September Festival: Stage D: Kids Literature

Andrea Curtis is an award-winning Toronto writer whose books have been published around the world. Her latest nonfiction for young readers includes the just-published Loop de Loop (Groundwood), illustrated by Netherlands-based Roozeboos, and the ThinkCities series City of Neighbors, City Streets are for People, City of Water and A Forest in the City (Groundwood). Andrea lives with her family in the west end where she loves to hike, bike, doodle and dig in her veggie patch.

Caroline Fernandez loves to write children’s books for curious kids. She’s won awards for her fantastic stories, like the exciting chapter book series “Asha and Baz” which highlights real-life historical women in STEM. She has written numerous picture books including; “Hide And Seek: Wild Animal Groups in North America” and “The Adventures of Grandamasaurus” (series) and “Stop Reading This Book“. For those looking for a big adventure, watch for her upcoming middle-grade historical novel “Plague Thieves.” Caroline writes, drinks tea, and bakes in Toronto, ON.  Twitter and Instagram: @ParentClub

Sahar Golshan is the author of So Loud! a picture book published in 2024 with Annick Press. So Loud! is illustrated by Shiva Delsooz. Sahar is a writer, a language learner, and the director of the short documentary KAR (2019). She is a winner of the Marina Nemat Award for Creative Writing in Non-Fiction and the Air Canada Short Film Award. Her writing has appeared in Room, Taclanese, Shameless, The Ex-Puritan, and Tongues: On Longing and Belonging through Language. She enjoys teaching and facilitating workshops in academic and community spaces.

Shiva Delsooz is an Iranian-Canadian illustrator born and raised in Ontario, Canada.
She graduated from College with a diploma in animation and has always had a passion for drawing, as her mother can confirm by all the little doodles underneath her dining room table.

Michelle Wang lives in Toronto, Ontario, with her husband and their four children. She is an elementary school teacher, but as her youngest daughter always says, when asked: “My mom’s an author and an aloe farmer.” When not playing random songs every time she walks by a piano, Michelle can be found reading a book to avoid cleaning her very messy house.

M. John Kennedy is Head of the Acting Program at the Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto. In the past year M. John has been fortunate to have worked on a number plays including Tunnel at the End of the Light (Soldiers in the Arts), The Tilco Strike (4th Line Theatre), Give ‘Em Hell (Prairie Fire, Please / Theatre Direct) and It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play & Yellow Face (New Stages) all while touring his one-person Robert Munsch show(s) Fireside Munsch*.  (*Eight Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations).

Melanie has been writing full-time since 2010 and has written a bunch of books, but she’s probably best known for her picture books, Missing Nimama and Stolen Words, which won the 2016 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and the 2018 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award respectively.

In her spare time, Melanie plays guitar, reads manga, collects vinyl, listens to really loud rock music and slightly quieter K-pop, gets tattoos and drinks too much coffee. She lives in Toronto with her family.

Basil Sylvester is a writer and bookseller. Their first book, The Fabulous Zed Watson!, co-written with Kevin Sylvester, was a finalist for the 2021 Governor General’s Literary Award, the 2021 Lambda Award and the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. Night of the Living Zed is their second novel. They live in Toronto, Canada.

Kevin Sylvester has written and illustrated more than thirty books for kids.His latest novel is Night of the Living Zed, written with his kid, Basil. It’s the sequel to The Fabulous Zed Watson! which was a finalist for numerous awards, including the TD and the Governor General’s. Kevin’s also the author and illustrator of Apartment 713. It was the 2024 winner of the Silver Birch, Red Cedar and SunDogs awards… all voted on by kids!He has a new graphic novel, Puffin and Penguin, with his pal Helaine Becker.His series, The Hockey Super-Six is highly illustrated and goofy fun.His other novels range from science fiction (The MINRs trilogy) to mystery novels (The Neil Flambé Capers), and other super-heroes (Mucus Mayhem).His picture books include Gargantua (Jr.): Defender of Earth, Super-Duper Monster, GREAT and Splinters.He also writes and illustrates non-fiction books. There are sports books (Gold Medal for Weird, Basketballogy, Baseballogy) and books on financial literacy (Follow Your Stuff and Follow Your Money.)

M. John Kennedy is Head of the Acting Program at the Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto. In the past year M. John has been fortunate to have worked on a number plays including Tunnel at the End of the Light (Soldiers in the Arts), The Tilco Strike (4th Line Theatre), Give ‘Em Hell (Prairie Fire, Please / Theatre Direct) and It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play & Yellow Face (New Stages) all while touring his one-person Robert Munsch show(s) Fireside Munsch*.  (*Eight Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations).

TERRY, ERIC and DEVIN FAN are brothers, writers and artists who have been dreaming up stories and characters together since they were young. Barnaby Unboxed! is the follow-up to The Barnabus Project, winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award and the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, among many other honors, and published in almost twenty languages around the world. Terry and Eric are the author-illustrators of the internationally renowned The Night Gardener, Ocean Meets Sky, It Fell from the Sky and Lizzy and the Cloud as well as the illustrators of several other bestselling picture books, including Chris Hadfield’s The Darkest Dark. Eric is also the author of the critically acclaimed picture book Night Lunch, illustrated by Dena Seiferling. Devin is a youth worker who has a passion for nature, poetry and kung fu. All three brothers live in Ontario, and daydream during long walks in the park.

Erin Hawryluk loved drawing so much that she became an illustrator. With a background in animation and a love for storytelling, creating children’s books has always been a dream. Seeing a special story come to life is what it’s all about. Erin is the illustrator of the children’s book Getting Glam at Gram’s. She lives in Southwestern Ontario with her family.

Sara Weed loved school so much that she became a teacher. Now as a dynamic secondary-level science teacher with the Lambton Kent District School Board, she brings her zest for life and love of learning into her classroom. When she is not teaching, she enjoys creating art, getting outdoors, and all things active. She lives with her wife and their two kids in rural Ontario and together they share a passion for reading. Her kids inspired her to create Getting Glam at Gram’s – a children’s book radiating queer joy.

Growing up, Farah Qaiser always had her head buried in a book. She is a scientist by training, a DNA detective if you will, and has worn many hats, from working in policy to writing for newspapers. Farah holds a Master of Science from the University of Toronto. She hopes that Khadija And the Elephant Toothpaste Experiment will help draw children into the world of science, a world they belong in.

Hajer Nakua is a PhD graduate from the University of Toronto. Her research investigated the relationship between brain development and mental health symptoms in children. Hajer passionate about making science accessible. She uses social media to share mental health and neuroscience research with her North American and Middle Eastern followers on Instagram (in English and Arabic). Hajer also enjoys giving talks about neuroscience to children and youth. Hajer is the co-author of a recently published book, Khadija and the Elephant Toothpaste Experiment, which aims to encourage young girls to pursue their curiosities and see themselves in the world of science. 

Jeff Szpirglas is the author of several works for young people, including the Countdown to Danger series for Scholastic Canada and the Book of Screams series from Orca. He is also the co-author, with Danielle Saint-Onge, of a number of Orca Echoes titles, including Shark Bait!, X Marks the Spot! and Super Switch. Jeff has worked at CTV and was an editor at Chirp, Chickadee and Owl magazines. In his spare time, he teaches grade school. Jeff lives with his family in Kitchener, Ontario.

Jennifer Maruno, former elementary school principal, is the author of eight novels for middle grade and young adult readers as well as four picture books. Her novels of historical fiction, which focus on Canadian history, have received many award nominations and commendations. Her latest picture book, While You Sleep, was selected by The Bank Street College of Education’s The Best Children Books of the Year (for books published in 2022). She received her Master of Education from Brock University. Jennifer enjoys full time writing, travelling and mentoring other writers. She lives in Burlington, Ontario.

Joel A. Sutherland is the award-winning author of House of Ash and Bone (Tundra Books), Screamers (Scholastic Canada), numerous volumes of Haunted Canada (a series that now has more than 500,000 copies in print, has recently been adapted into a graphic novel, and is being developed for television), and Summer’s End (a Red Maple Award Honour Book). His series, Haunted, including The House Next Door, was praised by Goosebumps author R.L. Stine. He has a Masters of Information and Library Studies from Aberystwyth University in Wales and lives in southeastern Ontario with his family. Visit him at joelasutherland.com.