Tag Archives: Michel Chikwanine

In the trees!

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I’m absolutely thrilled to have DNA Detective nominated for a Red Maple Award this year. Part of the Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading, the Red Maple is a reader’s choice award for kids in grades seven and eight.

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I’m personally glad I’m not one of those kids, because it’s going to be impossible to choose. Other books on the list include Pride by Robin Stevenson, Child Soldier by Michel Chikwanine and Jessica Dee Humphreys, and Vanished by Elizabeth McLeod (which is currently topping my list of books I wish I’d written).

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Congrats to all the other nominees, and a huge thanks to the Ontario Library Association!

And more news!

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There’s a rule about blogs. One is supposed to offer interesting and entertaining content, and not talk about oneself all the time. But I have so much exciting news this week!

I’ve just signed a contract with Groundwood Books for a young adult novel, to be published in Fall 2017.* And can I say that I was already thrilled to be working with Groundwood even before they won Best Children’s Publisher of the Year in Bologna?

Next news: The Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada have shortlisted DNA Detective for the 2016 Information Book Award. Woohoo! There are many other stellar books on the list, including Annick’s Urban Tribes, by Mary Beth Leatherdale and Lisa Charleyboy, Groundwood’s West Coast Wild by Deborah Hodge, and Kids Can’s Child Soldier, by Jessica Dee Humphreys and Michel Chikwanine. Plus lots more fodder for my to-read list!

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* Sooooooo far away. Aaaaaaaaaaah. How will I last that long? People say their books are like their babies. Having had both, I can tell you that books take a LOT longer to birth.

Horn tootin’

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I am so thrilled to have DNA Detective included in the Ontario Library Association’s Best Bets list for 2015. The committee reviews all the books written or illustrated by Canadians or people living in Canada and chooses 10 from each category: Picture Books, Junior Fiction, Junior Non-Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, and Young Adult Non-Fiction.

I’m in some wonderful company on the Junior Non-Fiction list. The other books include Child Soldier by Michel Chikwanine and Jessica Dee Humphreys, and Power Up! by Shaker N. Paleja.

In other news, I am doing a Twitter chat with Publishers Weekly tomorrow at noon Vancouver time. In preparation for the event, PW is sponsoring a DNA Detective giveaway. You can enter here.

At the Vancouver Writers Fest

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The people at the Vancouver Writers Fest are just plain awesome. When I arrived at the Dockside Hotel on Granville Island this morning, Hal Wake hugged me. Someone handed me a bag of swag. I talked election news with Susin Nielsen. A lovely woman named Kathryn was assigned to shepherd me from place to place in case I fell into a writerly daze and walked off a dock. A sound guy rewired my microphone so I could flit around the stage.

I would like to live permanently in a state of writers-festishness.

I had two presentations today. I talked about DNA Detective with a big crowd at the Waterfront Theatre, including Liisa House and her enthusiastic grade sevens from Edith Cavell.

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And a second presentation in conjunction with the downright incredible Michel Chikwanine and librarian extraordinare Shannon Ozirny.

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Thank you to all the Writers Fest staff and volunteers who do such a wonderful job, and to the ever-smiling crew at Kidsbooks who put plenty of survival stories in plenty of new hands today. You’re all my favourites ever.

Reading, writing, and absolutely no arithmetic

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I’m a one-project-at-a-time kinda girl, but for the past couple weeks, I’ve been working on so many different things, my head is spinning. I have:

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  • Booked presentations in West Van for November, Maple Ridge for December, and Richmond for February. (I haven’t been this popular since I had a free French-fry connection in high school. I hope all these people don’t expect me to wear my clothes right-side-out and speak in complete sentences.)
  • Finished an index for Extreme Battlefields, then reviewed said index once someone with a logical mind fixed it.

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  • Written a chapter of my newest non-fiction manuscript. (Only two left to go — hurray!)
  • Revised my novel. And… um… switched the gender of the protagonist. I didn’t mention that plan to my agent. Do you think she’ll notice?

One of these days, I’m even going to shower. Because it’s always good to have goals.

Vancouver Writers Fest!!!

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Let me apologize now for the three exclamation marks in the title of this post. But… the Vancouver Writers Fest!!! (Oops… did it again. Sorry.)

I’m so excited to be a part of the festival this year. And, as the catalogue has just arrived in my mailbox, it must be time to share a little news about my presentations.

DNA Detective
Wednesday, October 21, 10 – 11:15 a.m.
In this DNA Detective talk for students in grades 5 through 8, I tell stories about the deranged and obsessed people who figured out how DNA actually works. (One of them drank hydrochloric acid.) We explore the wild and wacky side of DNA mishaps, cloning, and woolly-mammoth reconstruction, consider the pros and cons of glowing goldfish, and wonder how Icelanders avoid marrying their cousins.

Against All Odds
Wednesday, October 21, 1 – 2:30 p.m.
This is a panel discussion with Michel Chikwanine, moderated by Shannon Ozirny. Michel was kidnapped by rebel Congolese soldiers when he was five, taken to the jungle, and trained as a child soldier. I am… providing comic relief? Because the closest I’ve come to a survival situation was Metrotown Mall on Boxing Day. BUT, I did write When the Worst Happens, which is all about how our body and brain handle crisis situations, how to control panic and take action, and how to survive just about anything. Except maybe rebel Congolese soldiers. (I may simply stare at Michel in awe during this hour. But you can join me.)

There are many more events that I’m dying to attend, so hopefully I’ll see you on Granville Island in October! (There. I’m down to one exclamation mark. How sedate of me.)