Welcome to the CWILL BC blog

Welcome to the blog of CWILL BC, Children’s Writers and Illustrators of British Columbia. Here you’ll find CWILL BC news and events announcements as well as articles relating to CWILL BC and the writing and illustration of children’s literature.

If you would like to jump straight into blogged news and events that are specific to CWILL BC, such as our book launches or reports on annual events our organisation attends, we’ve got a special article category just for that: CWILL BC news and events.

If you are looking for our membership list, are interested in booking an author or illustrator for a speaking engagement, or want more information about CWILL BC or joining CWILL BC, please visit us on our official CWILL BC site at www.cwill.bc.ca.

 

News from the Road

Ann Walsh travelled to Vanderhoof last month to speak to the Library’s Teen Reading Club. They had all read Your Time, My Time and invited Ann to visit.

One of the teens brought her mother who remembered Ann visiting her Grade 6 class many years ago and had brought her own copy of the book for Ann to sign. Ann felt honoured, if a bit ancient.

You can find out more about Ann’s books on her website.

 

New on the Shelves

Beryl Young has a new book for ages ten and up out this month with Ronsdale Press.

Follow the Elephant is the story of Ben, a troubled thirteen-year-old, who is taken by his grandmother on an adventure quest in India to find her childhood pen pal.

Beryl will launch the book on March 26th at Tilley’s store. Stay tuned for details!

 

Read your way to the Olympics

You can get into the Olympic spirit this month with these winter sport or Olympics-themed books written and/or illustrated by CWILL BC members:

Picture Books:

The Farm Team, by Linda Bailey
Publisher: Kids Can Press
ISBN: Hardcover
978-1-55337-850-1
Paperback
978-1-55453-317-6
Sport: Hockey
Age range: 3-9

The Best Figure Skater in the Whole Wide World, by Linda Bailey
Publisher: Kids Can Press
ISBN: 978-1-55074-881-9
Sport: Figure Skating
Age range: 3-9

Mountain Machines, by Sarah Leach
Publisher: Poppy Productions
ISBN: 978-0-9782818-1-6.
Theme: Machines that work on the ski hill.
Age range: 3-7

When Chickens Fly, by Kari-Lynn Winters
Publisher: Gumboot Books
ISBN: 978-1-926691-00-8
Sport: Free style aerial skiing
Age range: 3-9

Runaway Alphabet, by Kari-Lynn Winters
Publisher: Simply Read Books
ISBN: 978-1-897476-33-8
Sport: Hockey
Age range: 3-9

Novels:

Skateway to Freedom, by Ann Alma
Publisher: Dundurn
ISBN: 978-1-55002-719-8
Sport: Figure skating
Age range: 8-12

Chasing a Star, by Norma Charles
Publisher: Ronsdale
ISBN: 978-1553 800774
Sport: Figure skating
Age range: 8-12

Whiteout, by Becky Citra
Publisher: Orca
ISBN: 978-1-55469-083-1
Sport: Cross country skiing
Age range: 8-11

No Contact, by Sandra Diersch
Publisher: James Lorimer and Co. Publishers,
ISBN: 1-55277-024-9.
Sport: Hockey
Age range: 8-13

Extreme Edge, by Heather Kellerhals
Publisher: Lorimer
ISBN: 978-1550289664
Sport: Skiing

Klutzhood, by Chris McMahen
Publisher: Orca
ISBN: 978-1551437101
Sport: Hockey
Age range: 8-11

Shabash, by Ann Walsh
Publisher: Sand Castle Books
ISBN: 978-0888783554
Sport: Hockey
Age range: 8-11

Peak Survival, by Pam Withers
Publisher: Walrus Books
ISBN: 1-55285-530-9
Sport: Snowboarding and Downhill skiing
Age Range: 8+

Non-Fiction Books:

Double Take: Karen Brain’s Olympic Journey, by Nikki Tate
Publisher: Sono Nis Press
ISBN: 978-1550391626
Sport: Skiing
Ages: 8+

Sports Science, by Shar Levine
Publisher: Sterling
ISBN: 978-1-4027-1520-4
Themes: The science of sports
Age range: 8-12

 

In the News

K.L. Denman’s fall release, Me, Myself and Ike, has been garnering great reviews. You can check it out in Quill and Quire and January Magazine.

 

Olympic dreams

With the Olympics right around the corner, Ann Alma’s book Skateway to Freedom has been flying off the shelves. It not only provides a gripping adventure and escape from a dangerous country, but talks about former gold and silver medal winners in figure skating.

Ann Alma has spent the last week doing a series of author visits and readings from her book. She was the guest of the Fraser Valley Regional Library for their Reading Links, a program for grade four and five students that promotes the “sport of reading.”

 

Tip of the Week

Each week, a CWILL BC member offers a tip about writing or illustrating, the creative process, or getting published.

This week’s tip about building your portfolio comes from writer Shar Levine. The article she describes is now available on her website.

Shar’s tip:

I just had a piece published in the Honolulu Advertiser (Jan 17, 2010 paper). I found a really cool story that no one had ever written about on the big island of Hawaii. I tracked down the sources, interviewed them, took some photos and sent it in to the paper. They published it on their web site and said it was so well written that they were going to put it in the paper.

Newspapers are looking for content and don’t want to pay much. If you can get a story or blurb onto their web site, and then into print, then you can use this in your portfolio, especially if you have a slim portfolio. It shows your writing style, and versatility. And if you want a traditional publisher to look at your work, it shows you have initiative.