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)”
Tag: Primary presenters
Hune, Bernice (Toronto)
Storytellers of Canada. Gold Mountain Stories. Traditional Asian folklore & Canada’s immigrant history (FDK – 12). Per session, 80-100 students. Three Sessions $625 + travel from Toronto. Continue reading “Hune, Bernice (Toronto)”
Nicholson, Lorna Schultz (Alberta)
Writers’ Union Member. Fiction and NF. Multi nominations and awards. K-12.Adults. $300 plus HST for 1 session, $550 for 2, $750 for 3 and $900 for 4. Travel will need to be negotiated. She always has accommodations in Toronto and Niagara.
Lorna Schultz Nicholson has two books being released fall 2019. Just Three is a hi-lo Orca Currents novel, and can be compared to a modern day Parent Trap. PK Subban: Amazing Hockey Stories (Scholastic) is a non-fiction complete with text, photos and graphics.
Sherrard, Valerie (Miramichi NB)

GG nominated, award-winning author.
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.
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!
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:
McKay, Sharon (Burlington ON)
Writers’ Union Member. Sharon travels across Canada several times a year. Sharon E. McKay (Mick-EYE) writes fact-based fiction for young adults. Multi-awards, all ages.
Flat fee of $900 for a full day, four sessions and includes a free (optional) brown-bag lunch for anyone interested in writing. Flat fee of $600 for an afternoon. Parents and media are welcome in all sessions.
Virtual Visits: $150, 60 minutes, Skype. Continue reading “McKay, Sharon (Burlington ON)”
McNicoll, Sylvia (Burlington)
DEAL:To celebrate The Great Mistake Mysteries travelling to Russia, Sylvia McNicoll will include a free Snake Mistake with every author visit booked before November 30.
Writers’ Union Member. Silver Birch Winner, Creative Writing Instructor Grade 2-Adult
RATES: $300 solo session, $525 for two sessions Continue reading “McNicoll, Sylvia (Burlington)”
Wilson, Janet (Eden Mills, ON)

The key to the success of my talks is stories—let extraordinary young activists deliver their hopeful and helpful messages in their own video-taped voices, or in their art and music. My aim is to inspire students to feel deeply, empower them to act responsibly, and motivate them to learn and think critically. By example, the activists show that by working together and making positive choices, even small efforts can make the world better and kinder.
Presentation rates:
Virtual 60-minute presentation rates:
- One = $250
- Two = $425
- Three = $550
- Four = $700
In person 60-minute presentation rates:
- One = $350
- Two = $550
- Three = $750
- Four = $950
- Keynote for 150+ audience: $550
Add HST (13%)
*Special flat fee mileage: $25, $50 over 50k
Schools can share the day with a nearby school for additional savings.
The subject matter is best suited for grades 3 – 8.
The Writers’ Union, subsidies may be available: http://www.writersunion.ca/content/writers-schools
Presentation Descriptions:
Inspiring Young Hearts and Minds:
Topics in this general presentation include:
- Environmental & Climate Justice, animal protection, tree planting
- First Nations: philosophy, values, water protection, education equity
- Child rights & social justice: inequality, hunger, homelessness
- Compassion & kindness, peace, Black Lives Matter, refugees,
In the days before the virtual visit, I send three 10-minute movies narrated by me, with excerpts from speeches and interviews of the featured activists. This allows students to prepare questions in advance of the hour-long Q & A.
The Climate Emergency: Kids to the Rescue!
Eco-Anxiety over the looming climate crisis is affecting many young people. When Greta Thunberg cried, “Our house is on fire!”, the world listened. Youth activism is making a profound difference. Speaking out and taking action is proving to be an antidote to children’s fear and worry about the future. Through inspiring true stories of young environmental and indigenous activists, this presentation encourages kids to learn the science, find their voice, and imagine a more sustainable way of living on our precious Earth.
First Nations Truth and Reconciliation:
Shannen Koostachin’s grade 8 class launched a national campaign for the right to a decent school in Attawapiskat First Nation—and won! This important true story raises awareness of contemporary FN issues such as inequality in education and services, true Aboriginal history and treaty rights, and the impact of residential schools. Shannen and the Dream for a School
Our Future: How Kids are Taking Action:
Hope and optimism is the antidote to the fear and worry young people are experiencing over disturbing news: the climate crisis, gun violence, racism, cyber-bullying, and animal extinctions, and on and on. Empowered child activists have taken action against injustice, inequity, and environmental degradation, and in doing so have made changes to improve their future. Children want to be part of the solution to the world’s problems. Our Future offers indigenous perspectives and simple suggestions to inspire the activist in all of us.
The Hero Within:
True heroes don’t need capes or radio-active rodent bites. They just need big hearts and the courage to be leaders, stand up for the rights of children, and take action against unfairness and injustice. Compassionate young role models show kids how they can make a difference and create a more equitable world.
Contact Janet to book a visit:
Larsen, Andrew (Toronto, ON)
Picture book author, Blue Spruce nominated, award winning, inspiring. Andrew is presently taking bookings for virtual visits. Even though we are necessarily apart, we are connected by our stories. Andrew would love to share his stories with your students. He charges $250 + HST for a single virtual visit (approximately 45 minutes).
In person visits are $300 + HST for a single session and $500 + HST for an entire morning or afternoon. Andrew charges for travel only when visiting locations outside of Toronto.
Andrew is convinced that we all have stories to tell and our own way of telling them. His presentations inspire students to believe they have what it takes to discover their own stories and to share them.
Presentation Details
Grades JK – 3: (approximately 40 minutes) We’re all storytellers. We’re born that way. We tell stories when we play, pretend, squiggle and dream. Andrew encourages students to recognize that they are surrounded by stories just waiting to be told. Some of those stories are made up. Some are based on real events or real people. He talks about how ideas grow into stories and, in turn, stories can grow into books. Using show and tell, an unforgettable magic trick, and an engaging style, Andrew inspires the belief that we can all be authors. He demonstrates how a single piece of paper can be turned into a book, ready to be filled with words or pictures. He reads one of his own books and, finally, he welcomes questions. Andrew leaves students wanting to make their own books and share their own stories.
Grades 4, 5 and 6: (approximately 50 minutes) Andrew believes that a story is a story is story, whether the story is told in a picture book or in a chapter book. Building on his conviction that we all have stories to tell, Andrew talks about the value of keeping a writer’s journal. Keeping a journal reminds us that we are all writers! We all have stories to tell! Andrew talks about how the seed of an idea, jotted in a journal, can grow into paragraph. A paragraph can grow into a chapter and a chapter can grow into a book. We are all authors! He reads from Dingus, his middle-grade chapter book.
Family Literacy Events: Andrew loves to engage families and to instill a sense of fun in the stories we share together. Some of the best stories begin at home with our families. Andrew talks about how most of his own stories began at home. Some even began as handmade, homemade books. A great way to wind up a family literacy event is to engage families in the making of a book. Andrew’s family literacy events are fun! Most of all, they’re inspiring.
Andrew will happily present to any number of students. He has presented to as few as 6 and as many as 250. Andrew will present in a classroom, library, gym or under a tree. He loves to do presentations for Family Literacy Events (fun for the whole family!) If it is a large group Andrew will require a laptop and projector.
Contact Andrew Larsen:
Storms, Patricia (Toronto)
Writers’ Union Member. Fun and funny cartoonist, children’s illustrator and picture book author and ukulele lady. $300 + HST for 1 session, $500 for 2, $800 for 3 and $1,000 for 4. Continue reading “Storms, Patricia (Toronto)”
Boudreau, Hélène (Markham ON)
Not available for bookings at this time. Writers’ Union Member. Parents’ Choice Award. Fiction. Non-Fiction. Humour. Picture Book. Middle Grade. Tween. K to 8. Hélène’s rate is $250 for one 45-60 min session, $450 for 2, $650 for 3, $850 for 4 (max 4 per day), plus travel by car. HST extra. Continue reading “Boudreau, Hélène (Markham ON)”