I’m passionate about encouraging, inspiring, and equipping readers and writers of all ages and welcome the opportunity to join events including festivals, conferences, school visits, camps and workshops, and more, schedule permitting.
Experience
I publish short, novelette, novella, and novel-length speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction & horror) for middle grade (=kids), young adult (=teens & up), and adult readers, and have experience in speaking to elementary, middle school/junior high, high school, and adult audiences.
I’m a registered speaker with (and, as of 2021, president of) the Children’s Writers & Illustrators of British Columbia (CWILL BC) Society (CWILL BC speaker’s profile) and a member of The Writers Union of Canada TWUC Speaker’s Profile
I’m also a creative writing coach with Creative Writing for Children Society, and have extensive experience creating curriculum and facilitating seasonal camps and term-length workshops on creativity, storytelling, publishing, and writing themes for ages eight and up.
Previous, one-off, in person and remote festivals, sessions, workshops, panels, and masterclasses have included topics on writing and storytelling including craft, short fiction and/or genre fiction, publishing skills, local-history-in-storytelling, eco-fiction and imagining the future, and motivation and resiliency.
Logistics
I prefer to work collaboratively with you to identify the best topics for your needs and audience. (Though I can certainly suggest topics that have worked well in the past, depending on age and subject.) Climate futurism, fighting the patriarchy, ghosts of the past, and horror-meets-humour are popular “broad-interest” topics for general (non-writing) groups, while creative writing or ELA bookings may focus more on paths to publishing, worldbuilding, descriptive writing, etc.
Please enquire regarding dates, fees, and any other pertinent logistics with as much notice as possible.
Fees are generally in line with local standards, but may be subject to adjustment based on the specific event. Nonprofits should enquire about discounts or alternate arrangements if budget is a barrier. Assistance with grant and funding applications may be available. As a member of The Writer’s Union of Canada, you can seek funding under their programs to work with me, including the Ontario Writers-In-The-Schools and the National Public Readings programs.
Home base is Abbotsford, BC. The nearest airports are Abbotsford (YXX) or Vancouver (YVR). Bookings in Metro Vancouver and/or the Fraser Valley will not incur travel/transit surcharges (happy to drive for day-trips!) Zoom/remote presentations are available.
Testimonials
“Kaie recently joined our Guild of Young Writers program for a virtual Speculative Fiction workshop that exceeded all of our expectations! Kaie provided such an insightful presentation, sharing her own writing process and tidbits about the business of writing itself before diving deep into the elements of speculative fiction.
Her presentation was interactive and engaged the students with specific tips and examples from her own writing, along with suggestions to bring back to their own writing practice. She answered all of their questions with thoughtful and knowledgeable responses and provided the students with such inspiration to move forth with their own writing projects.”
-Rebecca Ruiter, Coordinator & Facilitator, Story Studio Writing Society
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“K.A. Wiggins is an articulate and engaging professional who knows how to bring authors into dynamic conversations meant to inform, entertain and enlighten audiences of all levels. Her ability to seamlessly orchestrate events from beginning to end further demonstrates her passion and care for all that she does.”
-Bonnie Nish, PhD, Executive Director, Word Vancouver and Department of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia
Resources
I rarely have footage available from events with young audiences (for privacy reasons, as well as technological constraints), but here are two presentations from Word Vancouver Festival 2022:
I also have a couple mini writing tips posted on social: Spooky Middle Grade Openings and Speculative Worldbuilding Skills, and here’s a quick video created by the awesome team at ORCHIDS Childrens Literature Fest (Mumbai, India) with some classroom teaching footage:
Please get in touch directly by email ([email protected]) to discuss your event!