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Thanks so much to CANSCAIP for inviting me to be a speaker at the Packaging Your Imagination conference at Humber College this past weekend. I had a fantastic time and once again appreciated what a wonderful kidlit/YA community we have here in Canada.

I've posted some of my photos on Facebook and on Flickr.

Kate BlairThanks to Kate Blair for being my "shadow" during the event; Kate helped get me find the right rooms, introduced me at my workshop, made me feel welcome. Kate is a middle grade and YA writer, and placed 2nd in the 2010 Toronto Star Short Story Contest (out of 1800 entries!) as well as being longlisted for the CBC short story contest in both 2011 and 2012. You can find out more about Kate and her work at Kateblair.com.

Anyway, the subway was shut down between Eglinton and Bloor so I ended up taking a cab and arrived way early! The organizers were still setting up. I think I was one of the first to pick up my speaker badge:

Ran into my Torkidlit friend Karen Krossing, who helped distract me from my pre-talk jitters by walking around the venue with me, figuring out where the speaker coats could be stored, etc. Here are CANSCAIP Administrative Director Helena Aalto and PYI Co-Director Lorna Poplak, just before the conference officially opened:

I also had time to check out the art show. So much wonderful children's book art, and I also loved the process sketches that some people included. I'm new enough that I also got a thrill to see my own art up on display...and also very cool to see my sister's art right beside it:

Teresa Toten's opening keynote was inspiring! I've just started reading THE UNLIKELY HERO OF ROOM 13B, Teresa's novel that won the 2013 Governor General Literary Award For Children's Literature, and am loving it so far.

Teresa Toten, giving her inspiring opening keynote

After that were the first set of workshop sessions, including mine! Thanks SO much to the Humber AV crew, who did a fantastic job at PYI:

and the E-Learning team in my session, who helped the streaming portion run smoothly for virtual attendees:

The photo at the top (courtesy GABBY author Joyce Grant) is from the beginning of my session. Here's one from GRACE author/illustrator Kate Parkinson, who was a virtual attendee:

And here's her screen with the live video in the top left and my current slide on the right:

After the conference, I asked Kate how the streaming went and she reports it ran smoothly, thanks to the Humber College tech crew. You can also read Kate's report about being a virtual attendee at CANSCAIP's event on her blog. Kate's FIRST children's book (she's author/illustrator), GRACE, comes out from Holiday House Books early next year!

Back to PYI. My session seemed to go well, yay. I was still really nervous, but it was a bit easier than last time I gave a talk, plus the attendees were enthusiastic and asked interesting questions. After my session, I stayed in the room so I could hear Ashley Spires talk about her work:

Ashley Spires during her session at PYI

I so love Ashley's bubbly enthusiasm and energy! Ashley talked about the creation process for Binky The Space Cat series of junior graphic novels, which I found fascinating, entertaining and informative. Did you know that Ashley initially drew all her herringbone and other intricate textures by HAND? Wow. I think Ashley noticed the look of awe (ok, maybe more like horror :-)) on my face when she told us this. 

Anyway, finally getting to meet Ashley Spires in person was one of my personal highlights at PYI.

With my talk over, I could relax at lunchtime and just chat. Thanks to my lunchtime companions for some great kidlit/YA conversation (including my Torkidlit pal Nicole Winters in the bottom right):

I looked around for my MiGWriters critique partner, Andrea Mack, but missed seeing her! Happily, we ran into each other later in the conference. Here are Lana Button, Jan Dolby (so great to finally meet Jan in person!!) and Joyce Grant:

Lana Button, Jan Dolby and Joyce Grant at PYI 2014. Joyce and Jan are the creative team behind the GABBY series from Fitzhenry and Whiteside Publishers. Finally getting to meet Jan Dolby in person was another personal highlight during the conference. Lana's WILLOW FINDS A WAY was just nominated for a 2014 Blue Spruce Award, by the way!

In the afternoon, I was faced (again) with an impossible choice: I wanted to attend all the workshops! I ended up opting for the industry panel with Susan Rich (Editor-At-Large at Little, Brown) and Tara Walker (Editorial director at Tundra Books):

An excellent panel, so informative AND entertaining. :-D Teresa Toten was a fabulous moderator.

I stupidly missed getting a photo of Susin Nielsen, who gave a wonderful closing keynote (see audience above). We even got to see a clip of her acting role in the original Degrassi Junior High (she was a screenwriter)!

Plus LOOK, I won a prize in the raffle! I never win anything but thanks to CANSCAIP and the Vermont College Of Fine Arts, I won this bag of goodies:

Thanks to Lena Coakley for giving me a lift to a small gathering hosted by Sharon Jennings afterwards. Sadly, a bad headache prevented me from staying as long as I had wished but it was fun chatting with some of the others who came. Thank you, Sharon!

And again, THANK YOU so much to CANSCAIP and all the volunteers and organizers. Everything went so smoothly and I had so much fun, plus came away super-inspired.

If you're a Canadian children's book author, illustrator or performer, I strongly recommend you checking out CANSCAIP's website....and do consider attending next year's PYI event!

Registration's now open for CANSCAIP's Packaging Your Imagination conference on Saturday, October 18th, 2014. I'll be giving a workshop for beginning writers and illustrators called "Lightning Rods, Agents & Book Deals: Building Your Personal Brand."

However you feel about the word "brand," everyone has a personal brand. You DO have control over it (yes, even the shy and introverted) and it can have a big effect on how successful you are in achieving your personal and professional goals.

Some keys, I've found: Be authentic, find your niche and don't try to do everything. Come to my workshop and I'll explain more, including social media tips for those who aren't quite sure what to do with their social media. 

Find out more details about the event and how to register on the CANSCAIP website. Can't attend in person? CANSCAIP now offer a live streaming option!

Had so much fun at CANSCAIP's Packaging Your Imagination Conference at Victoria College in Toronto yesterday!

I didn't take many photos, but you can scroll through the ones I did take by hovering your mouse over the right-hand area of each photo and clicking on the right-arrow.

Highlights included keynotes from Sarah Ellis and Kathy Stinson, a Master Writing Class from Sarah Ellis (whose slideshow included a book cover that my KidLitArtists pal Andrea Offermann illustrated!), a picture book craft class by my Torkidlit author friend Frieda Wishinsky, and a Master Illustrating Class from my sis, Ruth Ohi.

So great to see old writer friends again as well as make some new ones.

CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators, and Performers) has an annual day-long conference for children’s and YA authors and illustrators to better their craft and connect with others.

This year’s conference will be on Sat, Nov 5th at Victoria College in Toronto.

New this year:

We’ll start the day with a Welcome Address by Governor-General’s Award winner Sarah Ellis.
The twelve workshops will include Master-level sessions—intended for established writers and illustrators—as well as a session for Beginners. All others sessions will be at the Intermediate level.
Workshops will include marketing and business topics, such as online book marketing and how to pitch your work.
Also new, is our Pitch Perfect manuscript/portfolio critiquing sessions. You can get a one-paragraph pitch plus 1000 words critiqued by either editor Gail Winskill or agent Ali McDonald in a ten-minute private session. Or you can get five portfolio pieces critiqued by art director Andrea Casault. Space is limited, and spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.
You can enter a raffle to win a Blue Pencil mentorship for a picture-book manuscript with Frieda Wishinsky.
A buffet lunch of sandwiches and salads will be served to all registrants.

Here’s PYI’s line up of workshops:

Explore the nuts ‘n bolts of publishing for beginners with author Mahtab Narsimhan.
Learn how the graphic novel combines elements of art and prose with graphic novelist Jim Zubkavich.
Make connections through non-fiction writing with Catherine Rondina.
Learn how to craft a picture book with Frieda Wishinsky.
Write hearty historical fiction with author Caroline Pignat.
Discuss the illustrator’s role in character development with illustrator Bill Slavin.
Explore social media to connect with potential readers with author Hélène Boudreau.
Learn how to how to write a compelling middle-grade mystery novel with author/illustrator Kevin Sylvester.
Explore young-adult fantasy writing with bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.
Discover how to make your submission shine with editor Gail Winskill and agent Ali McDonald. In the workshop, they will also provide first-page critiques for anonymous submissions. You can submit your first page, in any genre, to [email protected], if you want a chance to be critiqued during the workshop.
Join established writers for a master-level workshop with Sarah Ellis.
Join established illustrators for a master-level workshop with Ruth Ohi.

The keynote speaker will be the inspirational and creative author/illustrator Loris Lesynski.

Register early to get your first choice in workshops and one of the limited number of Pitch Perfect critiquing sessions.

Need another reason to register early? This year, the first 75 registrants will be automatically entered in a draw to win a Blue Pencil mentorship in any genre with keynote speaker Loris Lesynski.

For more information, go to Packaging Your Imagination 2011 or contact the office at 416-515-1559 or [email protected].

Are you a children’s or YA writer, illustrator, or performer? Do you want to be? If you’re in Toronto, check out Packaging Your Imagination, the annual writing conference that CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators, and Performers) puts on. This year it lands on Saturday, November 6, 2010 at Victoria College (U of T). The entire day of workshops plus lunch is $150 CAN–a deal!

The presenters this year include:

Sharon Jennings: Help! What Am I Doing Wrong?

Liz Macleod: The Facts About the Facts

Patricia Storms: Toon in and Digital Out: Cartoons and computers to create cool art for kids!

Barbara Berson: Channelling Your Inner Teen: Publishing YA

Paul Kropp: Writing for Kids Who Don’t Wanna Read Nothin’

Debbie Rogosin: Less is More: Make Your Picture Book Stories Stronger

Jirina Marton: Invitations to Turn the Page: Illustrating Books

Arthur Slade: Steampunked! Adding Fantasy, History, and Science Fiction to your Writing

Liam O’Donnell: Getting Graphic: Writing Comics for Kids When You Can’t Draw a Straight Line

Andrea Wayne Von Königslöw: Flush with Humour: Writing Funny Stories

Martha Newbigging: How Imagination Illustrates Reality

Norah McClintock: Demystifying YA Mysteries: Your Questions Answered

Marthe Jocelyn
Kenote Speaker
Prophecies, Lies and Pearls of Wisdom

For more details, check out the conference on the CANSCAIP website, where you can also print out a brochure and registration form.