EDUCATOR’S GUIDE
PRESENTED BY THE FESTIVAL OF LITERARY DIVERSITY APRIL 30—MAY 7, 2023 >> VIRTUAL + IN-PERSON
GETTING STARTED
This guide was created to help educators engage with their students while attending the festival events. The pre- and post-activities below can be used for all our events. The exercises that explore specific events, and the author profiles are meant to provide you with more information about the creatives participating in this year’s festival.
After each activity, we have provided a link to a graphic organizer that scaffolds learning. A Google Drawing copy of the exercise will be created to be printed or shared digitally.
PRE-EVENT ACTIVITY
Before watching a festival event, look up the authors. Select one, and make note of the books they’ve written and any other information you can find about them.
1. What made you choose this writer or illustrator?
2. What was the most interesting thing you learned about them?
3. Share why you chose the author and something about their life that impacted you or made you curious to know more. Prepare one question you would ask them if you got the chance to interview them.
POST-EVENT ACTIVITY
After listening to the session, identify:
1. Three things you learned
2. Two things you found interesting
3. One question you still have about writing or about one of the authors
SCHOOL GROUP SESSIONS + EXERCISES
In this Writer’s Life series event, SyrianCanadian author Zoulfa Katouh discusses her writing process and routine as Kids Coordinator Ardo Omer digs into the journey of writing her debut best-selling young adult novel, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
QUESTIONS:
1. How long do you think it takes an author to publish a book from first draft to a published book available in the store?
2. Make note of the steps involved for an author to turn their story from a draft to a published book. What surprised you the most about the process?
3. Record any interesting comments or quotes from the session. What question would you ask Zoulfa?
OPEN OUR INTERACTIVE EXCERCISE
FOR STUDENTS
Writing nonfiction can be tricky, especially for emerging writers. In this panel for young people, three nonfiction writers discuss how they turned their real-life stories and historical research into a book. How do you share those difficult personal moments? How do turn research into something interesting to read?
QUESTIONS:
1. What part of your life would you focus on if you were to write a short memoir? Where would you start the story and which people in your life would you write about?
2. As you listen to the event note the similarities and differences between how the authors navigate personal stories in their writing.
3. Have you ever turned someone you know into a character in a story? What steps can be taken to protect their privacy while sharing your truth?
4. What types of research is involved in writing about real life topics like historical figures?
OPEN OUR INTERACTIVE EXCERCISE FOR STUDENTS
Families are messy—which makes them perfect subject matter for great stories and story-telling. In this panel discussion designed for school groups and readers and writers of young adult fiction, three authors discuss the family dynamics in their most recent novels and the process for creating and cultivating believable relatives and relationships.
QUESTIONS:
1. Before you watch the session, consider the word “family” — consider what it is assumed to mean and all the types of people it should or could include.
2. What are some of the ways the authors created realistic family dynamics in their novels?
3. Friendships are key relationships to the characters in these novels. What role do friendships have in your life?
OPEN OUR INTERACTIVE EXCERCISE FOR STUDENTS
Being a teen can be tough. From managing the weight of expectations to dealing with big topics and world issues, it can feel like life is too big and too much to handle. In this panel designed just for students, three young adult authors discuss the ways reading and writing can be a tool for escape and entertainment, as well as a powerful tool to tackle everyday issues.
QUESTIONS:
1. Consider your point of view on reading. Is it a tool that you use to escape from every day life or is it something you’d rather do to learn more about the world?
2. Consider the last few books that you have read. Did you read them for escape or entertainment? Or did you read them to learn something? Is it possible for books to do both? Provide books you’ve read in the past to support your answer.
OPEN OUR INTERACTIVE EXCERCISE FOR STUDENTS
In our annual teen spoken word showcase, three poets take the mic and present incredible poetry. Hosted by poetry curator The Wild Woman, this event is geared towards high school students.
QUESTIONS:
1. Before you watch the session, discuss as a class the difference between reading poetry and watching it performed. (Predict what the differences may be if your group does not have much experience watching performances.)
2. As you watch the session, record themes you hear or use the activity provided to organize your ideas.
3. What are some skills spoken word poets need to perform for an audience? How could these skills transfer to other areas of your life?
OPEN OUR INTERACTIVE EXCERCISE FOR STUDENTS
WRITER & PERFORMER BIOS + SOCIALS
DANIEL ALEMAN TORONTO, ON
Daniel Aleman is the award-winning author of Indivisible . He was born and raised in Mexico City. A graduate of McGill University, he is passionate about books, coffee, and dogs. After spending time in Montreal and the New York City area, he now lives in Toronto, where he is on a never-ending search for the best tacos in the city. His second novel, Brighter Than the Sun , was published on March 21, 2023 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
website: danielaleman.com
twitter: @Dan_Aleman
instagram: danaleman
FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL
Brighter Than the Sun (2023)
• Ages 14+
• ISBN-13: 978-0316704472
• Available as: Print, eBook
OTHER BOOKS
• Indivisible (2021)
BRITTA BADOUR TORONTO, ON
Britta Badour, better known as Britta B., is an award winning artist, spoken word poet, performer, emcee, voice actor and educator. She lives in Toronto. Most recently, Britta was announced Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Artist of 2021. Her works have featured in print, in sound and onstage across North America in notable spheres such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, CBC Arts: Poetic License, The Walrus Talks, TEDx and The Stephen Lewis Foundation. She is an alumna of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity Spoken Word Residency and 2018 Toronto Arts Council Leaders Lab Fellow. As an educator, Britta facilitates artisttraining seminars, poetry workshops and social justice programs in partnership with organizations like JAYU, Poetry In Voice, Prologue Performing Arts, League of Canadian Poets and The Power Plant. Britta holds a Creative Writing MFA from the University of Guelph and is a professor of spoken word performance at Seneca College.
website: brittab.com
twitter: @missbrittab
FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL
Wires That Sputter (2023)
• Ages 14+
• ISBN-13: 978-0771004544
• Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook
CODY CAETANO TORONTO, ON
Cody Caetano is a writer of Anishinaabe and Portuguese descent and an off-reserve member of Pinaymootang First Nation. He has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Toronto, where he wrote this memoir under the mentorship of Lee Maracle. Excerpts of Half-Bads in White Regalia earned him a 2020 Indigenous Voices Award for Unpublished Prose.
website: codycaetano.com
instagram: cody_caetano
Half-Bads in White Regalia (2022)
• Ages 18+
• ISBN-13: 978-0735240858
• Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook
FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL
JEN FERGUSON
Métis (on her father’s side) and Canadian settler (on her mother’s side), an activist, a feminist, an auntie, and an accomplice armed with a PhD. She believes writing, teaching and beading are political acts. She is represented by Patricia Nelson at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Her debut young adult novel, The Summer of Bitter and Sweet , is out from Heartdrum / HarperCollins. Her first book for adults, Border Markers , a collection of interrelated flash fiction stories, is out now with NeWest Press. Her novella “Missing” won the Malahat Review ’s 2022 Novella Prize and her essay “Off Balance” was selected for the Best Canadian Essays 2020 . Learn more about her other novels, short stories, essays, and poems. She lives on the traditional and unceded territories of the Meskwaki, the Báxoje and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ nations, and teaches fiction writing, among other things, at Coe College.
website: jenfergusonwrites.com
twitter: @jennyleeSD
instagram: jdotferg
FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL
The Summer of Bitter and Sweet (2022)
• Ages 13+
• ISBN-13: 978-0063086166
• Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook, Brialle
KEVIN HERONJONES TORONTO, ON
Kevin heronJones is an author, poet, journalist, editor, actor and lecturer. This electrifying artist is best known for his profound and powerful delivery. His writing is edu-tainment. It is poignant and inspiring. Words that equally speak to the street, the church, the night club and institutions of higher learning. He attempts to analyze life beyond the physical and spiritual norms to find the scientific parallels between our art forms, belief systems and history. He attended Sheridan College where he earned a diploma in Journalism and later furthered his education with the University of Toronto studying creative writing. He began his professional career as a writer and performer in 1998. He began freelancing articles while at the same time shopping his poetry to numerous publications.
website: heronjones.com
twitter: @kevinheronjones
FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL
Not Talking About You (2022)
• Ages 12+
• ISBN-13: 978-1459417076
• Available as: Print
OTHER BOOKS
• Half-Court Trap (2021)
TALIA HIBBERT UNITED KINGDOM
Talia Hibbert is a New York Times , USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who lives in a bedroom full of books. Supposedly, there is a world beyond that room, but she has yet to drum up enough interest to investigate. She writes spicy, diverse romance because she believes that people of marginalized identities need honest and positive representation. Her interests include makeup, junk food, and unnecessary sarcasm.
Talia and her many books reside in the English Midlands.
website: taliahibbert.com
twitter: @TaliaHibbert
instagram: taliahibbert
FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute (2023)
• Ages 13+
• ISBN-13: 978-0593482339
• Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook, Brialle
BOOKS FOR ADULTS
• Act Your Age, Eve Brown (2021)
• Take a Hint, Dani Brown (2020)
• Get a Life, Chloe Brown (2019) and more...
JESMEEN KAUR DEO ONTARIO, CANADA
Jesmeen Kaur Deo grew up in northern British Columbia, where she spent most of her childhood daydreaming. She loves books that can make her laugh and tug at her heartstrings in the same paragraph. When not wrapped up in stories, she can be found biking, playing the harmonium, or struggling to open jars. TJ Powar Has Something to Prove is her debut novel. She currently resides in Ontario.
website: jdeowrites.com
twitter: @JDeoWrites
FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL
TJ Power Has Something to Prove (2022)
• Ages 12+
• ISBN-13: 978-0593403396
• Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook, German
ZOULFA KATOUH SWITZERLAND
Zoulfa Katouh is the only person in her family who can’t roll her tongue, but that’s okay because she writes characters who can do so. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Drug Sciences. She is trilingual in English, Arabic and German. Zoulfa currently resides in Switzerland where she finds inspiration in the Studio Ghibli picturesque scenery. Ever since her Mama gave her a copy of Anne of Green Gables when she was eight years old, she discovered the beauty of books. Soon enough she was sneaking books under her school desk to read while teachers went on about Math and Physics. Her imagination grew, and one day, she had the courage to pen down the stories that roam her mind. And she never stopped! One of her many dreams is to get Kim Nam-joon to read one of her books. Her speculative contemporary YA debut As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow is published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Bloomsbury, making her the first Syrian YA author to be published in the US and UK.
website: zoulfakatouh.com
instagram: thelemonwitch_
FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL
As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow (2022)
• Ages 14+
• ISBN-13: 978-0316351379
• Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook, Braille
JEN SOOKFONG LEE NORTH BURNABY, BC
Jen Sookfong Lee was born and raised in Vancouver’s East Side, and she now lives with her son in North Burnaby. Her books include The Conjoined , nominated for International Dublin Literary Award and a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, The Better Mother, a finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Award, The End of East , The Shadow List , and Finding Home . Jen acquires and edits for ECW Press and co-hosts the literary podcast Can’t Lit .
website: sookfong.com
twitter: @JenSookfongLee
instagram: jenleefur
FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL
Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke
My Heart: A Memoir (2023)
• Ages 18+
• ISBN-13: 9780771025211
• Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook
BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
• Finding Home: the Journey of Immigrants and Refugees (2021)
• The Animals of Chinese New Year (2019)
• Chinese New Year: A Celebration for Everyone (2017)
LINDSAY RUCK HALIFAX,
NS
Lindsay R. Ruck , born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is a graduate of Carleton University’s School of Journalism in Ottawa. Since graduating in 2008, she has worked in the marketing, communications and publishing fields. Similar to her grandfather, the late Calvin W. Ruck, she has a deep and abiding respect and affection for her home province of Nova Scotia. She has recently returned to Halifax, after living in Ottawa for twelve years, to further her career as a writer and editor.
website: lindsayruck.ca
instagram: lindsay_ruck
FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL
Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians: Inspiring Stories of Courage and Achievement (2021)
• Ages 8–12
• ISBN-13: 978-1771089173
• Available as: Print, Audiobook
OTHER BOOKS
• Against the Grain (2019)
• Winds of Change (2014)
LISELLE SAMBURY TIMMINS, ON
Liselle Sambury is the Trinidadian-Canadian author of the Governor General’s Literary Awards Finalist, Blood Like Magic . Her work spans multiple genres, from fantasy to sci-fi, horror, and more. In her free time, she shares helpful tips for upcoming writers and details of her publishing journey through a YouTube channel dedicated to demystifying the sometimes complicated business of being an author.
website: lisellesambury.ca
twitter: @LiselleSambury
instagram: lisellesambury
FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL
Delicious Monsters (2023)
• Ages 14+
• ISBN-13: 978-1665903493
• Available as: Print
OTHER BOOKS
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Lost in the Void (2023)
• All These Sunken Souls (2023)
• Blood Like Fate (2022)
• Blood Like Magic (2021)
TAHIRA RAJWANI ONTARIO, CANADA
Tahira Rajwani is a student, volunteer and spoken word artist. She is the winner of Mississauga’s 2022 poetry slam and has been published with The Stranger Poets , Poetry Undressed and Paper Crane Magazine. Most recently, she was also the runner-up for Button Poetry ’s 2022 poem cover contest. Tahira is currently Marketing Lead with Sauga Poetry, an up-and-coming organization that aims to foster the local spoken word community and create opportunities for spoken word artists. By day, she is a psychology student at the University of Toronto.
GAVIN RUSSELL WHITBY, ON
Gavin Russell is a Spoken Word Artist out of Whitby, Ontario. Over the course of the last decade, he has brought his words to stages all over, attempting to bring levity, contemplation, and a desire to relish in the mundane to audiences everywhere. A multi-city champion in poetry slam, and a one-time national champion, he hopes to enlighten and entertain you. Yes, you specifically.
instagram: tahira_rajwani
SOURCES
Links for all resources are embeded below...
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS/EXERCISES
“Ditch That Textbook - 25 FREE Google Drawings graphic organizers — and how to make your own”
Post-Reading (Google Slide)
Noun Project (images)
CHOSEN FAMILY
“What ‘Chosen Family’ Means — and How to Build Your Own”
“People in the Queer Community are Leaning on Their ‘Chosen Family’ — Here’s Why That’s Important”
Elamin Abdelmahmoud SON OF ELSEWHERE
9780771002229.00
Penguin Random House
BOOK LIST 2023
Gia de Cadenet NOT THE PLAN
9780593356647.00
Penguin Random House
Ali Hassan IS THERE BACON IN HEAVEN?
9781982149178.00
Simon & Schuster
Meegan Lim WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DUMPLINGS
9781552454527.00 House Books
Alessandra Naccarato
IMMINENT DOMAINS: Reckoning with the Anthropocene
9781771667753.00
Book*hug Press
Tanya Turton
JADE IS A TWISTED GREEN
9781459748606.00
Dundurn Press
Daniel Aleman BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN
9780316704472.00
Hachette Book Group CA
Wayne Arthurson DISHONOUR IN CAMP 133
9780888016218.00 Turnstone Press
Cherie Dimaline
VENCO
9780735277212.00
Penguin Random House
Catherine Hernandez
THE STORY OF US
9781443459754.00
HarperCollins Canada
Roselle Lim
SOPHIE GO’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB
9780593335611.00 Random House
Dimitri Nasrallah HOTLINE
9781550655940.00
Vehicule Press
Anuja Varghese
CHRYSALIS
9781487011666.00
House of Anansi
Britta Badour WIRES THAT SPUTTER
9780771004544.00
Penguin Random House
FUNERAL SONGS FOR DYING GIRLS
9780735265639.00
Penguin Random House
Phantompains Therese Estacion
PHANTOMPAINS
9781771666862.00
Book*hug Press
Kevin heronJones NOT TALKING ABOUT YOU
978-1-4594-1707-6
Lerner Books
Robyn Maynard REHEARSALS FOR LIVING
9781039000650.00
Penguin Random House
Janika Oza
A HISTORY OF BURNING
9780771002311.00
Penguin Random House
Sandra S.G. Wong IN THE DARK WE FORGET
9781443465564.00
HarperCollins Canada
Kate Beaton
DU CKS: Two Years In The Oil Sands
9781770462892.00 Drawn & Quarterly
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson REHEARSALS FOR LIVING
9781039000650.00
Penguin Random House
Cody Caetano
HALF BADS IN WHITE REGALIA
9780735240858.00
Penguin Random House
Michael Christie GREENWOOD
9780771024481.00
Penguin Random House
Eli Tareq
El Bechelany-Lynch
KNOT BODY
978-1-988355-21-4
Metatron Press
Jen Ferguson
THE SUMMER OF BITTER AND SWEET
9780063086166.00
HarperCollins
R. Barri Flowers
DANGER ON MAUI
9781335582492.00
Harlequin
Talia Hibbert HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS AND UNFAIRLY CUTE
9780593482339.00
Penguin Random House
El Jones
ABOLITIONIST INTIMACIES
9781773635521.00
Fernwood Publishing
Zoulfa Katouh AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW
9780316351379.00
Hachette Book Group Canada
Jesmeen Kaur Deo
T.J. POWAR HAS SOMETHING TO PROVE
9780593403396.00
Penguin Random House
Suzette Mayr THE SLEEPING CAR PORTER
9781552454589.00 Coach House Books
Casey Plett
A SAFE GIRL TO LOVE
9781551529134.00
Arsenal Pulp Press
Dan K. Woo
TAOBAO: Stories
978-1-989496-51-0
Wolsak & Wynn
Susan Mockler
FRACTURED: A Memoir
9781772602708.00 Second Story Press
Danny Ramadan
THE FOGHORN ECHOES
9780735242180.00
Penguin Random House
Silvia Moreno-Garcia THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU
9780593355350.00
Penguin Random House
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
MEXICAN GOTHIC
9780525620808.00
Penguin Random House
Lindsay Ruck
AMAZING BLACK
ATLANTIC CANADIANS: Inspiring Stories of Courage and Achievement
9781771089173.00
Nimbus Publishing
Liselle Sambury
DELICIOUS MONSTERS
9781665903493.00
Simon & Schuster
Markus Harwood-Jones
IN A HEARTBEAT
9781459416277.00
James Lorimer & Company
Jen Sookfong Lee
SUPERFAN: How Pop Culture Broke
My Heart
9780771025211.00
Penguin Random House
Sheila Murray
FINDING EDWARD
9781770866263.00
Cormorant Books
Nisi Shawl
EVERFAIR
9781466837843.00
Tor
POETRY THERESE ESTACION