May 12-Presentation Descriptions.xlsx

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1	FESTIVAL PRESENTATION DESCRIPTIONS
2	May 12, 2026
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4	Blue Spruce
5	BOOK TITLE	AUTHOR	WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION	TIME	LOCATION
6	The Girl Who Loved Poutine	Lorna Schultz Nicholson	MAKE YOUR OWN POUTINE - What inspired Lorna Schultz Nicholson to write about poutine? It's a Canadian dish. Come learn where Lorna drew her inspiration from and where she found the different types of poutine she wrote about in her book! AND come and use your own creativity to think of what your favourite poutine might be!	12:15-12:45	Gallery
7	Bannock in a Hammock	Masiana Kelly	Masiana Kelley will read from her published books, including Bannock in a Hammock, We Love You as Much as the Fox Loves its Tail, and the Dancing Trees (if time permits). She will talk about how the legends, culture, and language she grew up with are a part of each book she has written and how anyone else can do the same.	1:15-1:45	Main Loft
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9	SILVER BIRCH EXPRESS
10	BOOK TITLE	AUTHOR	WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION	TIME	LOCATION
11	Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses	Stephanie Gibeault	Be A Dog Scientist - Join Stephanie Gibeault for an interactive workshop about dogs. See how well you know dogs with a true or false quiz, then become a dog scientist with some fun yet simple experiments to see how your senses stack up against a dog’s.	12:15-12:45	Studio Theatre
12	The League of Littles	Casey Lyall	Join author Casey Lyall for a group story-building game and an 'ask me anything' style chat where participants can get all of their League of Littles questions answered.	12:15-12:45	Harbourfront Centre Theatre
13	Plant Attack!: The Fascinating Ways Flora Defends Itself	Erin Silver	In this fun and interactive 30-minute presentation that combines drama and science, children learn about some of the wild and wacky ways plants protect themselves from predators. The presentation includes visuals, a reading from the book and a special leave-behind activity. Perfect for children in K-4—and especially those who loved Mighty Scared.	1:15-1:45	Gallery
14	Salma Speaks Up	Danny Ramadan	Let's write a story together: in this workshop, author Danny Ramadan will work interactively with the attendees on creating a collective story. With each participant writing a part of the story, together we will bring it to life on the screen.	1:15-1:45	Studio Theatre
15	This Is How a Ball Rolls: The Science of Wobbling, Bouncing, Spinning Balls	Suharu Ogawa	Becoming a non-fiction illustrator! What makes non-fiction books so much more fun and engaging to look at? How can we illustrate facts and information about the world around us in innovative ways? This workshop will provide you with creative approaches to illustrate non-fiction subject matter with a hint of fictional imagination. Grab your pencil and let’s have fun because Suharu is going to share a few secrets with you!	12:15-12:45	Main Loft
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18	SILVER BIRCH FICTION
19	BOOK TITLE	AUTHOR	WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION	TIME	LOCATION
20	The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt	Gabrielle Prendergast	Author Gabrielle Prendergast will discuss the inspiration for her Silver Birch Nominated book, The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt, and how she turned that first kernel of an idea into a fully fleshed out novel. Participants will have the opportunity to develop their own story ideas using the same methods and will share what they come up in the workshop.	10:15-10:45	Gallery
21	Bea Mullins Takes a Shot	Emily Deibert	Character Creation Workshop and Q&A Join Emily Deibert for a workshop on how to create characters for your story, and come away with your very own trading cards for your characters! Emily will also answer your biggest questions about writing, creating believable characters, and coming up with ideas for your stories.	11:15-11:45	Gallery
22	The City of Lost Cats	Tanya Lloyd Kyi	Get Unstuck! Do you ever panic when you see a blank page? Or get stuck in the middle of a story, with no idea what to write next? Me too! In this interactive workshop, we’re going to swap new ideas, get a bit silly, and find out what “story” really means.	11:15-11:45	Main Loft
23	Comic Shift	Ted Staunton	EARS, EYES & WEIRD IDEAS Every day life is boring? It's weird! A look at how story ideas lurk all around us and how we can imagine them into something very different. Ted shares some examples and writing tips and hopes you'll bring your own ideas - and especially your imaginations.	11:15-11:45	Studio Theatre
24	Death by Whoopee Cushion	Vicki Grant	"What's so funny?" Scientists have a number of theories about what makes us laugh. Vicki will share their findings and give tips on how students can use them to bring a little -- or a lot! -- of humour to their own writings. The presentation will include a short writing exercise.	10:15-10:45	Harbourfront Centre Theatre
25	Ghosts of Gastown	Jessica Renwick	How We Write Ghostly Stories Sarena & Sasha Nanua and Jessica Anne Renwick (authors of Spirit Service and Ghosts of Gastown, Silver Birch nominees!) The authors will take readers through how they constructed the ghostly worlds and characters in their books, and leave off with some fun tips for students eager to write their own ghost stories.	11:15-11:45	Harbourfront Centre Theatre
26	Spirit Service	Sarena & Sasha Nanua	How We Write Ghostly Stories Sarena & Sasha Nanua and Jessica Anne Renwick (authors of Spirit Service and Ghosts of Gastown, Silver Birch nominees!) The authors will take readers through how they constructed the ghostly worlds and characters in their books, and leave off with some fun tips for students eager to write their own ghost stories.	11:15-11:45	Harbourfront Centre Theatre
27	Taxi Ghost	Sophie Escabasse	Character design is so fun! And it can lead to story building. I'm proposing to do some live drawing with the audience and create "all together" some interesting characters that could maybe embark us on a story. The idea is for everyone to have fun playing with our imagination and realize how exciting it is.	10:15-10:45	Main Loft
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29	YELLOW CEDAR
30	BOOK TITLE	AUTHOR	WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION	TIME	LOCATION
31	Zoom in On Zombies	Kari-Lynn Winters & Catherine Rondina	Digging up Dirt on Nature’s Real-Life Zombies Come dig up the truth in this wildly interactive, slightly gross, science-filled workshop based on Zoom In On Zombies by Kari-Lynn Winters and Catherine Rondina. Are zombies really just fiction… or are they already among us? Through dramatic storytelling, movement, visuals, science experiments, and groans, students investigate real-life “zombie” traits—brain control, decay, gluttony, survival, and more. With surprising facts, gross-out moments, and hands-out-shuffle voting, learners become part of the investigation. Perfect for curious minds who love the weird, the wild, and the wonderfully disgusting, this session turns curiosity into discovery—and proves that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.	10:15-10:45	Studio Theatre
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