27may3:00 pm3:45 pm3:00 pm - 3:45 pm Simon Sort of Sayswith Erin Bow, hosted by Ardo Omer (middle grade)

Event Details

Simon Sort of Says
Erin Bow

Simon O’Keeffe tells a lot of stories: like how his family was driven out of Omaha by alpacas. And how his church-deacon dad accidentally gave a squirrel a holy sacrament. And how his undertaker mom occasionally has to wrangle emus.

But the story Simon doesn’t tell is the one he’d do anything to forget: Simon is the only survivor of a school shooting. That story has followed him everywhere — everywhere except his new home in the National Quiet Zone, where the internet is banned so radio astronomers can listen for signs of life in space.

Then Simon meets a kid who wants to give the astronomers what they’ve been looking for . . . and he finally gets the chance to tell a new story about himself.

This is that story.

Hilarious, heart-wrenching and ultimately hopeful, this story is about finding your friends, healing your heart and speaking your truth.

Speakers for this event

  • Ardo Omer

    Ardo Omer

    Moderator

    Moderator

  • Erin Bow

    Erin Bow

    Erin Bow was born in the Midwest and studied particle physics in college, eventually working at the CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland. She then decided to leave science in order to concentrate on her love of writing. Her debut novel, Plain Kate, won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. Erin also received the Governor General’s Award for Young People’s Literature – Text for Stand on the Sky and the Newbery Honor for Simon Sort of Says. She lives in Kitchener, Ontario, with her husband James and their two children. Erin Bow can be visited online at www.erinbow.com.

    URL https://www.erinbow.com/