The Symposium on the Book takes a detour from adult fiction in 2007 with a glimpse into the world of children’s books, specifically teen and young adult fiction. With a new name and a new mandate, the symposium will explore a range of themes and topics, including creative non-fiction, biography, picture books and more.
Based on participant feedback and industry suggestions, we have put together a stellar group of experts in children’s writing and publishing for a lively discussion of key issues and preoccupations in this exciting genre. Join award-winning authors and panelists representing the best in Canadian children’s literature for this engaging exploration of the best, most relevant and most interesting writing for young readers.
The panelists will explore a number of questions and discussion topics that are germane to fiction for children and teen readers, including the role of fantasy in the real lives of teens, the value of humour in kid’s fiction, writing for “reluctant readers,” and hot-button issues of censorship and explicit material. The dialogue will be of interest to teachers, librarians, parents, writers, as well as to young readers themselves, and anyone interested in current trends and issues in kid’s fiction.
Phyllis Simon, founder and co-owner of the award-winning children’s bookstore Vancouver Kidsbooks will moderate the day’s discussions. Besides running the most important source for children’s books in the country, Simon is a long-time contributor to CBC’s Children’s Book Panel.
Authors
John Burns is the author of Runnerland, a teen novel about death, adoption, and an imaginary land where panhandling and bossy older kids don’t exist. He is the books editor of the Georgia Straight and has written for the Globe and Mail, NUVO magazine, the Toronto Star and the CBC’s Arts Today. He co-hosts CBC Radio’s Studio One Book Club, featuring Margaret Atwood, Lemony Snicket, Kenneth Oppel and Salman Rushdie.
Sarah Ellis is one of Canada’s most-loved writers of children’s fiction. A part-time librarian, she is a highly sought-after children’s book reviewer, literary jury member and international speaker. She has masters’ degrees in library science and children’s literature and has taught at universities across Canada, in the United States, Europe and Japan. Ellis is the winner of the Governor General’s Award, the Mr. Christie’s Award, the Sheila Egoff Award, and the Vicky Metcalf Award for a Body of Work. Her most recent novel is Odd Man Out.
Dennis Foon was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan but moved to Canada in 1973 to attend the University of British Columbia. His theatre career began in university where a friend convinced him to write a play that he could produce. He has written more than 20 plays, many of which have been produced internationally. Foon was co-founder of Vancouver’s Green Thumb Theatre for Young People and served as its artistic director for 12 years. More recently, he has written for television and film, including Terry, the acclaimed CTV drama about Terry Fox. Foon’s first book for young adults was Double or Nothing (2001). With a dramatic conclusion with the publication in 2006 of The Keeper’s Shadow, his fantasy trilogy, The Longlight Legacy, has garnered rave reviews and a loyal following of young readers.
Shelley Hrdlitschka discovered her love for children’s literature while teaching elementary school in the 1980s. Then, while on a parenting leave, she began writing children’s stories. It took 10 years, but she eventually decided to focus on juvenile and young adult fiction and is now the author of six novels published with Orca Book Publishers, with a seventh due in spring 2008. She lives in North Vancouver with her husband, three daughters and menagerie of pets. When she’s not writing she can be found hiking, sailing, snowshoeing, or hidden away with a book and some good music.
Susan Juby is the author of Alice, I Think, Miss Smithers, and Alice Macleod, Realist at Last. Her latest book, Another Kind of Cowboy, will be published with HarperCollins this fall. After dropping out of fashion college at a young age and attaining a BA from the University of British Columbia, she went to work in the book industry. Juby holds a master’s degree in publishing. She grew up in several small towns in British Columbia, and currently lives on Vancouver Island with her husband, James, and their dog, who prefers to remain anonymous.
Panelists
Deirdre Baker grew up in Haney, BC in a family addicted to children’s literature. She earned a BA in English literature at the University of Victoria and a MA and PhD in medieval studies from the University of Toronto. She has a licentiate in mediaeval studies from the Pontifical Institute for Mediaeval Studies in Toronto. For the past 20 years she has been teaching religion, medieval literature and particularly children’s literature at universities in Canada and the US. She currently teaches in the English department at the University of Toronto. She has been children’s book reviewer for the Toronto Star since 1998, and is the co-author of, with Ken Setterington, A Guide to Canadian Children’s Books. She is currently working with Michele Landsberg on Follow That Broomstick: a Guide to the Best Fantasy Literature for Young Readers. She lives in Port Credit, Ontario, with her husband and two daughters.
Jo-Anne Naslund works as an education librarian in the Education Library at the University of British Columbia. She has worked as a teacher and teacher-librarian in schools in Alberta, British Columbia and Melbourne, Australia. Her interests focus on information literacy, teacher education, school libraries together with Canadian children’s literature and adolescent reading interests. She has taught library courses in teacher-librarianship at the Universities of Melbourne, Alberta and British Columbia. She has participated on the Canadian Children’s Book Centre Our Choice selection committee and been a member of the Steering Committee of the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable.
Ken Setterington is a librarian, storyteller, author and reviewer. He was named the first Children and Youth Advocate for Library Services for the Toronto Public Library. He received the title Librarian of the Year in 2000 from the Ontario Library Association and won the prestigious Toronto Arts Award for Writing and Publishing in 2001. He has been an active storyteller and published retellings of The Snow Queen and The Wild Swans and produced and performed his own play “Heroes of My Youth: The Women of Scarborough.” In 2003, with co-author Deidre Baker, he wrote A Guide to Canadian Children’s Books. He lives with his partner in Toronto.
Allison Taylor-McBryde is coordinator of Children’s and Young Adult Services at the North Vancouver District Public Library. She teaches in the library schools at the University of British Columbia and in the online program at San Jose State University. In her spare time she works tirelessly to promote the Red Cedar and Stellar provincial reading programs.
Bob Tyrrell founded Orca Book Publishers in 1984, almost accidentally, when he co-authored and published Island Pubbing, A Guide to Pubs on Vancouver Island. Initially a publisher of regional history and travel guides, the company’s move into children’s literature began in the early 1990s and has been a resounding success. Orca has become one of this country’s largest and most successful Canadian-owned publishers of children’s books. They release 60 titles a year, from picture books through teen fiction. Orca titles are well reviewed, receive frequent award nominations and appear on many of the annual “Best of” lists for children’s literature in both Canada and the US. Orca prides itself on publishing Canadian authors and bringing them to a wider market. Their international recognition shows that Canadian creators can compete successfully on the world stage while writing for, and about, Canadians.
