Where I’ll Be at World Fantasy Con
World Fantasy Convention November 1-4, 2012 Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel, Suites & Conference Centre Toronto, Ontario Thursday, November 1 9:00 p.m. OUR MONSTERS, OUR SELVES The best monsters—ghosts, vampires, werewolves, zombies—all begin as human beings, as US. All have their roots in the ideas of lost/ strayed/stolen humanity. Freud alludes to the factor of semblance in The Uncanny, and that idea, with the tensions inherent in duality/ dichotomy—an otherness both projected, and found within—is crucial. Think...
Read MoreSCBWI Ottawa-and My Crystal Kite!
I’m just back from a whirlwind trip to Ottawa, the highlight of which was undoubtably receiving my SCBWI Crystal Kite Award! SCBWI conference organizers Lizann Flatt , Rachel Eugster and Alma Fullerton did an incredible job gathering a stellar lineup of speakers. Here are some of the published attendees at a reading at Collected Works bookstore on the Friday night: On Saturday the conference officially started. Promptly at 8:30 AM we were welcomed by the hilarious Alan Silverberg and for the next two days, our time was crammed with workshops, lectures and break-out sessions....
Read MoreWitchlanders Nominated for a White Pine Award!
The told us two weeks ago and all the nominees have had to keep it secret since then. I have an enormous mouth, so I can tell you, it was pretty difficult. Anyway, I can finally spill! Very delighted that WITCHLANDERS is part of this exceptional list: All Good Children by Catherine Austen (Orca Book Publishers) Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts (Simon & Schuster BFYR/Simon & Schuster) First Day On Earth by Cecil Castellucci (Scholastic Press/Scholastic Inc.) Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald (Candlewick Press) Karma by Cathy Ostlere (Puffin Canada/Penguin Group) The Opposite...
Read MoreMy Busy Fall
I’ve just updated the “Upcoming Events” section of my website and–whew!–I’ve got a lot coming up this fall! The big highlight for me will be accepting the 2012 Crystal Kite Award for the Americas region for Witchlanders. That will happen at the Ottawa SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) conference where I’ll be giving a short presentation about how we writers can navigate the fine line between following the market and following our passion. The thing I’m most nervous about is the Packaging Your Imagination...
Read MoreWitchlanders– A CRYSTAL KITE WINNER!!!
Holy moly! I’m completely speechless this morning to have learned on Twitter (before it even showed up on the SCBWI website!) that WITCHLANDERS has won the Crystal Kite Award for my region. (It’s up there now so–yes!–it’s official!) From the SCBWI website: The Crystal Kite Awards are given by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators each year to recognize great books from 15 regional SCBWI divisions around the world. Along with the SCBWI Golden Kite Awards, the Crystal Kite Awards are chosen by other children’s book writers and illustrators,...
Read MoreOn Sub! and Other News
I’m just getting back to work and writing after being sick. I feel like Rip Van Winkle–I went to bed when it was still winter, and when I woke up, it was spring! To be honest, I’m finding it a little difficult to get back to the writing today. There are renovations in the apartment upstairs, I’ve forgotten what my novel is about, and also, I’m on sub. What?? That’s right: I’m on submission! With only 75 pages and an outline, my agent and I have decided to throw my little rough draft to the sharks and see who snaps it up. Crazy? Yes! What the...
Read MoreAbout Me
Hi! I'm Lena, a young adult fantasy author from Toronto.