lian goodall on the move!

Author lian goodall has been pretty busy. Her Fall 2007 "Creative Writing/Children's Book" course wound up with a get together. It was a great group and lian looks forward to teaching the same course in January in Newmarket for the York Region District School Board Continuing Education, as well as a new course called "Writing the Past."

Wednesday, December 5th lian goodall gave a presentation from her book, Portia White: Singing Towards the Future to Dale Matsushige's Choral Music class and some Writers' Craft students at Sir William Mullock High School. Shown in the photo are lian, her baby son Amzie and the wonderful music teacher Ms. Matsushige.

lian goodall's new book, Photographing Greatness: the Story of Karsh, is about to be launched and lian's dad is ready! The first book signing will take place at Roxanne's Reflections on St. Andrew Street in Fergus from 1 pm to 2:30 pm on Saturday, December 8, 2007. Free cake will be available in honour of Mr. Karsh's birthday month. lian will be signing at Nicholas Hoare on Sussex Drive in Ottawa on Sunday, December 16, 2007 from 2 to 3 pm. The book is dedicated to lian's father.

Mazo de la Roche

"The main inspiration for the bestselling Jalna novels of Mazo de la Roche was her own family tree," says Napoleon author, Heather Kirk, pictured here beside the black walnut tree in her own back yard. Kirk's recently released scholarly book, "Who Were the Whiteoaks and Where Was Jalna?" (Tecumseh Press), reveals new sources for the origins of the famous fictional Whiteoak family. Heather, who published a nonfiction book for teens about Mazo de la Roche last year, also writes novels for teens. "Warsaw Spring" and its sequel, "A Drop of Rain", were published by Napoleon. On October 16, 2007, Heather talked about her books to an audience of 200 people at the 18th annual Authors' Night of the Gryphon Theatre Guild in Barrie, Ontario.

more from lian goodall

lian goodall will be speaking about singer Portia White to the vocal music classes of Sir William Mulock High School in Newmarket on December 5, 2007. She's going to enjoy hearing their thoughts about Portia's development as a singer in the 1930s and '40s.

Peggy Dymond Leavey reading

Napoleon author Peggy Dymond Leavey will be reading at the Brighton Public Library on Thursday, December, 6th as part of a new monthly series called "Upstairs at the Library". She will be reading from "Treasure at Turtle Lake" and talking about books for children.

Whenever Holly Haggarty visits bookstores, libraries or schools to talk about her book, Summer Dragons, an impish dragon is often seen with her. Many readers wonder how Holly met this dragon. In fact, Holly met him in the boreal forest around Thunder Bay. Believing, like Beth, that dragons exist, Holly and her family had gone searching for dragons. They captured photos, which show how Holly met and befriended her dragon.

On October 10th, Brenda Chapman participated in a Capital Crime Writers panel discussing the mystery market. Pictured left to right are Michael Steinberg (Storyteller Magazine), Bev Panasky (author), Linda Wiken (owner, Prime Crime), Brenda and Rick Mofina (thriller author).

lian goodall on display!

lian goodall will have her work on display at the Schomberg Public Library as part of King Township's celebrations for Ontario Public Library Week, Oct 15-21, 2007. lian's new book, Photographing Greatness: The Story of Karsh, will be published as part of Napleon's Stories of Canada series just after the display closes. It will be represented by showing the manuscript at various stages so that library patrons can learn about some of the publishing processes.

Peggy Dymond Leavey

Napoleon author Peggy Dymond Leavey enjoys the company of some young fans after a summer 2007 reading at the Picton Public Library.

Day's Lee reading

Pictured: Napoleon author Day's Lee with a young fan (the lucky winner of a copy of The Fragrant Garden) after her reading on September 29th.

Holly Haggarty reads at Chapters

Holly Haggarty, author of Summer Dragons, appeared at Chapters, Thunder Bay, on Saturday September 29, along with a dragon, who roamed through the store all afternoon, beguiling young and old. Many customers successfully answered skill testing questions of dragon lore, which enabled them to search for dragon treasure. Holly enjoyed the opportunity to chat with many keen readers.

lian goodall hard at work!

New book! lian's newest book Photographing Greatness: The Story of Karsh in the Stories of Canada will soon be out. Here she is at work on the edits for the book with the assistance of her baby son, Amzie Cooke-Goodall, and Nelson the cat.

lian goodall update

It's back to class this September with Napoleon author lian goodall as teacher. Once again, goodall is leading a group of keen students taking Creative Writing/Children's Books with the York Region District School Board Continuing Education in Newmarket. We'll tickle our creativity and see what happens over the next eight weeks!

More from Heather Kirk

Heather Kirk, author of two novels for teens published by Napoleon, Warsaw Spring and A Drop of Rain, is scheduled to teach a course in creative writing at Georgian College on Monday evenings from September 17 to December 3, 2007. Heather is also offering a one-day seminar on writing for children at Georgian College on Saturday October 20, 2007. On October 16, 2007 Heather will be taking part in the 18th annual Authors' Night sponsored by the Gryphon Theatre Guild in Barrie, Ontario. This event, also featuring authors William Stevenson (Spy Mistress) and Karolyn Smardz Frost (I've Got a Home in Glory Land), will take place at the MacLaren Art Gallery in Barrie. Heather will be reading from her two latest books: Mazo de la Roche: Rich and Famous Writer (XYZ Publishing, 2006) and Who Were the Whiteoaks and Where Was Jalna? (Tecumseh Press, 2007). All Heather's books will be available for sale at this event. See Heather's website at www.heatherkirk.ca for more information about her books.

Holly Haggarty on the move ...

Holly Haggarty has been busy over the past few months touring Summer Dragons. Everywhere she goes, a summer dragon seems to appear, beguiling youngsters at libraries, bookstores and summer festivals.

New Karen Krossing events

Young Voices Writers Conference
Teens aged 12 to 19 are invited to join author Karen Krossing for an Editing Workshop at the Young Voices Writers Conference to be held at the North York Central Library in Toronto on Saturday, October 20, 2007. For more information go to Young Voices Writers Conference.

WordPlayer Writing Workshops
WordPlayers is a ten-week writing workshop for kids and teens held at Pegasus Studios in Toronto and led by author Karen Krossing. If you like writing poems or stories, come play with words using masks, story dice, photos, character games, and more. Classes start in September. For more information, go to Pegasus Studios.

Writing for Children Course at Centennial College
Do you want to write for children or teens? Join Karen Krossing on October 24, 2007, to learn how to generate ideas, develop believable characters, understand genres, edit your writing, and market and promote your work. For more info, go to Centennial College.

New Brenda Chapman events

International Plowing Match - Saturday, September 22nd
Brenda will be reading from Where Trouble Leads and will be appearing with authors Rick Mofina, Therese Greenwood and Maggie Wheeler between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m. The Plowing Match is held in Crosby Ontario from September 18th-22nd.

2007 Kids' Lit Gala - Ottawa Public Library Event - Tuesday, October 16th
Brenda will be one of ten guest authors and illustrators presenting at the seven annual gala to be held at Ben Franklin Place on Centrepointe Drive in Ottawa. The event begins at 7 p.m. All welcome.

New Holly Haggarty Events

Old-Fashioned Book Fun

Book signing -- Oxford Book Shop -- August 22

Drop by the Oxford Book Shop, 740 Richmond Street, London, on Wednesday August 22, 2-4 pm, to meet Holly Haggarty, who will be sharing stories, chatting, and reading from her latest novel, Summer Dragons.


Dragon Stories For Young and Old

Storytelling on Toronto's Centre Island -- August 26

Participate in a jousting of wits as Holly Haggarty entertains with dragon stories at Franklin Gardens, Centre Island on Sunday August 26, 2:30 p.m. Let author and storyteller, Holly Haggarty, prepare you for your inevitable encounter with SUMMER DRAGONS!

Peggy Dymond Leavey signing

Peggy Dymond Leavey will be signing copies of her latest children's novel, "Treasure at Turtle Lake", at Lighthouse Books, 65 Main St., Brighton on Saturday, September 29th from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The event is part of Brighton's annual Applefest festival, taking place September 28th-30th. If you're one of the thousands that come to Brighton each year (since 1975) for Applefest, join the crowds at the street fair on the Saturday and come say hi to Peggy (and have a book signed too). For more information about Brighton's Applefest: www.applefest.reach.net

New book for Heather Kirk

Heather Kirk, author of two teen novels published by Napoleon, Warsaw Spring and A Drop of Rain, is bringing out her fifth book in August. The title of the new book is Who Were the Whiteoaks and Where Was Jalna?. The publisher is Borealis-Tecumseh Press of Ottawa. This book is a scholarly investigation into the sources of the world-famous Jalna novels by Canadian author Mazo de la Roche. It is illustrated with many photos, as well as drawings and maps.

Brenda Chapman review

Where Trouble Leads
by Brenda Chapman

from Midwest Book Review

When Jennifer Bannon, age 15, agrees to spend her summer as a camp counselor at White Pine Camp along with her younger sister Leslie and her best friend Ambie, her summer in the isolated wilderness on Georgian Bay descends into danger and suspense. There are strange people and mysterious activities taking place at the camp after 'lights out', including someone lurking in the woods past curfew. Upon investigation, Jennifer discovers that drug smugglers are using the camp as a cover-up! It's a race against time in Jennifer's attempt to solve the mystery of White Pine before tragedy strikes the camp and the girls for whom she is responsible. Very highly recommended and entertaining reading, "Where Trouble Leads" by Brenda Chapman is a superbly crafted mystery for adolescent readers that will hold their rapt attention from first page to last.

A reading by Day's Lee

Napoleon author Day's Lee will be reading from her book THE FRAGRANT GARDEN for The Monteal Children's Library, which is co-hosting the Urban Cultural Festival in Cabot Square Park Saturday, September 29th from 1 to 2pm. This event is being held as part of Montreal's Journées de la culture celebration.

More from Brenda Chapman

Brenda Chapman was one of four guest authors at "Readings on the Rideau" to help commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Merrickville Public Library. The tea and readings were held at the Merrickville United Church on Saturday, July 21st.

More from Peggy Dymond Leavey

Peggy Dymond Leavey will be reading from her latest children's novel, "Treasure at Turtle Lake", at the Tweed Public Library on October 17/07. Please email the library at tweedlibrary@vianet.ca for more information. The presentation is part of the Canada Council National Public Readings Program.

Peggy will also be reading at "Mystery Around the Lake", a summer program for children at Picton Public Library on July 27th.

Brenda Chapman book signing

The Book Stop - Book Signing - Saturday, June 23rd

Drop by The Book Stop between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday June 23rd and meet Brenda who will be signing copies of all three books in the Jennifer Bannon series. The Book Stop is located at 5 Jockvale Road in Nepean. Phone (613) 823-7455.

Napoleon & Company at Book Expo Canada

Napoleon & Company attended the BookExpo Canada in Toronto, June 10 and 11. It was a busy booth with nine of our children's and adult authors signing over two days.

Photos: Young adult author Brenda Chapman prepares for her signing; Napoleon graphic designer Vasiliki Lenis takes a water break.

Brenda Chapman book launch

Brenda Chapman held a very successful launch of Where Trouble Leads at Whispers in Ottawa on Sunday afternoon, May 27th. Friends, family and neighbours all dropped by for a signed copy of the latest in the Jennifer Bannon mystery series.

lian goodall's great news!

Congratulations to lian goodall and her husband on the birth of their son, Amzie!

Peggy Dymond Leavey on the move!

Peggy Dymond Leavey was one of six authors and illustrators conducting workshops at the MASC Young Authors' & Illustrators' Conference, April 25-27 in Ottawa. A total of 660 children attended the three-day event. Peggy says that the enthusiasm of these eager students, hand-picked from Grades 4-8 in schools in Ontario and Quebec, was infectious. It was an amazing experience.

On May 2, Peggy visited students in Grades 4-8 at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Batawa, ON. She read, for the first time, from her new novel, "Treasure at Turtle Lake".

With her book, "The Path through the Trees," nominated for the 2007 Silver Birch Award, Peggy will be attending Silver Birch celebrations in Durham region (May 16), Peel (May 23) and East York (May 25). She will also be at Harbourfront Centre on May 17 for the grand finale, which marks the conclusion of The Forest of Reading Programs for this year. 4000 school children from Grades K-12 are expected to attend the daylong festival.

Brenda's Head of the Class

Napoleon author Brenda Chapman gives a book talk to Mrs. Jones' grade five class at Joan of Arc School in Ottawa, Ontario, April 25, 2007.

Brenda Chapman launch

May 27, 1-3:30

Where Trouble Leads, the third novel in the Jennifer Bannon young adult mystery series, was published by Napoleon Publishing in April 2007. Join author and CCW chairperson Brenda Chapman for her Ottawa launch at Whispers on Richmond Road in Westboro on Sunday, May 27.

Peggy Dymond Leavey Writers Workshop

Napoleon author Peggy Dymond Leavey ran a Young Writers' Workshop at the Wellington Branch Library in Wellington, Ontario on March 15th. It was a special March Break event, and she was delighted with the turnout of keen young writers who ranged in age from 9 to 13.

Hartt-Snowbell at CANSCAIP launch

Twenty children’s authors, whose books were published in 2006, participated in CANSCAIP’s annual mass book launch on February 2, 2007.  This exciting event was featured at The Ontario Library Association Super Conference at the Metro Toronto Conference Centre.  Napoleon author Sarah Hartt-Snowbell had the pleasure of standing before the masses to present her dynamic five-minute infomercial, touting “Vivian Untangled”.  The program was topped off with a photography session, book-signing and schmooze-fest.  What a great experience!

lian goodall is writer-in-residence

lian goodall has joined the SWAT (Students, Writers, and Teachers) team as Writer-in-Residence at St. Basil the Great School in North York. The program is made possible through an exciting new partnership between the Toronto Catholic District School Board and Now Hear This!, the outreach arm of Descant magazine's Arts and Letters Foundation. goodall will be at the school once a week for twelve weeks, leading curriculum-related workshops in Mrs. Corradi's Grade 9, 11 and 12 English classes on topics such as non-fiction, monologue and short-story writing. The fun-filled twelve weeks will pass quickly and take her right up to the muchly anticipated birth of her son at the end of May!

Forest of Reading Gala "Blast-off" with Peggy Dymond Leavey

The Forest of Reading gala "Blast-off" at the Ontario Library Association's Superconference (MTCC, Toronto, Wed. Jan. 31) was just that. Between 30 & 40 children's authors and illustrators, all nominees for the Blue Spruce, Silver Birch, Red Maple or White Pine reading program awards, were led into Constitution Hall and introduced to 1200 wildly cheering young fans from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Napoleon Publishing's Peggy Dymond Leavey was one such honouree. When else does a lowly children's author get to be treated like a rock star? Later, the participants were all kept busy autographing and chatting with the students. After the school buses had gone, the wine and cheese reception gave everyone a chance to meet each other and the members of OLA's Forest of Reading committee. The next day a number of authors returned to do book signings for the librarians visiting the trade show; needless to say, an event in a much lower key.

"Telling Our Stories" writing contest

Napoleon author Brenda Chapman was one of five judges for the Telling Our Stories writing contest, sponsered by the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries.

The Honourable James K. Bartleman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontarios was the Honorary Patron for the contest. The Honourable Caroline Di Cocco, Minister of Culture was a guest speaker and Paul Todd from TVO was Official Spokesperson, and Pierre Granger from TFO was also a presenter.

Brenda is pictured with LG Bartleman and Suzanne Culp of the OPL, who was the Task Force Chair.

Chapman over the airwaves

Brenda Chapman will be appearing on CBC Radio's All in a Day on Wednesday, February 14th at 5:00 p.m. She will be appearing with fellow mystery author Rick Mofina to talk about civil servants who also write novels. The program, running from 3:00-6:00 p.m., will be a literary salon with three full hours dedicated to writing, books and reading. It is part of CBC's Canada Reads program.

Sailing for Glory launch

Authors Teri-Lynn Janveau and Allister Thompson at the launch of their book, Sailing for Glory, at Gulliver's Book Store in North Bay, Ontario, on January 20th, 2007. Posing with them is North Bay mayor Vic Fedeli.

News from Peggy Dymond Leavey

As a 2007 Silver Birch nominee, Napoleon author Peggy Dymond Leavey will be taking part in the launch of OLA's Forest of Reading program at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto on Wednesday, Jan 31st, from 12:30-2:30. 1300 school kids (from kindergarten to Grade 12) will be attending and after the official launch, the authors and illustrators will be autographing their books.

On Thursday, Feb 1st, Peggy will be autographing from 11:30 to 12 noon at the Trade Show (NBS booth), part of the Ontario Library superconference, Metro Convention Centre.

More Heather Kirk appearances

As well as offering a creative writing course at Georgian College from January 15 to March 5, 2007, Napoleon author Heather Kirk will be making the following appearances the coming months:

On Saturday January 20, 2007 at 2 p.m., Heather Kirk will give a one-hour talk on Mazo de la Roche to the Innisfil Historical Society at the Churchill Community Hall in Churchill, Ontario.

On February 2, 2007 at 1:30 p.m., Heather Kirk will be signing books at the Kate Walker & Company exhibition at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto.

On Tuesday March 20, 2007 at 2 p.m., Heather Kirk will be giving a one-hour talk on Mazo de la Roche at the Orillia Public Library at 36 Mississauga West in Orillia, Ontario.

On Thursday April 26, 2007 at 7:15 p.m., Heather Kirk will be giving a one-hour talk on Mazo de la Roche at the Barrie Public Library at 60 Worsley Street in Barrie, Ontario.