Events for Kids, K-8
Authors@School | Wednesday, September 27
Kingston WritersFest is proud to bring some of Canada’s best children’s authors to Kingston area elementary to share stories and illustrate the power of words to inspire and delight. This is a chance to nurture Canada’s future writers and readers, and to demonstrate that the written word is not only captivating but accessible.
This year Maria Birmingham, Erin Bow, Andrea Curtis, Mark Sakamoto, Geraldo Valério, and Marty Wilson-Trudeau visit twelve schools on Wednesday, September 27. Young audiences get the chance to meet writers, participate in activities, listen to story readings, and learn about worlds beyond their own.
How to book an Authors@School Visit:
Email KWF’s Education Manager, Ying Lee, at educationmanager@kingstonwritersfest.ca with the following info:
Your name / school / grade level / ideal start times for BOTH morning and afternoon presentations
If you requested a visit last year and were placed on a waiting list, please mention this.
If you’d like a particular author/topic/grade level, we will do our best to accommodate you.
There is no charge for A@S author visits.
We are grateful to the Homestead Foundation for the generous financial support that makes the Authors@School program possible.
Events for Youth
Festival Field Trip (FFT) + TeensWrite! Studio (TWS) Events | Thursday, September 28
KWF welcomes students to a day of events designed to inform and inspire. The program features a range of critically acclaimed authors Laurence Beaudoin-Masse, Erin Bow, Ryan Ewing, Leanne Lieberman, Jamal Saeed, Craig Shreve, Liselle Sambury, and Sarah Tsiang, chosen for their literary talent, compelling topics, and skill in connecting with readers. While FFT events are curated for their appeal to youth, they are open to everyone.
How to buy tickets:
Email KWF’s Education Manager, Ying Lee, at educationmanager@kingstonwritersfest.ca with the following info:
Your name / School name / event numbers / number of students
Please estimate as accurately as possible. We will ask you to confirm ticket numbers no later than Thursday, September 21 (a week before the festival).
Tickets are $5 each for main-stage presentations and $10 each for workshops. HST is included. No additional fees.
Event Descriptions
3. Messy Lives with Leanne Lieberman
9:30 – 10:15 am
Every life has secrets, as Jess – whose home is far less than perfect, is about to find out. When she’s hired to clean a gorgeous home to help make ends meet, Jess discovers a rich girl’s diary. Join Leanne Lieberman for a conversation about how even those who seem to have everything they want can have very real problems.
4. My Road from Damascus with Jamal Saeed
9:30 – 10:15 am
Being a rebellious free-thinker is a challenge in any society, but when you grow up in a country where those in power seek to control the message, the consequences become grave. Jamal tells the true story of his multiple imprisonments in Syria for his writing, social, and political views, what life there was like, and about his journey to Canada, and Kingston.
TWS1. Poetry Writing for Teens with Sarah Tsiang *SOLD OUT*
9:30 – 10:45 am
Join award-winning children’s author, poet, and teacher Sarah Tsiang for a relaxed and friendly introduction to writing poems. Whether you want to create rhyming couplets or freestyle with your verse, Sarah will show you how to use imagery and play with language to develop your unique style and voice.
5. Suck it in and Smile with Laurence Beaudoin-Masse
10:45 am – 11:30 am
#goals. Influencer Ellie is obsessed with creating the perfect life for her many followers. But as her family’s disapproval, a fight with another creator, and the impossible quest for the ‘ideal weight’ and flawless existence start to take their toll, she begins to wonder if all the faked perfection is worth the effort, and if she really knows who she is anymore.
6. The African Samurai with Craig Shreve
10:45 am – 11:30 am
Join Craig Shreve for the (almost) unbelievable true story of a young 16th-century African soldier who was taken from his village as a boy, and sold as a slave to Portuguese mercenaries, before being ‘gifted’ to a Japanese warlord. Given the new name Yasuke, he is granted the role of samurai, a title that has never been given to a foreigner before.
TWS2. Choose Your Own Disaster with Erin Bow
11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Taught by an award-winning science fiction and fantasy author, this interactive course on world-building class considers how worlds suggest stories, and stories suggest worlds. We’ll talk about the kinds of scale and the suggestive details that make imaginary worlds feel real. Though focused on SF/F, this class is useful to fiction writers of all stripes.
7. Delicious Monsters with Liselle Sambury
12:00 – 12:45 pm
A haunted mansion, a young woman who sees ghosts, and another trying to escape a very human monster. Join Liselle Sambury for Delicious Monsters, a mind-bending psychological thriller with some chilling characters and a pair of teens, who, ten years apart, are determined to get answers!
Content warning: off-page mentions of childhood sexual assault, abuse, and suicide.
TWS3. Zine Making 101 with Ryan Ewing *SOLD OUT*
12:30 – 1:45 pm
Join Ryan from Pocket Thoughts Zines for a zine-making workshop to explore your creativity, ideas, imagination, and experiences! Zines (mini indie magazines, if you will) are a personal form of expression and can be about anything… from a cause you care deeply about to a mini-memoir, a comic strip, or even just what you had for breakfast (yum!). Let’s have fun putting some thoughts on paper!
Supported by B’nai Brith, Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board, Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario, and Limestone District School Board.
