NEWS RELEASE
EDEN MILLS WRITERS' FESTIVAL
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With the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the EMWF presents Imaginations Ignite!, an national online event series for schools that invites students to explore worlds beyond their own, featuring Canadian authors Jade Armstrong, Lawrence Hill, Kirstie Hudson, Dane Liu, Carey Newman, Heather M. O’Connor, KC Oster, Dom Pelletier, and Darcy Whitecrow.
Designed for students ages 4-13, all events are free of charge and include live ASL interpretation. Learning themes are provided for all events to allow teachers and home-schooling families to integrate events into their classroom curriculum.
Lawrence Hill, one of Canada’s most celebrated authors, joins host Liselle Sambury on Tuesday May 3 to share his debut novel for young readers, Beatrice and Croc Harry. This fun and interactive event will explore the magic of his debut novel for middle grade readers, about a brave and resilient Black girl’s search for identity and healing.
On May 10, co-authors Darcy Whitecrow and Heather M. O’Connor present Runs with the Stars, a moving picture book about the Ojibwe Horse, the only Indigenous-bred horse in Canada. Students will learn the real-life inspiration for the story, meet horses from Darcy’s ranch, and discover interesting facts about Ojibwe horses.
On May 24, multi-disciplinary artist Carey Newman and co-author Kirstie Hudson share The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation. The book is the story of the blanket Carey Newman created to honour and document the stories of the thousands of Indigenous children who were taken from their families and sent to residential schools across Canada. The Blanket is a living work of art—a collection of hundreds of objects from those schools. It includes everything from photos, bricks, hockey skates, graduation certificates, dolls and piano keys to braids of hair. Behind every piece is a story. And behind every story is a residential school Survivor, including Carey's father.
On May 31, author Dane Lui reads from Friends are Friends, Forever, a picture book based on her immigration story, and on June 7, Jade Armstrong (Scout is Not a Band Kid), KC Oster (Rabbit Chase), and Dom Pelletier (The Lunch Club #4: Revenge of the Bigfoot) participate in a panel discussion about the work that goes into creating a graphic novel. Both events are presented in partnership with Wellington County Library.
The EMWF is partnering with booksellers across the country for this event series, and copies of the books featured can be purchased at Mill Street Books (Almonte), The Bookshelf (Guelph), Words Worth Books (Kitchener-Waterloo), Octopus Books (Ottawa), Another Story Bookshop (Toronto), Black Bond Books (Lower Mainland, B.C.), and Munro’s Books (Victoria, B.C).
Further details can be found at emwf.ca. Media inquiries can be directed to [email protected].
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