Next Presentation: Monday, January 19, 2009 at 7pm

We have two excellent presenters lined up for our next meeting. Check out their bios below:

Robin Stevenson spent 10 years working as a counselor and social worker before beginning a new career as an author. Robin’s first YA novel, Out of Order, was published in the fall of 2007 and was a Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books starred selection. She has since published four more novels: a sports adventure novel called Dead in the Water, a juvenile novel called Impossible Things, a YA reluctant reader called Big Guy, and her newest release, a teen novel called A Thousand Shades of Blue. A sixth novel for teens, Inferno, will be published in the spring of 2009. Robin grew up in England and Ontario, and now lives in Victoria, BC.

Author Website: www.robinstevenson.com

Michelle Mulder loves writing about kids who seize life’s opportunities. Her early readers, Maggie and the Chocolate War, and Yeny and the Children for Peace, are based on true stories of children who banded together to improve their world. Originally a freelance travel writer, Michelle began writing for children in 2006 with the release of the first picture book of the Theodore Too series. She has since published two more picture books (both in the Theodore Too series) and two early readers. Orca Publishers will be releasing her third early reader, After Peaches, in Fall 2009.

Author website: www.michellemulder.com

Happy New Year!

It's a new year for the Victoria Children's Literature Roundtable with lots of exciting events on the horizon. Here's a sneak peek at some of our upcoming speakers:

January 19, 2009: Robin Stevenson & Michelle Mulder - new voices in Canadian Children's Literature

February 23, 2009: Kirstin Butcher- talks about her books

May 25, 2009: Chris Tougas - Mechanimal, winner of first Bolen Book prize for children

Check back soon for more info!

Award Winners

TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award

On November 6, the $20,000 prize for the most distinguished English book of the year was awarded to Christopher Paul Curtis for Elijah of Buxton.

Nominees for the prestigious award were:
Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose: The Story of a Painting by Hugh Brewster, with paintings by John Singer Sargent
Darkwing by Kenneth Oppel
Eye of the Crow: The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His First Case by Shane Peacock
Please, Louise! Written by Frieda Wishinsky, illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
________________________________________________________________
Also awarded on November 6 in Toronto:

Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction
At Vimy Ridge: Canada’s Greatest World War I Victory by Hugh Brewster

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award
Please, Louise! Written by Frieda Wishinsky, illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay

Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse
Un cadeau pour Sophie by Gilles Vigneault, illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch.
_____________________________________________________________________________
And in Victoria…

Bolen Books Children’s Book Prize

On October 16, Chris Tougas was awarded $5,000 and named the winner of the 1st Bolen Books prize for his picture book, Mechanimals.

The titles shortlisted:
Corps of the Bare-Boned Plane by Polly Horvath
A Perfect Gentle Knight by Kit Pearson

Upcoming Roundtable Events

Canadian Children's Book Week Touring Author Eric Zweig is coming November 17, 2008

Our November meeting features Canadian author Eric Zweig.

Eric Zweig is the author of numerous sports books for young readers. His titles include Hockey Trivia for Kids, Long Shot; How the Winnipeg Falcons won the First Olympic Hockey Gold and Star Power: the Legend and Lore of Cyclone Taylor.

By the age of 10, Eric was already a budding sports fanatic who was filling his school news books with game reports instead of current events. He has been writing professionally about sports and sports history since graduating from Trent University in 1985 with a degree in Political Studies. His articles have been printed in numerous Canadian publications including The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Sun, The Ottawa Citizen, The Calgary Herald and The Beaver. He has also been a writer/producer with CBC Radio Sports and TSN SportsRadio.

Programs are held at Nellie McClung Library, 3950 Cedar Hill Rd. (near McKenzie) in the program room. Access is from the parking lot off Garnet St. & start at 7:30.

Drop-ins welcome. $5/$4 students


Storytelling with Peg Hasted and Jennifer Ferris on December 1, 2008

Our December meeting will feature the storytelling talents of Peg Hasted and Jennifer Ferris.

Peg Hasted is an early childhood educator who has worked with young children for over 17 years. Her well-crafted stories delight listeners of all ages at schools, libraries, festivals and community events. A recipient of the Alice Kane Award (for storytelling research/development) Peg took her tales to Ontario in 2005 as part of the TD Canadian Children’s Book Week Tour. She also gives workshops, offers individual and group coaching, and can help link the art of storytelling to classroom curriculum.

Victoria storyteller, Jennifer Ferris, has been active for 15 years in schools, at community events and festivals. As an Education Assistant she has had an opportunity to share her stories with all grades from K to 12, tailoring the story to the curriculum, to situation and just for fun. She has organized storytelling clubs in elementary school, working with students in different aspects of story and has provided many storytelling opportunities for her young tellers including a storytelling venue at the Commonwealth Games. In high school, Jennifer works with students with Autism and brain injury using story to teach as, a calming tool, to allow students to tell the stories of their lives and as an opportunity for students to perform for peers and in the larger community. Her interest and connection to the history of Vancouver Island has provided many storytelling opportunities. Jennifer’s family arrived in Victoria in 1858 in time for the gold rush on the Fraser River and, later, in the Caribou. Family stories, given to her by her grandmother, and her own research have helped Jennifer to develop a number of stories on that period. Jennifer’s Chinese daughter in law, a new Canadian and also a storyteller, has encouraged her to write stories of the Chinese experience of those early years of Vancouver Island. In addition to her own stories, she also entertains audiences with world myths and tales of magic and transformation from around the world. She gives workshops to adults and children and she is very interested in promoting storytelling in the family.

Finalists for the 2008 Governor General's Literary Awards Announced


On October 21, 2008, the Canada Council for the Arts announced the finalists for the 2008 Governor General’s Literary Awards. The finalists include authors from ages 28 to 77, several previous finalists and three first-time finalists who are journalists. The awards are in the categories of fiction, non‑fiction, poetry, drama, children’s literature (text and illustration) and translation.

Click for all the details