Speakers for this event

• Kern Carter

  Kern Carter

  Author

  KERN CARTER is the author of Boys and Girls Screaming, along with two self-published novels, Thoughts of a Fractured Soul (novella) and Beauty Scars. In addition to his writing, Kern is a filmmaker and also teaches professional writing at a local college, committed to supporting emerging writers and helping them find their voice. He lives in Toronto.

  URL https://www.kerncarter.com/

  Author

• Kevin heronJones

  Kevin heronJones

  Author

  Kevin heronJones is storyteller. Through prose or through poetry; novel or short story. He writes and he narrates in the tradition of the ancient African griots who used stories and poetry to educate as well as entertain. A student of journalism and creative writing, he uses his arena to inspire and encourage creativity and a love of literature amongst our young people. Kevin grew up in Jane/Finch and Brampton. He has published three novels and three books of poetry. He has also been featured on six spoken word poetry albums and narrates novels and short stories through his Listen Fiction platform.

  Author

• Nadia L. Hohn

  Nadia L. Hohn

  Nadia L. Hohn, B.A. (Hon.), B.Ed., M.Ed., M.F.A. is a multilingual, award-winning author of several books for young people, including Getting Us to Grandma’s (Groundwood Books, 2024), A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice (Owlkids, 2019), Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter (HarperKids, 2018), and the Malaika series. Her first picture book, Malaika’s Costume (Groundwood Books, 2016) was the 2021 TD Grade One Book Giveaway and featured as a float in the 117th Original Santa Claus Parade. Nadia had two books released in 2023: Malaika, Carnival Queen, her fourth book in the Malaika series on May 2 and her edited anthology, The Antiracist Kitchen: 21 Stories (and Recipes) on September 12.  Nadia’s latest book Patty Dreams (Owlkids, 2025) was nominated for a 2026 Blue Spruce Award (Forest of Reading).  Her twelfth book, STOP ANTIBLACK RACISM: 8 Ways to Act Now, will be released on October 13, 2026.  Nadia is an “artivist” who wants to make sure that all young people see themselves in books. She has presented all over the world, most recently in Ireland.  Nadia’s semi-autobiographical play Wheel and Turn premiered at the 2025 Windsor Fringe Festival.  When she’s not lost in a story or concocting a tasty vegetarian dish, she is likely spending time in music and the arts or daydreaming about her next adventure. Nadia is a music teacher and librarian in an elementary school and creative writing instructor at post-secondary institutions in Toronto where she also lives.

  URL http://www.nadialhohn.com

• Wanda Taylor

  Wanda Taylor

  WANDA TAYLOR is the author of fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults. She  is also a screenwriter, a journalist and a college professor. Her articles have appeared in  numerous publications including Quill & Quire and the Globe and Mail. Taylor’s middle  grade non-fiction book Birchtown and the Black Loyalists was listed as one of the top Black  history books for young readers by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Her recent novel  The Grover School Pledge won the Northern Lights Middle Grade Book of the Year Award in 2023.

  URL http:/www.wandataylor.squarespace.com