World War II – Authors' Booking Service

Autio, Karen. Kelowna. BC.

Member of Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers (CANSCAIP); Children’s Writers & Illustrators of BC Society (CWILL-BC); and Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC). Fiction and non-fiction, 2X Word Award winner, CBC Kids Book Club Pick, OLA Best Bets, MYRCA finalist, Arthur Ellis finalist, 2X Chocolate Lily finalist.

Karen is the author of 11 books for young readers, with her newest disability-inclusive picture book called PLAYDATE SURPRISE and in French UNE SURPRISE MERVEILLEUSE.

January 29, 2025: Karen is available for a school author visit in Brampton or Toronto.
January 30, 2025: OLA Super Conference CANSCAIP Book Tasting (10:30-11:25 am) Karen will present PLAYDATE SURPRISE.
January 31, 2025: OLA Super Conference book signing of PLAYDATE SURPRISE and UNE SURPRISE MERVEILLEUSE with illustrator Laura Watson at 11 am at Scholastic Canada booth #211.
May 5-9, 2025: Karen is available for author visits to schools in Saanich and Victoria, BC.

JK-Grade 6. $300 for 1 session, $500 for 2, $700 for 3 and $900 for 4, maximum 4 sessions per day, + travel and lodging if outside of the Okanagan Valley, BC, unless otherwise stated.

Virtual Visits: $250 for 1 session, $200 for each additional session on the same day; via Zoom or other preferred online platform; support personnel (to moderate and manage technical aspects)

Karen is an experienced presenter who welcomes the opportunity to talk about the writing process and share her passion for researching and writing. Each of her five interactive presentations is tailored to one or more of her picture books, middle-grade novels and narrative non-fiction. Karen reveals the inspiration behind the book(s), explores relevant book-related topics, uses props and Power-Point, and includes a reading followed by time for Q&A.

JK to 3: I CAN, TOO! & PLAYDATE SURPRISE: Disabilities, Inclusion and Friendship based on picture books I CAN, TOO! and PLAYDATE SURPRISE: play, accessibility, adaptive equipment, movement, sports, inclusive playground

2 to 5: Kah-Lan: Sea Otters and a Thriving Ocean based on chapter books KAH-LAN THE ADVENTUROUS SEA OTTER and KAH-LAN AND THE STINK-INK: sea otters, ocean, adventure, survival, oil spill, marine mammal rescue

3 to 6: MAKING SEAKER: Writing and STEAM topics based on middle-grade contemporary novel MAKING SEAKER: new girl, science, technology, trackable model boat, Nipigon, Great Lakes, Paddle-to-the-Sea, self-realization, acceptance, friendship

3 to 6: Growing Up in Wild Horse Canyon: Exploring Centuries of History based on narrative non-fiction picture book GROWING UP IN WILD HORSE CANYON set in the Okanagan Valley, BC, covering Indigenous content (Syilx Okanagan, Nsyilxcən language, First Nation quest, history, culture), wild horses, fur brigade, settlers, railway, secret wartime commando training, firestorm

4 to 6: Bringing Canadian History Alive based on middle-grade historical novels SECOND WATCH, SAARA’S PASSAGE, and SABOTAGE: Canadian home front during World War I, living in 1914-1915 in Northwestern Ontario, First World War, shipwreck of Empress of Ireland in St. Lawrence River, tuberculosis, sanatoriums, spies, sabotage, internment camps; Finnish immigrant family dynamics

Maximum group size: To promote interaction during in-person presentations, Karen prefers to meet with smaller groups, so a maximum of three classes.

Venue: Library or classroom preferred

Equipment Required: A table to hold presentation materials; a screen, computer and projector for displaying PowerPoint presentation from a USB drive; a microphone if the venue is not the library or classroom; lunch (egg salad sandwich on brown bread) if she is staying for the day.

Please note: Her surname is pronounced like Audio with a soft T.

Contact Karen to book a visit:

Dobson, Jillian (Richmond Hill, ON)

Jillian is a member of The Writers Union of Canada (TWUC), the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors Illustrators and Performers (CANSCAIP), the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and the CCBC.

Jillian is the author of GIRL TAKES DRASTIC STEP!: How Molly Lamb Bobak Became Canada’s First Official Woman War Artist with artwork by Genevieve Simms. This is an inspirational story of perseverance through art with the title drawn directly from the first page of Molly Lamb Bobak’s World War II war diary.

In Person Rates: $200 for one session (45 mins) Plus a travel fee of $0.50/km if outside of Greater Toronto Area. Virtual visits (30 mins) $150 (All visits subject to HST).

This book and presentation would support the following subjects and themes:

Canadian History/World War II History/Art History/Art/English/Remembrance Day/International Women’s Day/Women’s History Month

Jillian is an experienced presenter and will engage young readers in the story of hard work and determination of how Molly Lamb Bobak followed her dream and became Canada’s first official woman war artist. Jillian will highlight how author and illustrator work together and the research process for this book including a glimpse of pages of Molly’s war diary.

A live reading of the book followed by an introductory discussion and visual presentation about how women enlisted in the Canadian Women’s Army Corp during WWII and what that experience was like for them based on Molly Lamb Bobak’s headline style journal.

An engaging hands-on activity will encourage students to document, through writing and various mediums of art including sketching, doodling and drawing what goes on in their lives and classrooms in a unique way. Students will work on activity sheets to write their own headlines and then work as reporters to create a shared classroom headline journal.

For older grades there will be a discussion about perseverance and following your dreams based on the story with art prompts for creating a dream journal.

English language presentations for grades K-6 with a maximum per group of 30 with teacher or librarian present. Jillian will gladly collaborate with teachers or librarians to tailor the presentation to the interests and needs of the participants. Personalized and signed books may be ordered in advance and information will be provided to the organizer.

Virtual Presentations:

Reading and interactive online activity of building a classroom headline journal page or guided instruction through activity sheet shared with teacher/librarian in advance. Grades 1-6 – 45 minutes.

Library Visits: (Pre-school to grade 6)

Interactive reading followed by guided multi-media worksheet activity to create a headline journal page.

Technology required: Screen or area to project, table and chair or stool

Contact Jillian to book a visit:

Matas, Carol (Winnipeg, MB,)

Carol Matas, Winnipeg, MB, member, Writers’ Union of Canada, English. Grades K- 12.

One hour in person $350 plus GST, $600.00 plus GST for 2 sessions, plus travel. One hour virtual visit, $200.00 plus GST.

Carol is the internationally best selling author of over 45 books for young people, which have received over 100 awards and honours and been translated into 16 languages.

Photo: Chantal Picton Holowka.

Carol Matas will have a new Holocaust novel, A Struggle For Hope, out this fall with Scholastic Canada. It tells the story of Ruth, a Holocaust survivor who has made the dangerous trip to Palestine after the war. She and other survivors tell their stories as a way of making sense of the world and Ruth discovers how powerful stories can be – for good and for ill. Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Carol has written historical, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary novels. She is about to have her first picture book published. She has written early readers, middle grade novels and young adult novels and a YA crossover book. She often gets emails from young people telling her that they didn’t like to read until they discovered her books, and she is thrilled to cultivate new readers. Many of Carol’s presentations are about her Holocaust novels. In these sessions she delves into the roots of antisemitism and racism which informed Hitler’s worldview. She loves to talk about “big questions” using books like Cloning Miranda, when she encourages discussions about what it means to be a human being.

Who’s Looking for science based presentations.

There is no size limit as long as a microphone is provided for in person visits, even in small venues – although the perfect venue is a library.

Carol does virtual visits all over North America, most recently Atlanta, Georgia to present “The War Within,” a Civil War novel.

Writers’ Union; Canscaip; SCBWI. Also presents to adults.

Carol’s books have garnered over 100 awards and honours, including 2 nominations for the Governor General’s Award; the Silver Birch Award; a New York Times Notable book; a Sydney Taylor Award; a National Jewish Book Award finalist; an ALA Best Book of the Year for YA; a Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award for Young People; CCBC Best Book for Kids and Teens; New York Public Library, book for the Teen Age; and the Geoffrey Bilson Award. They have also been translated into 16 languages and many have been best sellers. Daniel’s Story has sold over 1 million copies in the United States and Canada.

Contact Carol to book a visit

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:

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.

Contact Rina to book a visit:

Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk (Brantford ON)

Writers Union Member. Fiction & NF, 2X Silver Birch winner, 2x Red Cedar Winner, Yellow Cedar Winner. Multi awards. 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, for one session, 20-60 minutes, $200 for each additional session on the same day.

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. For virtual presentations: $300 for one session, $500 for two. HST applies to all sessions. No travel costs within Toronto or if I am in your city (I travel to Montreal several times a year). Able to present in English and French.

Heather is an award-winning children’s author, journalist, editor and translator. Her two middle-grade novels, CLUTCH and THE OTHER SIDE, received Skipping Stones Honor Awards and nominations for Forest of Reading, among other honors. CLUTCH was also named a 2017 Best Book from Kirkus Reviews.

CCBC Book Awards: David Booth Award for Children’s and Youth Poetry nominee

Heather is also an accomplished nonfiction writer. SECRET SCHOOLS and THE PRISONER AND THE WRITER were named Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections and What If Soldiers Fought with Pillows? True Stories of Imagination and Determination received a Skipping Stones Honor Award. Her next nonfiction book, Becoming Bionic and Other Ways Science is Making Us Super,

In her presentations, Heather aims to entertain and educate, leaving the audience interested in writing fiction and nonfiction as well as looking into their own history for inspiration.

PRESENTATIONS (60 minutes, grades 3+)

Heather engages students with a fun and interactive presentation, customized to audience and interest.

Generally speaking: Heather shares the inspiration and the challenges of writing works that delve into history and social justice. She also discusses the basic elements of writing fiction and/or nonfiction, how to give stories life through research and why bringing the past to the present is so important. Q&A session and reading are included.

What does it mean to be a superhero?: This STEM/STEAM-related presentation draws on BECOMING BIONIC. We’ll delve get into how science is turning us into superbeings – powering up our bodies with what we may not have been born with and what we may never have thought we’d need. We’ll discuss what those powers look like in the real world, based on the sections of Becoming Bionic. We’ll create our own superhero identities and answer the ultimate question: Cape or no cape.

Stand up and speak out: This social-justice-related presentation, based on THE PRISONER AND THE WRITER, begins with a quote from Captain Alfred Dreyfus: “My only crime is to have been born a Jew.” How would students fill in the last word of Captain Dreyfus’s quote to reflect their lives or world around them? We’ll discuss the meaning of social justice, play a game of news fact vs news fiction, and discuss ways to stand up and speak out.

Maximum presentation size: 100 for virtual presentations; 60 for in-person reading/Q&A. Teacher and/or librarian must be present.

WORKSHOPS (60 minutes, grades 3+)

Look no further: A simple moment can kickstart the writing process. Students choose a moment in their own lives or family history and turn into a work of fiction or nonfiction. Based on CLUTCH and THE OTHER SIDE.

What’s news?: Bias in the media is not difficult to spot. This session will delve into media literacy and how to determine if what you’re reading is fact…or fiction. I’ll test students’ knowledge of news fact vs news fiction through a fun game and we’ll create a reference guide to better judge whether what they are reading, seeing, hearing is objective, biased or completely fake. Based on THE PRISONER AND THE WRITER.

A single object: A single object can inspire an entire world. Students will begin with an “item of interest” and learn how to add different layers — setting, storyline, character, big reveal — to build a short story. Based on THE OTHER SIDE.

Just the facts: How do you write a nonfiction book that makes tough subjects compelling and easy to understand all the while ensuring it stick to the truth? Based on her nonfiction books.

Get activ-ist!: “What cause would you defend…and how would you defend it?” We’ll discuss various forms of activism and what is important to students right now. We’ll come up with methods to get messages across and students will put ideas into action by creating a poster for their cause. Based on THE PRISONER AND THE WRITER and I CAN’T DO WHAT?

Customized topic: Heather is happy to tailor workshops to your needs and audience, including educators and the general public. Topics can include social injustice, advocacy, World War II, the Holocaust, antisemitism, soccer, baseball, media literacy, arts and entertainment, etc.

Maximum workshop size: 30 (flexible).
Equipment required: Flip chart and markers, screen and projector, microphone and podium (for large rooms), paper and pencils (for workshops). Teacher and/or librarian must be present.

Heather offers the services of professional editing, copyediting, proofreading and
translating. She also provides manuscript evaluations – fiction and nonfiction.

Contact Heather to book a visit:

Aihoshi, Susan (Toronto, ON)

Writers’ Union of Canada member. Author of Torn Apart: The Internment Diary of Mary Kobayashi, about the uprooting and incarceration of Japanese Canadians in WWII. Writer-in-residence at Vancouver’s Historic Joy Kogawa House (Fall 2017). 150-km distance from Toronto. $175.00 per session (no HST). Travel costs by public transit apply outside Toronto.
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