning Pages

At Authors for Indies Day last year, I recorded this short interview for Turning Pages, produced by local cable channel CogecoTV. The show looks at what’s happening in the world of books and publishing through conversations with authors, readers, and publishing professionals. Thanks to host Roxanne Beale, owner of Roxanne’s Reflections Book & Card Shop, a well-stocked independent bookstore in Fergus, Ontario. It was a pleasure to chat about books and writing, and to visit her store for Authors for Indies Day. Here’s to supporting our indies!

Crystal Kite Award Ceremony for Bog

At the SCBWI Canada East conference in Ottawa this weekend, I received my shiny Crystal Kite Award in the Canada division for Bogpublished by Fitzhenry & Whiteside and edited by the fabulous Christie Harkin and Cheryl Chen. This award is particularly meaningful to me because it’s peer-given. I’m honoured and thrilled that my own people would recognize Bog in this way. He’s a character who is near and dear to my heart, but I must admit that his creation was fraught with rejections and roadblocks.

Crystal Kite Ceremony with Peggy Collins, Alma Fullerton and Michelle Jodoin
Crystal Kite ceremony with Peggy Collins, Alma Fullerton and Michelle Jodoin

At the ceremony, I shared an anecdotal journey of my creation of Bog, including my inspiration, struggles, and what I learned. This blog post is an excerpt from that talk.

Overcoming Self-Doubt

At times when I was writing Bog, self-doubt slowed my process. Why was an adult woman spending her time squirreled away alone and writing about a cave troll? Would anyone want to read my story? Was I mad?

I learned that, when doubt creeps into my writing process, I need to rekindle my joy in writing. Yes, writing is a way I earn money, but it’s also a passion. With Bog, I rekindled my joy by playing. Exploring who Bog was in his world. Allowing myself the time and space to imagine him fully. I also learned that if I’ve lost the joy, I may need to switch to another project until I can rekindle my passion.

Finding Characters with Personal Meaning

Picture me in grade nine: Less than five feet tall. Weighing less than a hundred pounds. Painfully shy. With an overactive imagination.

When I hit five feet tall, I banned short jokes in my family. But at school, I got called small and cute a lot. Too much. My rebellious streak took over. I began to hate being called small and cute. I began to tell everyone that I was very large and hairy – at least on the inside. And so, my inner troll was born.

Since then, it’s become been a running joke in my family: Karen – big and hairy. In fact, this theme shows up years later in a hand-drawn birthday card from my eldest daughter. My daughter knows what it’s like to have a troll for a mother.

troll 001

And so, I learned to write characters who carry personal meaning for me. When I connect with them, write them deeply, readers can connect to them too.

Gathering Inspiration from Other Creators and Their Work

Inspiration for Bog’s character continued when I saw the trolls in the Lord of the Rings movies. Maybe you remember the cave troll in the Mines of Moria, chain by the orc and dragged around by his neck collar to do their bidding. Everyone else watching the movie was probably worried about Frodo at that point, but I was wondering why the troll was chained and whether he was coerced into being a warrior for the orcs. Did he want to fight against Frodo? Was he treated fairly by the orcs?

So the idea of writing a novel featuring trolls was born. And I learned that I could build on the ideas of other creators, explore them from new angles, and gain new insights.

Finding Story Sparks Even in Dark Moments

Another influence for Bog came on 9/11 and the days and months afterward. In a way, this novel is my reaction to the terrible destruction of the World Trade Center towers, and the ensuing war on terror. But it’s also a reaction to ethnic conflicts and violent extremism the world over – anywhere where there is learned hatred against another culture instead of acceptance and understanding of differences.

On 9/11 and in the days that followed, I learned that even dark moments can hide story sparks. I also learned that I could show the dark side of life to kids and help us all make sense of it.

No Holidays from Inspiration

By this point in my writing process, I was researching things like phases of the moon, the forest and its creatures at night, how far a troll can walk per night, troll lore from both Norse mythology and ingenious stories, and what drives people to terrorism. But it wasn’t until I went on a camping trip in northern Ontario that I finalized my setting.

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Sleeping Giant, Lake Superior

The novel creates a mythology around the landscape north of Lake Superior in Ontario. The setting is based on real places, including the wilderness north of Thunder Bay, the Sleeping Giant peninsula in Lake Superior, and the ruins of a flooded silver mine on Silver Islet.

From my camping trip, I learned  to be open to inspiration from daily life. To pay attention. There are no holidays from inspiration.

Managing Roadblocks and Rejections

At this point, I was ready to start writing. I knew my story. I could write this book.

Or not.

This book was the hardest one I’ve written so far. It took more rewrites than I expected – a total of ten years from conceptualization to printed book. First, I got stuck while writing first draft. I had to learn more about plotting. So I got hooked on screenwriting seminars by John Truby, Robert McKee, and Christopher Vogler. Then I had to learn more about how to express character and meticulously craft a sentence. I sought out conferences, writing books, mentors, and critique partners. When I did get a readable draft written, I submitted it to a lot of agents, sure that this would be my breakout book. This book mattered. It would find its home.

But it found a lot of rejections. And I found my way tangled.

This taught me that my writing journey is not steady or consistent. It’s full of detours, roadblocks, and surprising discoveries. I also learned something about the way I react to rejection. I mourn. Then I get fierce. I think, “I can so write a great book.” I pull out the manuscript again, and I go at it once more, getting feedback, envisioning a new draft, and writing to prove to myself that I can succeed.

No Shortcuts in Writing

If I could talk to my pre-published self, I’d say have a little faith in yourself and your writing instincts but don’t think you can perfect the craft without putting in a lot of writing hours.

I’ve also learned that I can recover from a rejection, or a lot of rejections, if I keep writing and revising. And I can find an innovative way around any roadblock, if I stay steady on my creative journey.

Coolest Place to Run Writing Workshops

This week, I led writing workshops at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum with the MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Conference.

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Probably the coolest place I’ve ever run writing workshops, I wrote with grade 4 to 8 students right next to Chris Hadfield’s spacesuit, the first Canada Arm, and northern bush planes.

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MASC does excellent, important work, and they do it so well. I was honoured to be part of it, and to share stories with the kids and teens.

Just to give you a glimpse into the fine writing that happened during the week, here are two great lines from my workshops:

On loneliness: “He was nothing more than nothing in a school that had everything.”

Describing the conditions that lead to belly-aching laughter between friends: “High on Cheeto dust, Coca-Cola and sunshine. When even a brownie recipe can make you laugh.”

I now have a few manuscripts from kids and teens to critique, which I’m happy to do. It’s great to have the opportunity to encourage keen writers to continue to develop their skills after the conference is over.

Bog Discovers Chai

Chai is not native to troll country, yet Bog fell in love with this tender and delicious chai-seasoned beef after his contact with humans. A cross-cultural recipe for a good holiday!

Best wishes for the holiday season, no matter how you celebrate it.

Upcoming Appearances: Winter and Spring

Granite Ridge Education Centre

Friday, December 4, 2015
14432 Rd 38, Sharbot Lake, ON K0H 2P0
Grades 7 to 10
Two readings of Punch Like a Girl to help raise awareness about violence against women and remember the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre on December 6, 1989.

WordPlay Writing Workshops

Monday, December 14 and Wednesday, December 16, 2015
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Toronto Public Library, Cedarbrae Branch
Ages 13 to 19
Who says writing isn’t fun? With fresh and inspiring story-starters, you’ll explore new characters and create captivating scenes. Spark your imagination and enjoyment of words while learning creative writing techniques in this hands-on workshop.

How to Create a Believable OtherWorld

Monday, December 21, 2015
4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Toronto Public Library, Agincourt Branch
Ages 13 to 19
Whether you write about unicorns or alien planets, an imaginary world needs rules and structure in order to be believable. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to create a fully imagined fantasy or science-fiction world and the characters who live there.

Writing from Real Life: Writing Workshops for Teens

Saturday, February 20, 2016
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Toronto Public Library, Cedarbrae Branch
Ages 13 to 19
Register here

Wednesday, March 16, 2016
1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Milton Public Library, Main Branch
Ages 12 to 17

Learn to create stories from real-life details. Explore how childhood memories, overheard conversations or even family history can be turned into great writing. Explore creative writing techniques and get constructive feedback on your writing!

MASC Young Authors & Illustrators Conference

April 19, 20, 21, 2016
The Canada Aviation and Space Museum
11 Aviation Parkway, Ottawa, ON K1K 2X5
The MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Conference turns 25 this year! If you are a student in grades four to eight with a passion for writing and illustration, you won’t want to miss this exciting day of hands-on creative workshops with some of Canada’s finest children’s authors and book illustrators.

SCBWI Canada East Conference: The Art of Story

crystalkite SCBWI logoApril 29 – May 1, 2016
Albert at Bay Suite Hotel
435 Albert Street, Ottawa, ON K1R 7X4

Award presentation for Bog, which won the 2015 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award in the Canada division.

Making a Difference

I believe that an author’s first priority is integrity to the story. We must listen to our characters and take them where they demand to go. Yet we cannot deny the immense influence authors wield over their audiences. For children’s authors, this influence is particularly potent. The youth of today become the caretakers of tomorrow.

Punch Like a Girl coverMy latest novel, Punch Like a Girl, addresses a topical issue head on. In it, 17-year-old Tori develops a hero complex, trying to rescue others whether they want it or not, in order to avoid facing her own fears of sexual assault. At publication, numerous high-profile incidents involving sexual assault were in the headlines, bringing the issue to the forefront of traditional and social media, and pushing for a public conversation that is long overdue. For readers, I hoped my book would spark open discussion on what a healthy relationship looks like. I didn’t anticipate the very personal conversations I’d have with readers – in writing and face to face.

I’ve had teen girls ask me what to do about a friend who is in an unhealthy relationship. I’ve had inspiring conversations with survivors of domestic or dating abuse. I’ve had a teacher approach me to meet personally with a gifted young writer who wrote about her story of survival. These conversations show what a huge impact a book can have on readers. Enough to open their minds to a new worldview. Enough to make much-needed cultural shifts in our society, now and in the future.

For me, writing Punch Like a Girl was a way to understand the trauma and recovery process from the inside. It was about the building of a hero from the ashes of a victim, which is Tori’s journey. But it’s also becoming a talking point, sparking conversations about violence against girls and women. Tori and I have both learned about the power of community and how to punch back.

After interaction with readers, I’ve come to a few conclusions. Not only do we need to be good stewards of our earth in order to pass it on to future generations, we need to be good stewards of our youth. For authors, this means we need to recognize that, in creating content for children and youth, we have a social responsibility. I’m not advocating didactic, preachy, or moralistic lessons, since this doesn’t maintain the integrity of the story. However, social responsibility can affect our choice of story idea, the diversity of our characters, the actions our characters take, the changes they go through, and how we interact with readers during readings and workshops as well as online. As cultural critic Henry Giroux says, although creators want to make great art, we also have a responsibility to create a world in which great art can thrive.

Upcoming Appearances: Summer and Fall

London Book Camp

I’m happy to be invited back to London Book Camp for a second year, this time for a workshop on “Stories Inspired by Real-Life.” Run by non-profit Investing in Children, this week-long August camp offers hands-on workshops for children and teens who are passionate about reading and writing. Although the camp is full for this year, writers aged 10 to 15 should keep it in mind for next year!

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London Book Camp 2014

Kingston WritersFest

Join me at the Kingston WritersFest on September 23 to 27 for a reading as well as a writing workshop:

•  Reading and Discussion of Punch Like a Girl, September 24, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

•   Workplay Workshop, September 24, 12:45 to 2:00 p.m.

I’ll also be announcing the winners and runners-up in the TeensWrite! Creative Writing Contest during the International Marquee at the Grand Theatre on September 24. Stayed tuned for the results!

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Word on the Street Toronto

On Sunday, September 27, I’ll be at Harbourfront Centre for Word on the Street Toronto. You can find me at the This Is Not The Shakespeare Stage. Check the WOTS Toronto website for times.

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Bookseller for a Day

Today, I played bookseller for a day at Roxanne’s Reflections in Fergus, Ontario. Authors across Canada volunteered at their local indie bookstores as part of the first national Authors for Indies Day. Thanks to Roxanne Beale for the warm welcome!

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I spotted great books by Teresa Toten, Mahtab Narsimhan, Pat Bourke, Kenneth Oppel, Susin Nielsen, Loris Lesynski and Jennifer Lanthier, among others.

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Owner Roxanne Beale interviewed me for her new cable show Turning Pages on TVCogeco, and I had fun playing bookseller and chatting with customers. Thanks to author Lisa Dalrymple for connecting us!

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Do I need to mention how good the selection is at Roxanne’s Reflections? I got myself a copy of Susan Juby‘s new novel, The Truth Commission. I’m off to read now!

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