If you are in the Vancouver area between Oct 21st and 26th we highly recommend checking out some of the events happening at the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. The Writers Festival is one of North America’s premiere literary events attracting some of the world’s best writers to Vancouver. Included in the festival is the well known “Spreading the Word” school program which offers K-12 students and teachers the rare opportunity to engage with internationally renowned writers both at the Festival and in the classroom. This year “Spreading the Word” has 34 great events for grades K-12 including presentations by Orca authors  Sheree Fitch,  Hazel Hutchins, Jean Little & Eric Walters.

Hope to see you there!

Posted under Authors, Events, Orca Updates

What is it like being a writer in the Interior of British Columbia? The writing part is like being a writer anywhere—solitary and demanding—only my distractions may differ a bit and the kinds of local writer-ly things I do.

Two weeks ago I was invited to read at the Clearwater Farmers’ Market. There, among the homegrown veggies, honeys, jams, and crafts, I had a cozy reading area set up where I read to an attentive audience that ranged from infants to adults. It was fun, I sold 28 books and brought home some great treats!

Last week I read Forestry A-Z to grades four and five at 100 Mile Elementary. It was the first author reading for many of them, but their teacher-librarian had them well prepared. They were an especially keen audience because many of them had family and/or friends who worked in the forest industry. They had also had an interactive field trip the week before to a demonstration forest for National Forestry Week.

This week I’ll be part of an evening’s entertainment at our local seniors’ home, reading a story I wrote about making dill pickles. Other acts include an excellent flamenco dancer accompanied by live guitar, a singer, a clown, and a drum circle. I also had a call this week from a Peruvian friend who is putting together a cookbook. She wanted to know if I would taste some of her recipes in exchange for checking her grammar. Will work for food!

Posted under Authors, Guest Author Blog

Shelley Hrdlitschka is hearing nothing but good things about her latest novel, Sister Wife. Called “brave” by one reviewer, Shelley tackles the topic of two girls growing up in a polygamous community in this fictional book for young adults.

Shelley was recently interviewed by Stephen Clare on his blog Scenes of the Crime, and talks about her inspiration for writing this novel (media coverage of the community of Bountiful, B.C.) and what she found most challenging (representing all the sides of the issue fairly). Check it out!

Nikki Tate did an audio review about Sister Wife on her weekly teen book review with CBC Britsih Columbia. Listen to it here!

Posted under Announcements, Authors, Books, Writer Blogs

Orca author Troy Wilson has just launched his “Be a Book Hero” project. For every twenty dollars donated, he’ll send an autographed copy of Perfect Man to any school library (of the donor’s choice) in North America,  a 8 1/2 x 11 color sketch of himself as the superhero of your choosing, with a caption that reads, “What are your super powers?” and donate $7.50 to either Love of Reading (Canada) or Reader to Reader (USA).

Posted under Announcements, Authors, Books

Did you know that Orca author Caroline Adderson has been named Vancouver Public Library’s 2008 Writer-In-Residence? Before she began writing children’s books, Caroline carved out quite a name for herself writing two award-winning novels with international acclaim, A History of Forgetting and Sitting Practice. Caroline’s collection of short stories for emergent readers, I, Bruno, was published with Orca last year. Readers may remember 7-year-old Bruno and his intense dislike of all things green (think: vegetables!).

Besides attending Word on the Street in Vancouver last weekend, Caroline has been busy leading workshops at the Canadian Book Camp as part of her tenure. Coming up this weekend, Caroline will be presenting a book-making workshop with illustrator Kathie Shoemaker. Adults and children are welcome to come together, as Caroline will be gearing this towards ages 4-6.

When: Sunday October 5, 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Where: Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch

To sign up: Pre-registration is required (604-331-4041), but hey, it’s FREE!

For those of you who have been in Bruno-withdrawl all year, you need only wait a few more months! Coming out in Spring 2009 with Orca is the follow-up to I, Bruno, titled Bruno, For Real, which will be an encore performance of Bruno’s antics. 

Congratulations to Caroline!

Posted under Announcements, Authors, Events