I’m thrilled to announce that Cleavage, an anthology about teens and body image that includes my story “Profanity,” now has a book trailer. Thanks to Air Productions for putting it together and Jamye Dawicki for the awesome music.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJnw0hVYy7s&feature=player_embedded
I just finished a week of WordPlayer writing workshops at Pegasus Studios summer arts camp. It was my third year teaching 9 to 13 year-olds at the camp. This year, I used an otherworldly theme, and we wrote stories based on the photography of Gregory Crewdson, created our own fantastic characters (everything from our version of vampires to animals with a human spirit residing within), and wrote using masks to springboard into our characters. I’m always amazed at the wonderful spontaneous writing that these creative kids can produce. One teen greeted me with the news that a story she started in last year’s camp is now 30 chapters long (about 30,000 words)! I felt privileged to read her story, which is well-written and engaging. Thanks to all for sharing your writing with me.
Cleavage was named a Best Book for Teens by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Canadian children’s books. Here’s what they had to say about the book: “An edgy new collection of 15 stories about girls who challenge convention and those who wish they could. Hilarious, comforting and intense, these stories make us think more about taking pride in wearing our bodies just the way they are.”
The life of a writer can be ruled by the mailbox. Sometimes I get pleasant surprises in the mail, like a letter from a reader or an acceptance from a publisher. Other times, the news is not so great. On June 23, I went to my mailbox to find I had been awarded an Ontario Arts Council Work-in-Progress grant for my next project, a teen novel tentatively titled The Yo-Yo Prophet. I shrieked loud enough to disturb the neighbours. Now, I’m back to writing, with a little more enthusiasm and a big smile on my face.
Check out this new online interview of me at Cheryl Rainfield’s informative site. Cheryl is a avid reader, reviewer and author of fiction for teens. Her first novel Dragon Speaker: The Last Dragon will be published by HIP Books in September 2009.