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.

PLAYDATE SURPRISE (Scholastic Canada) for ages 3-7 has been shortlisted for The Word Award 2025 for Books – Children – Christian & General Market!

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.

Virtual visits: $250 for a 45 minute session for the novel. $200 for a half hour session for the picture book.

Carol is the internationally best selling author of over 50 books for young people, which have received over 100 awards and honours and been translated into 16 languages.

Photo: Chantal Picton Holowka.

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.

A Storm Unleashed

A gripping tale about a girl and her dog set in Berlin, Germany, during the lead up to World War Two.

After losing her mother as a young girl, twelve-year-old Mia is living in Berlin with her veterinarian father and beloved German shepherd, Max. Mia tries to focus on her hobbies, her studies and her trips to her grandparents’ farm where she cares for the animals she loves. But it’s 1935, and life has changed radically for Mia and her Jewish father over the last two years.

Antisemitism is now official state policy. At school, Mia is vilified and treated cruelly by her teachers and fellow students. Outside of school, she witnesses violence against her friends and family. And then suddenly a girl from the Nazi Youth tries to take Max. From that moment on, life becomes more and more dangerous for Mia and her father ― who is now being forced to help the Nazis train Hitler’s army of dogs.

Mia and her best friend, Frieda, must come up with a plan to navigate this new reality. But could it cost Mia more than she realizes?

Kai and Golem

Rain in the morning makes Kai say, “That’s not what I want!” After school, he wants to read stories with Bubbe, but she isn’t there. “That’s not what I want!” says Kai. Maybe, he thinks, there’s a creature that makes bad things happen. Could it be a Golem, big and scary? But maybe things aren’t so bad if you look at them in a different way…

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

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

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.
Continue reading “Aihoshi, Susan (Toronto, ON)”