Sessions and Author Bios
Download the YAC Program (PDF)
Storytelling, Through an Indigenous Lens
ELEMENTARY: 2 Sessions
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
Storytelling always has been and will always be an essential way of life. There are four types of storytelling. Using a variety of items and objects, Leaha Atcheynum will share why storytelling, imagination, laughter and wahkotowin are so important to culture!
Leaha Atcheynum is a proud Métis woman with Cree ancestry and comes from Jackfish Lake, Sask., where her family lived on their traditional Métis land. Her great-grandmother (chapan) is connected to Saulteux First Nation, and her great-grandfather was a French settler. Although Atcheynum did not grow up in her culture as a young child, as a teenager, she chose to dedicate her lifelong journey to embracing her culture and regaining her connection to the land, the teachings and her ancestors.
The Power of the Pyramid
ELEMENTARY: 2 Session
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
Ninjas and pyramids? Absolutely yes. Here’s where you’ll learn key components of how to hook your reader and mess with their emotions to create a piece of writing that will show the world you truly are a Story Ninja.
Sigmund Brouwer is an Alberta author with more than 100 titles published. He loves visiting schools with his Rock and Roll Literacy Show. His recent novel, Thief of Glory, was an Alberta Readers’ Choice Award winner, and his young adult novel, Dead Man’s Switch, is an Arthur Ellis winner for best Y/A mystery in Canada. Learn more at sigmundbrouwer.com
Stories with Pictures
ELEMENTARY: 2 Sessions
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
What do picture books and comics have in common? Both use illustrations to help tell the story in a sequential format! Mike Boldt’s workshop will take you through the creative process of visual storytelling in picture books, comics and graphic novels. The session is a hands-on learning experience with Boldt drawing right alongside you and giving you useful assistance along the way. From word balloons to dynamic page layouts the goal is to equip you with the right tools so you can let your own imagination and artistic style run free with this sequential art form.
Mike Boldt loves ice cream, comics, cartoons and creating picture books. As an author and New York Times bestselling illustrator, he has worked on more than 20 books with publishers such as Penguin Random House, Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, and Scholastic Canada. Learn more at mikeboldt.ca
Stories That Go Bump in the Night
ELEMENTARY: 2 Sessions
Author Marty Chan shares some key tricks for creating scary stories. If you’ve ever wanted to frighten your friends with a ghost story, this is the session that will teach you how to build a proper jump scare.
Create Creepypastas
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
Want to write a story that will give people nightmares? Marty Chan shares his tips and tricks on creating spine-tingling creepypasta that will make you the stuff of urban legends.
Marty Chan writes plays for adults and books for kids. He has one new book, Shadow and Spell. Learn more at martychan.com.
Cartooning with Gary!
ELEMENTARY: 2 Sessions
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
To draw cartoons of people, animals, houses, giant robots, talking mice and even superheroes, artists learn to keep things easy and simple. Join Cartoonist Gary Delainey for a session of drawing and exercises to help you do just that. You’ll have fun and leave with pages of your very own cartoons!
Gary Delainey is the author, with fellow cartoonist, Gerry Rasmussen of the Betty comic strip. Betty is printed in newspapers around the world. In Edmonton, Betty is printed in the Edmonton Sun. When Gary isn’t drawing and writing comics, he enjoys playing hockey and taking his dog, Roscoe, to the dog park.
How to Write a Fantasy Story that Would Blow the Socks off Harry Potter If He Read It?
ELEMENTARY: 2 Sessions
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
Ever wanted to write your own fantasy story, but not sure where to begin? Learn the “Fantasy Blueprint” every author needs to write their own Harry Potter. You’ll explore the key elements of good fantasy writing, the importance of developing characters, world-building, point-of-view and much more in this fun workshop, specially designed for young writers.
Tyler Enfield is the author of Wrush, Hannah and the Magic Eye, and two adult novels. He is also a photographer and filmmaker. Learn more at TylerEnfield.com
Turn on that Spotlight!
ELEMENTARY: 1 Session
Do you have the next big movie pitch? Do you have ideas in your head about the stage or the screen? In this workshop, Jonathan will work with you on flushing those ideas onto paper with fun writing exercises to build a group story from the ground up!
3, 2, 1: Lights up!
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
In this fun and dynamic workshop, Jonathan will guide you on character creation for the stage and screen. Be amazed as these newly created characters begin to interact with each other in a world that we create together! We will also talk about the basics of playwriting, so that you too, can create stories of your own!
Jonathan Ewing is an author and playwright from Sherwood Park. He self-published his first novella, Hidden In Plain Sight, in 2017, when he was just 16. Since then, he has started his own theatre company, Typecast Anonymous Productions. He also co-wrote a one-act play that was adapted into a feature film. Ewing is excited to help the next generation of writers create their own legacy.
Passionate About Poetry!
ELEMENTARY: 2 Session
Are you a poet and didn’t even know it? Poets have been using words to evoke thought, laughter, tears and more in their readers for centuries. Join Mandie Frey to learn more about the power of poetry. Let’s rhyme, create and have some fun while working with poems!
Mandie Frey is an elementary school teacher with Elk Island Public Schools. In 2020, she published her first children’s book, She Is, for her two young daughters. Frey has been passionate about writing poems since she was a young girl. She hopes to ignite a love of poetry in young writers!
“You talkin’ to me? For real?”
ELEMENTARY: 2 Sessions
Good dialogue is a great way to make your characters reveal who they are or move your story in a new direction. Let’s explore what the give-and-take of talk can show your audience.
Travel to the Future
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
A box of crazy items just showed up…and they look like they’re from the future. What are they for? Who sent them? Why are they here? Let author and journalist Rita Feutl show you tips and tricks to that will help a present-day character time travel into the future. We’ll build a scene, add your character and see what happens!
Rita Feutl has written newspaper stories about everyone from hockey players and opera singers to prime ministers and zookeepers. That’s how she got to shake an elephant’s tongue. But what she likes best of all is writing books for kids and teens. She loves putting her characters in interesting or difficult situations—such as accidentally travelling into Alberta’s past or owing money to someone sketchy—to see what they’ll do. Feutl enjoys cycling, soccer, good chocolate and sharing stories.
Write Like a Rat
ELEMENTARY: 3 Sessions
Mortimer, a journal-keeping lab rat on the International Space Station, is determined to prove his species is best suited to colonizing Mars. He records the results in his journal, uses a secret code, and makes videos for his YouTube channel. Discover how you, too, can write like a rat. Based on Mortimer: Rat Race to Space.
Joan Marie Galat is the award-winning author of more than 25 books. Her newest middle-grade title, Mortimer: Rat Race to Space, is about a journal-writing lab rat intent on using science and YouTube to prove his species is best suited to colonizing Mars. Galat’s book Dark Matters: Nature’s Reaction to Light Pollution includes true stories set in Sherwood Park, where she grew up. Her book on wacky engineering shows how to do fun things, such as stop a candy thief. Writing from the Edmonton area, she works with two noisy budgies who won’t stay off her keyboard.
Cat Naps: Short Writing and Drawing Sprints for the Win
ELEMENTARY: 1 Session
Cat naps are usually short little sleeps that recharge and refresh our feline friends so they can wow the world with their more than slightly evil genius ways. Let’s learn from the kittie realm and embark (hmmm ... that’s a dog pun, really) on a series of short writing and drawing sprints. They’ll be fun. They’ll be fast. They’ll be FURious. And we’ll use them to create characters that POUNCE off the page. There’s no time to snooze ... let’s get napping!
Writing Horror Fiction
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
Young adult paranormal and thriller author, Judith Graves, helps you dig deep and unearth the killer themes lurking in your horror and thriller fiction. The genre isn’t just writing tales of blood and guts. Learn how to get under your reader’s skin, play on their primal fears and hold mirrors up to their own inner monsters. These FANGtasic tips will keep your readers turning the page … to the dire end.
Judith Graves is an award-winning young-adult fiction writer—Exposed and Infiltrate: Retribution series, with Orca Book Publishers—and a screenwriter and illustrator. A firm believer that fiction can be action-packed, snarky and yet hit the right emotional notes, Graves writes stories with attitude. She lives in Summerside, P.E.I., with her husband and fur-babies. A Tale of Two Kittens is her debut picture book published by Acorn Press.
Dress Up Your Skeleton
ELEMENTARY: 2 Sessions
Do you know that every story has a skeleton? Discover how to create this skeleton, then what you need to dress it up and make your story so real that it practically steps off the page!
Write It Right
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
Creating the perfect story will be easy once you know these insider tips. Whether writing for school or to be published, this session will show you the insider secrets you need to Write it Right!
Jacqueline Guest began writing professionally in Grade 5 when she was paid $0.25 by her brother to write his language arts essay. She now has 30 novels, short stories and levelled reading books with topics ranging from comic book superheroes and mysterious meteorites to dangerous dinosaurs. While doing research for her books, she has stood on an iceberg, flown a kite in a hurricane and dodged hungry lions!
Write On!
ELEMENTARY: 2 Sessions
How do you get better at anything? You practice. But hey, who said practice has to be boring? In Kathy Jessup’s workshop, you’ll hone your writing chops by trying a series of short drills to strengthen your skills and stretch your imagination. With some easy tips and techniques, it’s a snap to make a good story even better. Come for a fun workout … the only thing you’ll lift is a pencil!
Kathy Jessup is an Edmonton-based children’s writer and storyteller. She has toured schools, libraries and festivals across Canada and internationally, entertaining audiences with her original stories. Her student writing workshops are also popular. Jessup’s storytelling CD LISTEN UP! Tellable Tales for Hungry Ears is recommended in the Canadian Children’s Book Centre guide “Best Books for Kids & Teens.” Learn more at kathyjessup.com.
Bee’s-Eye View: Writing and Seeing the World from a Unique Viewpoint
ELEMENTARY: 1 Session
Let’s have some fun developing a non-human character in a whole variety of different ways! We will draw a funny bee cartoon, paint a fuzzy bee from a splat of yellow paint, write some ideas of what a bee worries about and what makes a happy bee afternoon. Can we draw a flower the way a bee sees it? Who would be our bee’s best friend—a ladybug, perhaps? A carpenter ant? A lot of words rhyme with bee, shall we write a poem? Illustrators and writers get to know their characters really well during the course of a project— let’s start the process in a playful way and see what magic we can make!
Planning your Picture Book: Thumbnails and Story Boards
ELEMENTARY: 1 Session
You have an idea for a children’s storybook. Perhaps you even have a plot and characters. Excellent! But the first thing a publisher will want from you after that is a clear visual idea of how your book will look. Will the pictures sit alongside the text or will you have full-page images with the words superimposed? Can the reader follow the flow of the story as the illustrations progress through the book? Do your pictures lead the reader to want to turn the page to see what happens next? Importantly, does your style remain consistent?
You will leave this session having developed a storyboard for a picture book—essentially a miniature version of your book ready to be further developed. Bring your story ideas, if you have them, and we will have lots more ready to discover!
Let’s design a non-human Protagonist!
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
Let’s design a non-human Protagonist! Mammal, lizard, arthropod, alien, warm-blooded or cold, - getting the basic science down first gives you a base from which to let your imagination go wild. A writer or illustrator should know their main character well- that way the reader will be able to relate to them too. In this workshop, we will pick (or invent) a species and create a detailed bio and visual identity of your protagonist. A combination of drawing and collage will be used to mock-up an image of your character, and a check-list of characteristics will help you narrow down their personality, interests, and biological quirks. Prepare for an inhuman level of fun!
Lisa Lypowy is an artist and writer, but that’s not all! Like most people who love the craft of creating stories, she draws inspiration from interacting with the world in a whole variety of ways. Lypowy is a mom, a traveller, an entomologist, a dental hygienist, a reader and a pet owner. Lately, she has illustrated the picture book Crescent Moon Friends, published in 2022 by The Acorn Press and Nimbus Publishing. The book celebrates friendship and the sharing of different cultures. Although the characters are human, as the illustrator, Lypowy was able to add in birds, insects, flowers and a cute cat to complement the story.
The Gingerbread Teacher: Chasing a Dream!
ELEMENTARY: 1 Session
It takes a lot of work to make your dream come true! If you are interested in being a children’s author, illustrator or both, come spend some time with author and illustrator Tamara Martin Spady. Learn how Martin Spady took her stories and turned them into children’s picture books. During the workshop, you’ll learn to draw one of the characters from Martin Spady’s books and how to work on character illustration development to create characters for your own stories.
Tamara Martin Spady is an author, illustrator, artist, teacher, consultant and speaker. She has a passion for art and has created five children’s step-by-step drawing books that teach young children the basics of drawing. Martin Spady has published two children’s storybooks—The Gingerbread Teacher and The Hairy Fellows: A Rabbit’s Guide to Drawing. Martin Spady is also the recipient of Elk Island Public Schools’ Terry Gunderson Award for the promotion of lifelong learning through professional learning.
Introductory Screenwriting and Playwriting
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
Understand the basics of writing a script and creating complex, interesting characters to tell an engaging story. Observe stills and clips from previous works and learn how to translate script to stage or script to screen. Utilize helpful tricks and tips about the power of good dialogue and how it can take a script from good to great.
Amelia Newstead is a recent graduate of Salisbury Composite High and an award-winning playwright, who was heavily involved in the arts programs at her schools since elementary. She began writing scripts for plays in Grade 8, and it blended with her passion for film in senior high when she began writing and shooting short films in her spare time. Her passion for scripts and screenwriting is only the beginning, and she is thrilled to share her interests with young people.
Cartooning with Gerry!
ELEMENTARY: 2 Sessions
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
Gerry Rasmussen will show how to create your own characters and then put those characters into their own cartoon worlds. No drawing experience necessary!
Gerry Rasmussen is an internationally syndicated cartoonist who draws the daily comic strip, Betty, written by Gary Delainey. Rasmussen has been a professional cartoonist for 40 years, and besides drawing Betty, he also illustrates children’s books and magazines, and has taught cartooning classes for years.
Raise the Stakes
ELEMENTARY: 2 Sessions
Want to build tension? Raise your heart rate? Keep your reader turning pages? Learn how to aim for the climax and raise the stakes along the way. Make spines tingle: Activate that action and bring your characters to the brink!
Creepilicious!
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
Want to scare the pants off someone? Tell a hair-raising tale? Pump up those pulses with piloerecting ghost stories? Creating tension or, gulp, terror in a story crosses all genres—mystery, adventure, speculative fiction, fantasy, horror and even romance. So let’s dabble in wordplay that raises the stakes (vampires beware!), curdles the blood and gets right to the action of your scariest scenes. Discover just when gore is creepilicious and when it’s too much!
Gail Sidonie Šobat, author of 12 books for youth and adults, is creator-director of YouthWrite®, Spoken Word Youth/Adult Choirs; is an instructor in MacEwan’s Communications program; and has presented across Canada and internationally. She’s also a Global TV Woman of Vision, a recipient of Edmonton’s Arts and Culture Citation Award, and an Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund award winner. Over her life, she’s moved 40 times from Badlands to Siksika Nation Reserve to hideous suburbs to Istanbul to the Sunshine Coast to her writer’s garret in a century-old temperamental house.
Hullabaloo* At Spafford-fitz Zoo
ELEMENTARY: 2 Sessions
Congratulations on your new fantasy career: Zookeeper at Spafford-Fitz Zoo! Using Karen Spafford-Fitz’s story prompts and a roll of the dice, create your own imaginary animal. What unique characteristics does your beastie friend have? And what mayhem follows when your creature escapes from the zoo? There will be much ado at Spafford-Fitz Zoo. Bring your inner zookeeper and your wild sense of imagination as we write a high-stakes adventure story!
*hullabaloo: fuss, noise, uproar
Writing On the Edge of Emotion
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
Want to write high-stakes stories that grab readers by the heart and won’t let them go? Then think emotion! Whether you’re into fantasy, mystery, contemporary-problem stories or other genres, prepare to create an intriguing, relatable protagonist. Then, through discussion and fun writing exercises, learn how to make your readers experience suppressed rage, love, acceptance or the sting of injustice alongside your character. Expect the unexpected in this session and delve deep into your character’s journey.
Karen Spafford-Fitz is the author of eight books that feature teenagers who are working through real-life challenges. Spafford-Fitz often sets her stories in Edmonton. But her newest novel, Pickpocket, happens in southern France. A former junior high teacher, she has spoken to thousands of students about how books, reading and writing are tickets to living their best life. When Spafford-Fitz is not crafting words in her studio, she’s often struggling to keep up with her sweet, energetic—and sometimes naughty—pup named Bowie.
Who Says Canadian History is Boring?
ELEMENTARY: 1 Session
JUNIOR HIGH: 1 Session
Canadian history comes alive as big money and lots of booze flowed freely across the Canada-United States border during the Prohibition era in the 1920s. Former Global News anchor, Gord Steinke, shares tips on the research and writing of his recent book, Mobsters and Rumrunners of Canada. Steinke will also offer students a look at his award-winning series, Your Town, which explores the colourful history of communities across Alberta.
Gord Steinke retired recently from Global News after anchoring the 6 p.m. newscasts for 31 years. He also has more than 36 years of journalism experience working in local, national and international markets. Steinke has a bachelor of arts in journalism and communications from the University of Regina. He began his journalism career at CBC radio in Regina. After reporting and anchoring for CBC and Newsworld, he landed a job in Minnesota as an anchor and reporter on a national all-news channel. After three years, he returned to Canada and joined the Global News team.