I had the pleasure of attending a presentation by Olive Jeffers this weekend (see his lovely art here).

He is a talented Irish-born author/illustrator from New York. He was funny and personable, and awfully wise about how he creates his books. I especially enjoyed the part where he talked about knowing “what to leave out” when making a book. That’s something I think about when writing my books, too.

If you’d like to find out about Oliver Jeffers and how he creates, you can check out his video here. Or see his website here.

A big thank you to Margo Filipenko and Kathryn Shoemaker of the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable for bringing Oliver to our fair city.

Here’s another wonderful book to help you get started writing and illustrating for children. It’s full of information on how to submit a manuscript, what publishers are looking for, and all kinds of other “how-to” tips. I’ve consulted the Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market for years and it’s always been excellent.

In the last month or so, I’ve had several inquiries from people keen to begin writing for children, and this is the book I like to recommend. Above is the most recent edition, but older editions are great, too. You can often track them down at the library. Or order the new edition at your local bookstore.

Just today, in fact, I was flipping through my copy trying to find the right publisher for a manuscript I am ready to send out into the world. I hope I chose wisely.

And you can go here for a reminder about the Getting Started Panel at the Vancouver Public Library on March 4.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Not that I’m asking…

Yesterday, I read a funny article in Publisher’s Weekly called, Holiday Gifts That Writers Will Actually Use, by Hannah Gersen. If you’re stuck for ideas, check out her post for some great gift-giving tips. My personal favourite:

4. John Cheever famously donned a suit every morning in order to write. But as Ann Beattie recently revealed, and as a generation of bloggers already knows, most writers wear awful clothing while they are working. Help your writer friend out by giving her a beautiful robe to cover up her bizarre ensembles. Even if she already has one, she probably hasn’t washed it in a long time, and could use another.

And while I’m on the seasonal theme, I have been checking out Christmas/Winter books for the youngest book lovers in my life, and have come to the conclusion there are very few that I would consider buying. Perhaps it’s time to write one myself. (Will ponder that idea over the holidays.)

I have been hearing about Desolation Sound for years. It’s the most northerly community on BC’s Sunshine Coast and, from all reports (in spite of the gloomy name), it is a stunningly beautiful area. I had hoped to get there last summer, but never actually made it. So, imagine my thrill to find a new book about the place. (I can live vicariously.)

The book is Adventures In Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound by CBC Radio host, Grant Lawrence. It is funny, poignant, well written and filled to the brim with tales of interesting and quirky people who have lived in or passed through Desolation Sound over the years.

The stories span several decades and comprise an eclectic blend of writing that includes larger-than-life characters, wild frontier escapades, a reverence for nature, and an abiding love for family and friends. What more could we want?!!!

It was a book that surprised and delighted me, and convinced me I must get to Desolation Sound very soon.

To find out more about Adventures in Solitude, go here. You’ll be dreaming, too.

The one hundredth anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic is fast approaching and we are seeing the release of new books on the subject of this epic tragedy. As you know, the Titanic was billed as the “Unsinkable Ship,” yet it went down and hundreds of people lost their lives. And, even though much has been written about the ship over the years, there continues to be huge interest in reading about it today.

For a list of recent Canadian books on the Titanic, check out the current edition of Book News, by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre and see their section on maritime disasters.

What can we learn from these books? That no ship is unsinkable, that history is full of fascinating stories, and that kids are always keen to learn about them.

I just finished re-reading a wonderful book called, Passages: Welcome Home to Canada. It is a collection of thoughtful and inspiring essays by Canadian writers who were born in other countries. It includes articles by Shyam Selvadurai, Anna Porter, M.G. Vassanji and Moses Znaimer to name a few.

The first time I read Passages (a few years ago), I was writing my own thoughts on the topic: The Kids Book of Canadian Immigration. At that time, I read Passages (and many other books) strictly for research. On this second reading, I savoured the book and turned each page with enjoyment and contemplation. It is a lovely piece of work!

Another collection I am reading is a set of short stories titled, The Empty Family, by Colm Toibin — someone I had not read before but have heard about for a long time. These are beautifully written stories, set in Ireland, and full of poignancy, longing, melancholy and regret. I look forward to reading many more books by this writer. (He writes in a range of genres apparently — poetry, novels, essays and more.)

What are you reading this fall? Feel free to send your recommendations.

When I was researching my recent books on small, local farms and urban gardens, I visited a wonderful community garden called, World in a Garden Project.

Like many of the gardens in the Vancouver area, they use earth-friendly practices to grow their food, and believe in showing children the growing process “from seed to table.”

If you are in the area and have children who might enjoy some gardening activities, you can check out a couple of their summer programs here.

This photo is from my book, Watch Me Grow! A Down-to-Earth Look at Growing Food in the City. It was shot by photographer, Brian Harris, and shows a boy harvesting rye at the World in a Garden community project in Kerrisdale.

Happy Growing!

My friend and colleague, Adrienne Mason, has the great fortune to live and work in Tofino, BC, on the wild west coast of Vancouver Island. As well as writing children’s books and being the editor of Know Magazine, she is co-owner of a small, independent publishing company, Postelsia Press. They have just released their newest work, 18 Meditations on Chesterman Beach, — a beach near Tofino, which may be one of the most beautiful places on earth.

I can hardly wait to get my hands on the book. I know it will be fabulous (almost as good as being at Chesterman beach myself).

To order your own copy, or find out more about the book, go here.

I recently listened to the interviews of children’s authors, Linda Bailey and Robert Heidbreder, on CBC’s North by Northwest show. Sheryl McKay is a wonderful interviewer and she was able to get them to talk at length about their writing process and why they do what they do. All three of them are friends of mine, so it was a real treat to hear them speak together.

Linda is a prolific writer and her works include Stanley’s Party and a number of other Stanley stories. Robert is a children’s poet, and the author of many books, including Drumheller Dinosaur Dance, shown above. (Dancing dinosaurs and partying canines. What could be more fun?!!!)

Find a copy of these books and maybe you’ll be inspired to pick up your pen!

It was a grand evening at the Kay Meek Theatre in West Vancouver, with many of BC’s finest writers, illustrators and publishers gathered in their finery to toast the year’s best books.

Some highlights:

– meeting the Honourable Steven Point, Lieutentant Governor of BC, and Her Honour, Mrs. Gwendolyn Point, an instructor at the University of the Fraser Valley. What warm and wonderful people they are!

– bagpipes piping their Honours into the theatre

– hearing Steven Point say that he felt he had found his tribe with the BC writers

– listening to the extraordinary speech of George Bowering, winner of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence, where he paid tribute to the BC writers who had influenced him over the years. His speech was 60 words: 30 names of writers, followed by, “Thank you all.”

– seeing (again) how many excellent and socially conscious writers make their home in our province. Hooray for BC! We are a prolific bunch.

– attending the festivities with my daughter, who is a talented writer, and imagining her at the acceptance podium one of these years

– finding out at the Easter family dinner table that my dad, a prolific and long-standing author, was nominated for a book of his some years ago.

– being a finalist for the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize. That was a special nomination, indeed. Thank you to the jury! And, many congratulations to the winner, Julie Flett, who wrote and illustrated Owls See Clearly at Night: A Michif Alphabet. It is a beautiful book and a worthy winner. See a sample of it here.

Thank you to Rebus Creative and everyone else who works so hard to host this wonderful event each year. Well done!