Yet again I’m waaay behind with updates (join my Twitter or newsletter if you want news while it’s still news, I guess), but here’s some of the cool stuff that’s been going on:
Congrats to CWILL BC Nikki Bergstresser, who just took home the Literary Arts Award in front of a sold-out crowd at the Abbotsford Arts Council’s 18th Annual Arty Awards. As last year’s recipient, I was honoured to have the opportunity to present. :D
BC Teacher-Librarians’ Conference was a blast! I had a great time presenting (over 50!) new releases by BC authors and illustrators of books for kids and talking about collaboration opportunities between school librarians and local authors. CWILL BC will plan on making this an annual event going forward. Word Vancouver Festival was also super fun, with two jam-packed live days plus the virtual/school presentation programming to moderate.
It’s also been a strong year for short fiction:
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CASTOFFS in It Was Only A Dream: Bad Horror Tropes Done Right (Hungry Shadow Press, 2022) has done amazing. Cannot believe how much buzz this antho has got!
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THE UNSOUGHT LIGHT was licensed to be reprinted in Seasons Unceasing (Worldsmyths Publishing, 2022) and is 2/3 of the way through edits, scheduled for re-release before the end of the year
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A pre-published speculative short, CALLOUSED, recieved Silver Honourable Mention in Writers of the Future Awards 2022 Q3
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A pre-published speculative short, CHILDREN OF EARTH, recieved Honourable Mention in Writers of the Future Awards 2022 Q1 and has been shortlisted in a keystone speculative professional market
On that note, longer releases will be the focus for 2023, including a new novella and a novella rerelease in the Threads of Dreams series, a spooky middle grade/junior teen novel, and a new adult speculative series. And it looks like my spring creative writing workshop will be mostly middle schoolers, which is going to be super fun. Can’t wait!
Finally, World Read Aloud Day is coming up. I’m happy to volunteer a short reading from an upcoming middle grade novel, YA novels, or short fiction, or from works that inspired me for interested classrooms ranging from grade four through high school. Shoot me a message at [email protected] to book a free 10-20 minute reading + author visit on February 1, 2022!