Orca Book Publishers Blog

What a body of work!

Leslie — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:52:39 +0000

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Blazer Drive selected as one of the top ten Great Books for Children

Julia — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:24:35 +0000

Blazer Drive, an Orca Sports novel by Sigmund Brouwer has been selected as one of the top ten Great Books for Children 2009 from the Canadian Toy Testing Council.

The Toy Council said of Blazer Drive: “Trying to get boys to read? Treat them to this story of young hockey player Josh Ellroy, left winger for the Kamloops Blazers, who must solve the mystery of dead cattle found on the family ranch. Told from Josh’s point of view, the reader becomes involved in the excitement of playing hockey, making new friends and ultimately confronting those who are revealed to be responsible for harming the animals.”

And best of all? No batteries required!

For more info visit www.toy-testing.org.

Shelley Hrdlitschka talks about writing for teens

Julia — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:47:33 +0000

Shelley Hrdlitschka is the author of Sister Wife, a new Orca book which tells the story of Celeste, a 15-year-old girl who lives in an isolated rural religious community that practices polygamy. Peace Arch News did a great story on Shelley. In the interview she talks about writing for teens and how her own teen daughters have inspired her.

Read the article here.

For your Rembrance Day reading (and listening) pleasure

Julia — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:05:55 +0000

Nikki Tate returns with her weekly teen-book review at All Points West. This week she reviews two books about growing up during World War Two, including Orca’s, What World is Left by Monique Polak. Download the Real Media Player file here.

In keeping with the theme, The Calgary Herald did an article about war and remembrance books here and the Vancouver Sun did a feature article on Montreal writer Monique Polak’s book What World is Left.

Happy reading (and listening)!

CTV video interview with Monique Polak

Julia — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:26:04 +0000

There is a CTV video interview with Monique Polak and her mother Celien here. Monique just launched What World is Left, a novel inspired by her mother’s childhood experiences living in a Nazi concentration camp for over two years.

Please note: You will need windows media player to view this video.

Oshawa? Make that, Awe-shawa!

Melanie Jackson — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:24:02 +0000

Who’s that shadowy figure skulking around the Oshawa Public Library? Why, none other than songbird-sleuth Dinah Galloway! Vancouver’s own red-hot redhead was the star of visits by series author Melanie Jackson last week, courtesy a grant from the Friends of Oshawa Library. In her presentation “Clues to the Art of the Mystery,” Melanie shared the (brrrr!) elements of suspenseful yarns and read from Dinah’s adventures, including the recently Silver Birch-nominated Shadows on the Train. Di-namic thanks to the OPL, especially children’s librarians Dinah (great name, btw) Gough and Brianne Wilkins. And to all the kids who asked a HUGE amount of questions. Curiosity is what mysteries are all about, after all.

Launches, launching & launched

Julia — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:02:00 +0000

This past weekend Lois Peterson launched her new novel Meeting Miss 405. Congratulations Lois! Read more about this event on her blog.

On November 4, four Orca authors (Robin Stevenson, Jeff Rud, Sarah Harvey and Meg Tilly) will be reading from and signing their latest books at Bolen Books in the Hillside Mall in Victoria. This is a free public event for readers of all ages. We’ll make sure to post some pictures of this event on our Facebook page for those of you who aren’t close enough to stop by and say hi. We Promise.

Interested in learning more about one of the books being launched tomorrow? Times Colonist recently wrote an article here about Meg Tilly’s new book.

Book Splash 2008

Julia — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:43:50 +0000

Don Trembath, Jacqueline Pearce, Robin Stevenson, Andrea Spalding and Rachel Dunstan Muller

Last week a handful of Orca authors participated in Book Splash 2008. The event was organized by the Orca Coast Literature Festival Society (OCLFS), a registered non-profit organization whose primary goals are to provide literary events for members of the community and to increase awareness of the literary talent we have in Canada. OCLFS invited the authors to go to schools to talk about how to write. “The whole point is to get kids excited about reading,” said Hayes, one of the members of the OCLFS. “Our thought is if they meet an author, it just makes it more real.” The authors involved were Rachel Dunstan Muller, Jacqueline Pearce, Andrea Spalding, Robin Stevenson and Don Trembath. For more detailed information about the event and the authors read the article at the Cowichan News Leader and Pictorial.

“What World is Left” book launch a success!

Julia — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:19:06 +0000

Monique Polak celebrated the launch of her new teen novel, What World is Left, held last Thursday night (October 23) at Marianopolis College in Montreal. Over 250 people attended, many books were sold and the star of the evening was Monique’s mom, Celien Spier (the book is based on Celien’s childhood).

Yesterday Monique and Celien were interviewed on the CBC radio show, All In a Weekend . It is a great interview, outlining some of Celien’s experiences during World War II and how Monique came to the decision to write this book. Listen to it here.

Anita Daher interview online.

Julia — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:32:53 +0000

Shaw TV Winnipeg interviews Anita Daher about her new book Poachers in the Pingos.

Check out the video here!

Please note: You will need to have Windows Media Player 7.1 or higher to see this streaming video.