Author: Caroline Fernandez
Leatherdale, Mary Beth (Toronto, ON)
Writers’ Union Member. SCBWI. CANSCAIP. Mary Beth’s rates are $300 for one session, $500 for two, $800 for three. HST applies to all sessions. No travel costs within Toronto or if I am in your city. www.marybethleatherdale.com
Mary Beth Leatherdale is the award-winning author and editor of many books for children and youth, including You Can Be an Activist, Terry Fox and Me, and Stormy Seas. Her books have received many starred reviews and have won or been shortlisted for awards including the Silver Birch Award, the Norma Fleck Award, the YALSA Excellence in Non-Fiction for Young Adults Award, the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, and have been selected for readers’ choice awards in Ontario, British Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Texas, and Bangkok. Mary Beth has presented at schools and libraries in Ontario, British Columbia, Missouri, Texas, and Turkey. Her work has been translated into several languages, including Italian, Korean, German, and Turkish.
Before becoming a freelance editor, Mary Beth was the editorial director at Owlkids and the editor of Chirp and OWL magazines. She has a Master of Education from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE).
Ms. Leatherdale’s book, Stormy Seas, and the personal rapport she was able to develop with our students during her virtual visit have made a lasting impact on this next generation.
Alice McGoldrick, St. Rita’s School, Dallas, Texas
PRESENTATION STYLE SCHOOL VISITS:
JK- Gr. 3 – True Stories With a Twist
Storytelling session with two of her picture books plus Q & A. For older children she shares a PowerPoint presentation, focusing on the challenges of finding a fresh take on a familiar story and showing how an idea turns into a book.
Gr. 4-8: – When the Water is Safer than the Land
This social-justice-related presentation focuses on Mary Beth’s award-winning book STORMY SEAS. In an interactive presentation, students are invited to take on the roles of the young boat refugees featured in the book. Through discussion and PowerPoint resources, we explore the factors that force families to leave their home, the difficult choices asylum seekers must make, the challenges of adapting to and the contributions immigrants make in their a new home. Works best in a classroom or library space.
Gr. 4-8: You Can Be an Activist
Want to make a positive impact on the world? But not sure how? Drawing from the You Can Be an Activist handbook, this interactive presentation leads students through a workshop on how they can use their own strengths, passions, and interests to create social change that benefits people and the planet in their community and beyond. Practical tips on choosing a cause, setting goals, making a plan and leading a team will be discussed. As well, there will be an opportunity for student-directed learning on human rights and social justice issues.
*ALL PRESENTATIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR VIRTUAL VISITS.
Mary Beth is happy to adapt her presentations to meet the curriculum needs of teachers. Educator’s guides are available online.
Contact Mary Beth:
Authors’ Activity Sheets & Teacher Guides
Many of our authors and illustrators have activity sheets and teacher’s guide available to you. Search the author (you can use search box on the right side of this screen ->) and contact them directly via their contact form to get the activities and guides.
E-books available
Coaching
Extra Services: Editing, Writing Coaching, Manuscript Critiques
Lukidis, Lydia (Montreal, Quebec)
Award winning author Lydia Lukidis, shortlisted for a Silver Birch Express (Forest of Reading) Award and nominated for a Cybils ...
Bailey, Jen Lynn (Ottawa, ON)
Photo Credit: Sam Bond Photography Jen Lynn Bailey is an award-winning children’s author and certified Ontario elementary teacher. She is ...
Hughes, Susan (Toronto, ON)
Writers Union Member. Canscaip. SCBWI. Fiction & NF, multiple Forest of Reading nominations. Multi awards. Mainly grades K to 6 ...
Payne, Mary Jennifer (Toronto, ON)
Mary Jennifer’s rate is $300 plus HST per session, plus travel from Toronto. For multiple visits within the same day ...
Authors’ Activity Sheets & Teacher Guides
Many of our authors and illustrators have activity sheets and teacher's guide available to you. Search the author (you can ...
Camlot, Heather (Toronto, ON)
Writers’ Union Member. Fiction and nonfiction writer. Heather’s rates are $300 for one session, $550 for two, $800 for three ...
Winters, Kari-Lynn (St. Catharines)
St. Catharines. Writers’ Union Member. World traveling picture book and non-fiction author, storyteller, and performer. $375.00 for one session (50-55 min), ...
Sher, Emil (Toronto, ON)
Writers’ Union Member. Emil’s rates are (add HST) $350 for one session, $500 for two in the same half-day, $700 for three and $900 for four (max. 4 per day, min 2 per half-day if outside GTA). A limited number of subsidies are available for Unpacking the Holocaust: A Playwright’s Journey.
Emil’s author visits have taken him across Ontario and to Quebec, Nova Scotia and the Yukon, and he has been warmly received by teachers and students alike.
“Emil takes the students on an emotional, real and engaging journey through captivating visuals and heartfelt storytelling. Amazing!” (Clayton Park Junior High, Halifax)
“Mr Sher – I think you should write a book about yourself. I think you should do more good work of teaching ‘cause it was amazing! Don’t change anything!” (Grey Mountain Primary School, Whitehorse)
Emil writes for children of all ages, from babies to teens. His debut young adult novel, Young Man with Camera, was a Governor General’s Award finalist and described as “one of the few books for this generation that will stick with them into adulthood.” He has written acclaimed board books and picture books, and his adaptation of Hana’s Suitcase, the beloved book by Karen Levine, was heralded as “an exceptional means to teach young children about the Holocaust.”
Young Man with Camera: Behind the Scenes (Grade 5 and up)
Emil takes students behind the scenes of a novel punctuated with striking photographs. Students are given a glimpse of the writing process — how much of writing is rewriting — and then explore the book’s themes. In small groups they look at a photograph and are asked to make up a story about what might have happened beyond the frame, to consider a fundamental question about how we interpret the world: for all that we see, what goes unseen and unsai
Unpacking the Holocaust: A Playwright’s Journey (Grade 5 and up)
What are the challenges, the choices, the considerations when the Holocaust is to be both honoured and dramatized on stage? How can sets, costumes, masks, slides and silence give voice to an unspeakable tragedy? Emil uses projections and video footage from past productions of Hana’s Suitcase to explore the choices he made in taking a book and retelling it on stage.
Away We Go: Storytelling with Sticky Notes (Grade 1 – 3) This picture book about a young child’s fears about going to sleepover camp for the first time is told entirely through sticky notes. Emil inflates a balloon and shares his board books and picture books to illustrate the basics of storytelling. This leads to a hands-on workshop where students use illustrator Qin Leng’s rough sketches to write and illustrate their own version of Away.
Emil’s presentations are approximately one hour. He has other presentations he can share upon request and is happy to create workshops for writers’ craft classes and to modify his talks to meet the curriculum needs of teachers.
Equipment requirements: a screen and projector he can connect to his MacBook, and a table for materials.
Contact Emil for a visit:
Grants and Subsidies for Author Visits
Ontario Writers-In-The-Schools
With the assistance of the Ontario Arts Council, The Writers’ Union of Canada funds author visits to Ontario elementary and secondary schools. The Union subsidizes a portion of the author’s reading fee and travel and accommodation costs.
For more information: https://www.writersunion.ca/ontario-writers-schools
National Public Readings
The Writers’ Union of Canada offers funding to hosts for authors to read in public venues across Canada through two programs:
Funding Programs by the League of Canadian Poets
- Ontario members of the League are eligible for our Poets in the Schools program, for visits (virtual or in-class) to Ontario schools
Young Alberta Book Society
- Young Alberta Book Society. Travel funding to hosts in Alberta. https://www.yabs.ab.ca/
Withers, Pam
Writers’ Union Member. Red Maple nominee 2013, 2019 and 2020. YA. Silver Nautilus Book Award 2012. Numerous other award nominations. $225 virtual visit with Pam, co-author Arooj Hayat*, or both; $300 for one session, $500 for two, $700 for three. No HST; includes all expenses. No maximum audience size. Occasional pickup/drop-off requested.
Writers’ Union Member. MYRCA Northern Lights 2026. Chocolate Lily nominee 2024. Red Maple nominee 2013, 2019 and 2020. Silver Nautilus Book Award 2012 and 2020. $225 virtual visit; $300 for one session, $500 for two, $700 for three. No HST; includes all expenses. No maximum audience size. Occasional pickup/drop-off requested.
Latest release: Cave-In (Sept. 2024). Pam has written 23 best-selling YA sports and outdoor adventure novels particularly popular with teen boys. A former journalist, editor and outdoor guide, she’s a high-energy, humorous presenter who tours extensively. Just ask when she’s next in your area.
Silver Nautilus Book Award 2012
Silver Nautilus Book Award 2012 and 2020
Pam has written 21 best-selling YA sports and outdoor adventure books particularly popular with teen boys. A former journalist, editor and outdoor guide who has kayaked the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, she’s a sought-after speaker for her high-energy, humorous presentations. She has presented extensively across North America for 30 years. The Parkour Club (written by Pam and co-author Arooj Hayat*), promotes cultural diversity and counters Islamophobia (while being a nail-biting sports and adventure story). One Egyptian YA book reviewer wrote, “a story for the whole world to read and learn from.”
Her lively one-hour presentation for grades 4-12 includes:
Short readings
Tales of her own adventures
Humorous anecdotes of how she researches her material
The patience & persistence it takes to achieve success
Special encouragement to boys
The importance of rewriting & accepting criticism
Tips on writing & getting published
Extreme-sports video clips
Q & A time
Writing workshop: Pam also offers a fun, one-hour interactive workshop on doing research to make your writing more real.
Equipment required for in-person visits: Projector and laptop for my USB flash drive; table and water.
Contact Pam to book a visit:
Sher, Emil (Toronto, ON)
Coming Soon
Singh, Rina (Toronto, ON)
SCBWI and CANSCAIP Member. Kirkus & Publisher’s Weekly Starred Reviews 2018. Picture Books. Diverse Books. Non-Fiction. Writing Workshops. Grade 3 and up. Rina’s rate is $350 for the first session, and an additional $150 for the second session. No travel costs within Toronto. She does not charge HST.
Rina Singh is an award-winning Children’s Author and Spoken Word coach. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Concordia University, Montreal, and a teaching degree from McGill University. She has written many critically acclaimed books for children. As a writer, she is drawn to real life stories about social justice and the environment.
Grandmother School, (Orca Books) which won the BC & Yukon Prize for literature affirms the life-changing power of education. A Garden of Grenades, (Greystone Books) told in free verse, reimagines our troubled world through the lens of love and compassion. 111 Trees, (Kids Can Press) which won the Social Justice literature award and was nominated for the Yellow Cedar award celebrates the unfailing greatness of human spirit and inspires us to become eco-feminists.
Her books have been translated in many languages and have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist.
Rina has done readings and workshops in schools, libraries, and literary festivals across Canada, including TD Children’s Book Week in 2012 and 2018. In 2014, she also presented at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content in Singapore and Reading for the Love of it in Toronto (2015). She is an Ontario Certified Teacher and has taught visual arts, drama, and creative writing in Toronto for 25 years. She is also a tdsbCREATES mentor artist for Spoken Word.
BOOK TALK: Where do Stories Come From?
In this 1-hour visual presentation, Rina looks back over her own life and career, and using examples of the books she has written, she asks the audience to think about where stories and ideas come from. She shows how a book comes together, from first idea to first draft and through the re-writing process. The last twenty minutes of the presentation are interactive. This presentation will appeal even to the most reluctant readers.
Writing Workshops (75 minutes)
Option #1
In this fast-paced workshop, participants will explore how they can use their own experiences and curiosity and create compelling stories and poems using lyrical language. The workshop will end with student readings.
Grade 3-6 Preferred group size 30 students (for optimal interaction with students)
Rina also has a book on Diwali and rich cultural presentation.
Equipment Required
Rina is comfortable presenting in a classroom, library, or auditorium. She requires a glass of water, a table to display books, a screen, laptop and LCD projector for Power Point. She requests that a librarian, teacher, or other school representative be present throughout the presentation.