April 7 Program

The Victoria Children’s Literature Roundtable is proud to present Best Kids Book Buys with book sales experts Ali Hewitt and Lorna MacDonald on April 7 at 7:30 at Spectrum Community School library, 957 Burnside Rd. $5.00 drop-in, $4.00/students, members free.

We Victorian’s love our booksellers. We rely on them to know our taste and to recommend the next great book for us to read. But who do booksellers love? Who keeps them in “the next great book” loop? Sales reps do according to a bookseller’s blog on Publisher’s Weekly. Lorna MacDonald & Ali Hewitt, two sales reps from Kate Walker’s Books, will give us the inside scoop on some great new titles from more than two dozen presses including publishers from Canada, the U.S., and Britain. Teachers, librarians, and parents won’t want to miss this informative evening.

Lorna MacDonald began her book career with Munro’s back in the days before it moved from its original Yates St. location. She earned her degree in Anthropology & History from the University of Manitoba and has worked for the BC Provincial Museum and for the provincial government in the Human Rights Department. After a stint with Sono Nis Press as a promotions manager, she moved to Stanton & MacDougall, which became later became Kate Walker & Co. Lorna is a favourite of Vancouver Island book sellers.

Ali Hewitt is the newest member of the Kate Walker & Co. team. She graduated from Carlton U. with an honors degree in history. Always a booklover, she began her career in the book business at Cadboro Bay Book Co. She completed the Summer Publishing Institute at Simon Fraser University, has presented “The Best in Kids Books” to Victoria Roundtable members on several occasions, and hosted a highly regarded kid’s book review blog. She is currently working out of Kate Walker’s Vancouver office.