Tag: poetry

Jones, Kevin (aka Kevin heronJones) Brampton, Ontario

(Writer’s Union), Hackmatack Award Nominee (2023)  Named Brampton’s Official Writer-in-Residence (2025) Knowledge Bookstore nomination for best spoken word CD recording (2011) Telly Award: Video production of heronJones Presents The Season (2006) Golden Sheaf Award nomination for the Yorkton Short Film Festival multicultural category for heronJones Presents The Season (2006) Roots Lounge Slam Poetry Champion (Multi Awards) Wordlympics Team Poetry Slam Runner-up (2004) Urban Music Association of Canada nomination for best poetry recording (2001)

In Person and Virtual Visits.  Grade four to University in age:

Workshops/Author Readings $400 per session (1 hr)

Workshops include Performance/reading along with lecture and coaching (up to 40 students per session)

Author Readings include Live reading and discussion (no restrictions on number of students)

Performances $400 per session (1hr)

Performances include Live show/concert with Q&A (no restrictions on number of students)

Travel rates .50 cents per kilometer, round-trip outside of the GTA

Multiple sessions up to 4 per day are negotiable

Kevin heronJones is a novelist, poet, journalist, editor, narrator and lecturer. This electrifying artist is best known for his profound and powerful delivery. He is currently serving as the city of Brampton’s first Writer-in-Residence. He grew up in Jane/Finch Toronto and Brampton.  He studied journalism at Sheridan College and creative writing with the University of Toronto. He is the founder of PoeticSoul, an organization dedicated to promoting the poetic arts scene and providing lovers of poetry with quality entertainment. He’s held numerous workshops for students throughout the Greater Toronto Area, providing an interactive introduction to storytelling and spoken word where students are challenged to create their own prose and oratory creations and believe in their creative abilities. He has authored three published novels, three books of poetry, he has recorded three spoken word poetry CDs and narrates literature through his Listen Fiction platform.

Writing Fiction Workshop: Finding Inspiration

60 minutes, grades – 4-8

Students are encouraged to create their own stories with coaching from Kevin Jones

How do we know what to write? Inspiration comes from the places we least expect (the places we don’t pay attention to)

What is your favourite show, movie, song, poem?

What is your favourite saying, quote, lyric?

What excites you, makes you mad, happy, upset?

What are the top news stories? What did you read on a billboard today? What did you see in a commercial?

These are possible starting points when you are trying to figure out what to write

* Additional Writing Workshops can be constructed to suit your school’s writing goals and student interests.

Author Reading

60 minutes, grades – Elementary/Middle School/Secondary

Narration/reading excerpt of Half Court Trap or Not Talking About You (Elementary/Middle School)

Narration/reading excerpt of Hacking Heartbreak (Middle School/Secondary)

Discussion of novel’s themes

  • Half-Court Trap – Body image, sportsmanship and bullying
  • Not Talking About you – Racism and sportsmanship
  • Hacking Heartbreak – Social media ethics, romantic relationships and cyberbullying

Black History Month Assembly:

60 minutes, grades – Elementary/Middle School/Secondary

Spoken word poetry performance

Talk about equality

Celebration of African achievements

African History facts

Q & A

Writing Poetry Workshop:

60 minutes, grades – Elementary/Middle School/Secondary/College

Spoken word poetry performance

Storytelling and Poetry for Beginners (Elementary school students)

The Art of the Spoken Word (Secondary school students)

How to Write and Perform Slam Poetry (Secondary school, College/University)

Urban Griots (College/University students)

What You Think Is What You Are (Business/General public)

Preferred Venues 

Workshops – Classroom or library

Poetry performances – Gymnasium or Theatre

Author Readings – No stipulation

Tech Required

Projector for workshopsand author readings

Book Kevin for a visit

    Campbell, Ashlee (Toronto, Ontario)

    Bilingual early elementary picture book (Spanish/English). All ages.

    $200 plus HST for 1 session, $350 for 2, $500 for 3 and $650 for 4, + travel (50 cents per kilometer, round-trip for SW ON). Virtual Visits: $150 plus HST, for one session, 20-60 minutes, $125 for each additional session on the same day.

    Ashlee is an experienced speaker and Creative Writing teacher at the highschool and elementary levels. Ashlee tailors her talks to each group and is available to present in English, Spanish and French or a combination of languages of instruction. Ashlee is available to do multiple talks or workshops over the course of the day with groups ranging from kindergarten to high school. As a homeschool co-op organizer Ashlee also prepares talks and workshops for mixed-age groups. Ashlee has also given talks on writing, publishing and the author’s journey for adult groups.

    Sample pre-recorded workshops available upon request. Ashlee also takes workshop requests.

    Examples of workshop options:

    All presentations available in English, French and Spanish or a combination of language of instruction.

    JK- Gr. 2 – 45 – 60 mins (including speaker-led multilingual “brain breaks” for children)

    Reading of “Senora Sanasana” followed by a character creation workshop including a LA tie-in worksheet for Gr. 2 and a drawing activity for younger ages.

    OR

    Reading of “Senora Sanasana” followed by learning Spanish words and class discussion about languages spoken and heard in the children’s home and communities and creation of a classroom word cloud of words in other languages the children know.

    Gr. 3-6 – 45 – 60 mins

    Character creation workshop based on common nursery rhymes, sayings and idiomatic expressions, including worksheet and writing activity and group discussion about the rhymes and sayings from their diverse backgrounds. Workshop includes time for students to share their characters.

    Highschool – 45 – 60 mins or two sessions for increased content creation time

    Introduction to critique circle practices and character creation workshop (see above). Workshop includes discussion of “own voice” stories and how to create supportive, compassionate and constructive writing critique groups.

    Adults – 45 – 60 mins

    “Abundance versus scarcity for artists” – this is a talk on having an “abundance” mentality as an artist, basing our creative practices on the belief that there is enough space and enough audience in the world for everyone’s art and writing. This talk also delves into how we define success and takes an anti-capitalist approach to redefining both “success” and “audience” in order for artists to thrive.

    All Venues. All Group Sizes. Equipment required: A table or podium. A microphone for larger groups or in the gym, or if the room acoustics require it. A screen and projector for power-point.

    Contact Ashlee to book a visit:

      Hohn, Nadia (Toronto)

      The Writers Union member. Picture book. All ages. $350 for 1 session (60 min) $ 600 for 2 sessions of 60 minutes (1/2 day)$ 400 for 2 x 30 minute sessions (great for JK to 1). Full day (4 sessions) $ 1000. + kilometrage. Can present in English and French.

      Malaika’s Costume (2016) and Malaika’s Winter Carnival (2017).

      Continue reading “Hohn, Nadia (Toronto)”

      Rasberry, Gary (Kingston)

      Gary Rasberry Philosopher. Poet. Imagination Consultant. Musician. Artist. Educator. Juno-nominated children’s artist. Award-winning classroom creativity workshop facilitator. Workshop rates: $250 for one, $450 for two, $650 for three,$850 for four. Concert rates: Same as above for divisional concerts (JK, Primary, Junior, Intermediate). Full school performance: $550. Combo day: three workshops plus full school performance: $1000, plus travel. Continue reading “Rasberry, Gary (Kingston)”

      Sherrard, Valerie (Miramichi NB)

      Valerie Sherrard

      GG nominated, award-winning author. Valerie Sherrard has been named the 2024 Literary Arts Laureate of the New Brunswick Lieutenant Governor’s Award for High Achievement in the Arts.

      Virtual Visit: $225.00 for a 60 minute presentation.

      In school visits: $300 for a single presentation or $550 for two at one location. Full day workshop 700.00.  Expenses are included in all fees. For in-school visit dates — please contact Valerie and she will let you know when she plans to be in Ontario.

      Valerie is an experienced presenter (in-person and virtual visits) who uses humour and an interactive style to engage her audience. Feedback from her school and library visits has been enthusiastic.

      Standing On Neptune – middle grade novel in verse. Poems. Poetry.

      Birdspell Corbin Hayes is used to being alone. His mom’s illness means lost jobs, constant moves, new schools and friendships that never get to grow. So, when a classmate offers Corbin the talking bird she can no longer keep, he sees a chance to fill the gap in his life. But when things begin to spiral out of control, Corbin can no longer cope. At his lowest moment, he’s forced to do the one thing he fears the most. Young Adult.

      Finding Avalon  Avalon Monday doesn’t mind telling schoolmates that her mother ran off with a guy she met on the internet. After all, that’s way less embarrassing than the truth. But when the past collides with the present, exposing her secret and threatening to leave her new life in ruins, Avalon discovers there are some things you can never truly leave behind.

      Cooper Clark and the Dragon Lady  (Chapter Book) Desperate measures are called for when a boy is secretly afraid of dragons, but his new babysitter is rumoured to have a dragon in her basement!

      Counting Back From Nine. Novel in verse. Poem. Poetry.

      Presentations: I will present to grades 1 – 9. A signed bookmark or postcard will be provided for each student at all in-person presentations.

      Grades 1 – 3: There’s a COW Under My Bed! or Down Here! Fun and interactive talk about expressions and language, and students’ own creative abilities. Reading with audience participation. I end with a short Q & A. For these grades you may book two half hour presentations in the place of a single 60 minute session if you prefer.

      Middle Grades: Engaging interactive presentation on literacy, with or without issue-based segments depending on the book being presented. I end with a short reading and about 10 minutes for Q & A.

      Young Adult: Engaging and interactive presentation on literacy, believing in oneself and a variety of writing or issue related topics, depending on the requested focus. I end with a short reading and about 10 minutes for Q & A.

      Workshop for grades 6 and up: A Story’s Voice. This full day workshop is designed to help young people develop distinctive voices in their writing by examining the way character, setting, perspective, dialogue, tense etc. impact in telling a story. Writing exercises will demonstrate how each of these support a story in different ways, and help them to recognize which components will work best for their stories. Limited to 15 participants. Available virtually – contact to discuss a suitable arrangement.

      I am flexible on audience size but in my experience, smaller in-person groups result in the greatest benefit to students. I am comfortable in all settings, including classroom, library, auditorium or gymnasium.

      A sound system may be necessary depending on audience size, acoustics and the number of presentations booked.

      Contact Valerie: