Currie, Susan (Brampton, Ontario)

Member: Writer’s Union of Canada, Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators. Winner: Second Story Press’s Aboriginal Writing Award. Finalist: Ontario White Pine Award, Ontario Silver Birch Award, CLA Book of the Year for Children, CODE Burt Award, Hackmatack Award, Manitoba Young Reader’s Choice Award, First Nations Communities Read Award. Several times included in Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Books for Children and Teens. All ages from 8 and up. Up to 100 or so participants. $250 for one session, $450 for two, $675 for three, $900 for a full day (four sessions). Plus a travel fee of $0.50/km to and from Brampton, Ontario. Virtual visits $200 plus HST for 30-60 minutes, $150 plus HST for each subsequent session on the same day.

Susan Currie is a passionate and dynamic elementary teacher in Brampton, Ontario. Before she entered the public school system, she earned a living as an accompanist, music director, choir director, dinner musician, leader of various music programs for children, and piano teacher. She’s the author of two middle grade novels, and two YA novels. Her novels all explore themes of friendship, music, navigating challenges, being resilient, and finding your identity. She has also written three nonfiction books on Indigenous topics. Susan has been on multiple Indigenous writing teams through the Elementary Federation of Ontario. She wrote lesson plans and prompts for Spark, Pearson’s online reading program. Susan is an adoptee who was in the foster care system briefly as a baby, and only learned of her Haudenosaunee heritage (Cayuga Nation, Turtle Clan) as an adult. She is happily married to John and has a wonderful daughter named Rachel.

Susan is extremely flexible as a presenter and can customize a presentation to the needs of each venue. Through years in the classroom, she is very comfortable engaging in conversation with young people. In each presentation, she will include readings from her books and a Q and A. Possible topics could include the following, but please reach out to discuss your needs as Susan will happily customize a session.

  • Friendship, strategies for building your voice, facing down bullies
  • Notable Indigenous figures like Autumn Peltier; telling how she has fought to protect water around the world; sharing how you can help
  • The history of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Cayuga Nation, including life long ago, the impact of the Indian Act, and the rise of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; what you can do to help with reconciliation
  • Susan’s own history as an adoptee who later learned her Cayuga heritage
  • Raising awareness of social inequities, such as institutionalized racism, the limited rights of foster children, and differences in opportunities based on socioeconomic status; sharing how you can advocate for others in your immediate community and around the world
  • What it is like to be a writer, with focus on the process of writing a novel, and the steps you go through to have a published book

Susan is also delighted to do writing workshops with small groups (no more than 15 or so). Topics might include the following, but please reach out to discuss your needs as Susan will happily customize a session.

  • Building exciting scenes or characters
  • Fun ways to edit your work that bring your story to vivid life
  • Finding your creative voice
  • Using other art forms to inspire your writing – paintings, pieces of music, dance, etc. Writing a story based on one of these.
  • Telling a story from your life in a dramatically compelling way
  • Writing effective and interesting dialogue
  • Creating a character driven plot

Susan’s Books:

Basket of Beethoven (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2001)

Grades 4-8

Sam, whose single mom is so strapped for cash that she can barely afford food, talks the privileged Helen into teaching him how to play the piano. He has to keep up his end of the bargain, which involves getting rid of the threatening bullies who plague her. But anything is worth having an outlet for the music inside him. Themes: friendship, family, strategies for standing up to bullies, resiliency, courage, music, creativity, imagination.

The Mask that Sang (Second Story Press, 2016)

Grades 4-8

Cass learns about her Indigenous identity via a mysterious Haudenosaunee mask that shows her visions and sings to her. Through her friendship with Degan, an Indigenous boy, she uncovers what the mask is trying to tell her. Themes: magic realism, bullies, resiliency, systemic racism, residential schools, foster care, loss of identity, found friends, Indigenous history in Canada.

Haudenosaunee: the People and Nations (Saunders/Beech Street, 2023)

Grades 4-12

This nonfiction book explores the history of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the impact of the Indian Act on Indigenous peoples in Canada. It also tells about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and ways that ordinary people can help to fulfil the calls to action. It highlights how the Haudenosaunee are fighting to regain their language and culture.

Amazing Women in Canada: Autumn Peltier (Saunders/Beech Street, 2024)

Grades 3-12

 This nonfiction book tells about Autumn Peltier, who has become a water warrior on the global stage, fighting for the protection of water around the world, and advocating for the rights of people on reserves to have clean water. She has shown resiliency in her mission, not backing down even in the face of negative criticism.

Indigenous People and Nations: Cayuga (Saunders/Beech Street 2026)

Grades 4-12

 This nonfiction book tells about the history of the Cayuga Nation, one of the six nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. While highlighting ways that the Cayuga lived in the past, it also explores the impact of the Indian Act, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the fight to revitalize Cayuga language and culture.

Fierce Voice (Common Deer Press, 2025)

Grades 6-12

This YA novel is the sequel to Iz the Apocalypse (described below). Iz has everything she’s ever wanted: she’s found the foster home of her dreams and is attending the prestigious music school she moved heaven and earth to get into. But secrets from her past keep threatening to spill into the present, and Iz is sure that her newfound loved ones will abandon her if they learn of her terrible history. When she meets Skye, a young foster child with her own terrible secret, Iz must make a dreadful choice—one that could free them both from their demons or completely destroy everything Iz has fought so hard for. Is raising her voice worth the risk? Themes: advocating for foster children; music education; found family; adoption; finding your own power.

Fierce Voice is listed by CBC Books – 23 Canadian books for tweens & teens to read this fall

Iz the Apocalypse (Common Deer Press, 2023)

Grades 6-12

This YA novel is about a musically gifted foster child who does whatever is necessary to be able to attend a prestigious international high school for music and to have a voice of her own. Themes: challenges foster children face, including the way that a disrupted education eliminates many possibilities for the future; how past trauma impacts the present; creativity and the arts; finding identity; loneliness and found family.

All Venues. Equipment required: a glass of water, lunch if she’s staying for the day. A table to spread her things out on. A microphone for larger groups or in the gym. A screen and projector for presenting slides and doing shared writing.

Contact Susan to book a visit:

    Gentile, Leslie (Brentwood Bay, BC)

    Virtual and local in person visit rates: $300 for 45-60 minutes.

    Leslie’s debut middle grade novel Elvis, Me and The Lemonade Stand Summer won the Victoria Children’s Book Prize, The Jean Little First-Novel Award, and has been shortlisted for ten other awards, including The Washington State Library Award 2025.

    Her second novel, Shamus The Urban Rez Dog, P.I. was released in September 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Victoria Children’s Book Prize 2024, The Chocolate Lily Award 2025, and the Langley School District Book of the Year 2025. 

    Her third book, Elvis, Me & The Postcard Winter, is available as of November 2024.

    Leslie is an engaging speaker who very comfortable working with children of all ages. As a musician, she has written songs to accompany each of her books and performs these songs with her readings, which makes for a fun & dynamic visit.

    The Elvis series is an excellent choice for Pink Shirt Day, as themes touch on bullying, racism, and family.

    With Lemonade Stand, Leslie will lead students through an exercise on kindness and unkindness, and empowering choices we can make.

    With Postcard Winter, Truly’s story continues. Leslie will lead students through an exercise on bullying, and what each of us can do in small ways to be allies and good friends.

    And always, there’s music!

    Shamus the Urban Rez Dog, P.I. is a fun-filled detective story with a twist – it’s told by an urban rez dog, trying desperately to fit into townhouse life while helping his kids solve a mystery to get their mom out of trouble. We learn Shamus’ views on racism and the world around him, and readings and songs such as “It’s a Dog’s Life’ and “Bad Dog Blues”.

    Leslie also offers a workshop on writing and getting published for young writers and adults called “Weird Things I Do To Write That Work!” This includes road-tested tricks for developing strong characters, overcoming writer’s block, and some great tips for getting published.

    All of these presentations and visits work equally well virtually and in person, and the larger the group the better! Leslie’s record is 420 students so far…

    Leslie lives in Brentwood Bay with her husband Dan and her German Shepherd who is convinced he’s a lap dog. Though not connected with a specific nation, Leslie is of Salish, Tuscarora and Scottish heritage and lives on Vancouver Island the traditional territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ people.  

    Contact Leslie to book a visit:

      Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk (Brantford ON)

       Writers Union Member. Fiction & NF, Multi awards, internationally bestselling. All ages. $400 plus HST for 1 session, $650 for 2, $900 for 3 and $1100 for 4, + travel (.68 cents per kilometer, round-trip for SW ON).

      Virtual Visits: $300 plus HST, per session.

      Marsha is an experienced and passionate speaker who tailors each presentation to the group in front of her. As the author of picture books, middle grade novels, narrative non-fiction and YA novels, she can present to an entire school over the course of a day. She also loves speaking to adult groups and she loves loves loves giving writing workshops. 

      Presentations by grade

      For most presentations, Marsha reveals her struggles with dyslexia and not being able to read until she was 9. Marsha talks about why she writes about war from a kid’s point of view and why she considers herself a librarian/detective. She also explains how she became a princess if asked.

      Here is an example of her themes by grade:

      JK to 1: two 30 minute storytelling sessions for the price of one full session ($400+HST) using When Mama Goes To Work.

      2 to 4: 45 to 60 minutes: Storytelling session plus Q&A on topic/book of your choice. Most of Marsha’s books delve into the issue of war and displacement from a kid’s point of view. For this age group, this topic can best be presented via specific books:

      Ukraine’s long struggle under war: Silver Threads, Enough.

      Vietnamese refugee books: Sky of Bombs Sky of Stars, Too Young to Escape and Adrift at Sea. 

      Armenian Genocide, orphan refugees: Aram’s Choice, Call Me Aram.

      4 to 8: Most of Marsha’s books are for this age group and she can present her WWII novels, and Winterkill, set during the Holodomor, but Marsha’s most requested presentation right now is about her brand new Kidnapped from Ukraine trilogy. Book one, Under Attack, has received rave reviews including starred reviews from Kirkus and Bookist, plus this from Canadian Children’s Book News:  “…Under Attack is an invaluable must-read and must-have educational resource for public, schools and home libraries everywhere. Lingering long after the last compelling page is turned, this timely book is inarguably a stirring catalyst for in-depth discussion…” Very highly recommended

      Book 2, Standoff, is published on Oct 7, and book 3, Still Alive, will be published in April 2026.

      Maximum group sizes for presentations: 45 for JK to 3. 100+ for everyone else.

      Writing Workshops work best with 16 or so participants

      Writing Workshop Topics:

      Teaching fun self-editing techniques to students in grades 4 to 12.

      How to create an awesome villain.

      How to assist gifted student writers (of any age) without tearing your hair out in frustration.

      Techniques for punching through writer’s block.

      Grade 12 Writers’ Craft personal memoir writing

      Other topics upon request.

      All Venues, library preferred. Equipment required: A glass of water, lunch (egg salad sandwich on brown bread) if she’s staying for the day. A table to spread her things out on. A microphone for larger groups or in the gym, or if the room acoustics are questionable. A screen and projector for power-point.

      Please note: Her surname is pronounced SKRIPP-ick.

      Contact Marsha for a visit: