Welcome to my website! I write children’s books, edit educational resources, swim, sweat, paddle, and explore.
All in Second Story Press
"You can't go wrong, if you're a reader." It's true that books can help you soldier through some of the challenges life throws your way, giving you a wonderful escape and a reprieve from the hum-drum and the ordinary.
After all that hard work, and tremendous team work with the editor, Kathryn White, and the talented crew at Second Story Press, it's time to welcome a new book to the world and watch it take flight.
“It’s not really work when you’re doing something that is serving a greater purpose.” – Nicole Robertson, media specialist and entrepreneur featured in this book.
Mmmmm. This is a celebratory apple pie that I baked.
That's A - P - P - L - E. My (almost) six-year-old helper put the letters on top. Thank you, Noah!
First, I'm very sorry for the delay in blogging. I've had too much going on. Ai-ya, where do I begin?
I was reading the December 2012 issue of Quill & Quire and saw a quote by Howard White that resonated with me. In responding to a question about the future of Canadian publishing, he says, "...we need to keep the faith." Then he raises the glass of water analogy: "I think one of the most damaging things that's happening to publishing right now -- and to writing -- is that people are looking at the empty half of the glass." I'm going to keep this analogy in mind over the next while and consciously try to talk more positively about the book biz. Why not?!
Yesterday morning's CBC Radio program The Sunday Edition featured a discussion about the future of publishing in Canada. This was a brilliant overview of the current struggles facing publishers, and those who work in this industry. Three publishers spoke their minds: Marge Wolfe, President of the Association of Canadian Publishers and Founder and Publisher of Second Story Press (one of my publishers!) in Toronto; Patsy Aldana, Founder and Publisher of Groundwood Books and Co-Chair of the National Reading Campaign in Toronto; and Scott McIntyre, Founding Partner and Publisher of Douglas and McIntyre in Vancouver.
I was dazzled and delighted to find two copies of Dazzling Women Designers in my mail box yesterday. What an amazing surprise! These didn't look anything like my other copies, though. They are Korean translations. The cover looks completely different, as does the inside -- and I don't just mean the text. Many of the photos are new and they have more photos showing the designers' work. The cover features fabric designed by Senegal's Aissa Dione and India's Ritu Kumar. I spotted a photo of R2D2 in the profile about robot designer Cynthia Breazeal.
Great news! You'll never guess what I discovered in my email in-box last Friday (Jan. 27)! Dazzling Women Designers (Second Story Press, 2010) is on the Amelia Bloomer List 2012. This news totally made my day!
A little research unearthed more details about what this list is all about. I feel truly honoured. The Amelia Bloomer Project, which is part of the American Library Association's (ALA's) Social Responsibility Roundtable Feminist Task Force, annually selects the best feminist books for children and teens, published within the last 18 months. Librarians from public and university libraries across the U.S. make up the ten committee members who read many, many books and make the final selections.
