News and Notes from the Field

When Francis Bok was seven years old, his mother sent him to the market near his village in southern Sudan to sell hard-boiled eggs and peanuts. This was the first time she’d entrusted him with this responsibility, and he ... Read More  

Sometimes I find it’s hard to stop being angry with yourself when you make a stupid mistake. Berating yourself then leads to a feeling of inadequacy which can easily morph into anxiety and a lack of confidence to try ... Read More  

I've been watching Murder Maps on Netflix recently (because what's more Christmasy than murder?) and if you're into forensic science, it's solid viewing - a sort of historical Forensic Files, but with more social context. So far, S1E4: The ... Read More  

Happy New Year, and welcome to January, also known as "the start of a new semester." Which means it's a perfect time to talk about the most common form of writing assigned by university professors - the essay. Students ... Read More  

As the holiday season kicks into high gear, we're going to take a brief hiatus here on ye olde blog. The blog-mistress is in dire need of a nap, and she's willing to bet a lot of you are, ... Read More  

Despite swearing off of live-action-remakes-of-Disney-movies-that-really-didn't-need-to-be-remade-to-begin-with, Tech Support and I recently watched the new version of The Lion King. Which isn't even "live action" so much as "slightly more advanced animation," but whatever. Read More  

If you're new to this column, we've spent the last couple months talking about the influence that our intended audience has on the way we approach a piece of writing, and now we're discussing purpose - the goal of ... Read More  

I learned about Dr. Patricia Bath - ophthalmologist and laser scientist - while researching my children's book, Innovations in Health. Of all the people I profiled, she's one of my favourites. Bath was not just a woman in science, ... Read More  

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by great Canadian children's writers! Today, something a little different - my friend, author, actress, singer, knitter, and all-around-amazing-talent Melanie Gall, discusses one of our favourite books, by legendary Canadian author L. M. ... Read More  

Did you miss the previous instalments in this series? Check the archives for posts on Martin Brenner, Sam Owens, and Dr. Alexei. Today, we're talking about my favourite character, never mind scientist, in all of Stranger Things: Mr. Clarke. Read More  

As part of our preparation for writing a new piece, we need to think about audience - who we are writing for and how the knowledge and needs of that audience affect the way we approach our work. Figuring ... Read More  

In honour of the recent, first-ever, all-female spacewalk, I thought I'd share three recent, amazing Canadian kids' books united by the theme of women in space. Read More  

Warning, readers: I’m not a science writer. But like any scientist, I do incorporate research findings (of a sort) into my stories. Here’s one example that’s especially true of my most recent YA novel, Larkin on the Shore. When stories ... Read More  

This is Part III in my series on the scientists of Stranger Things. Check the blog archive for thoughts on Martin Brenner and Sam Owens. Today, we take a look at everyone's favourite Russian scientist, Alexei! Read More  

This will be our final column on audience (at least for now). So buckle up for a crash course on age levels in children's literature! First, a caveat: the categories I'm presenting here are not absolute. Different people use different ... Read More  

Today, my guest is Tahrana Lovlin, brilliant woman and accomplished engineer... with an unusual specialty. Take it away, Tahrana! So I’m writing this because Lindsey asked me to and I’ve known her for almost 30 years (wow, crazy). And I’m ... Read More  

A poet and illustrator once said to me, “Why don’t you stick to one kind of writing? You’re all over the place. You should write one kind of book and brand yourself.” It’s true. I write in many genres— picture ... Read More  

And we're back for another look at the scientists of Stranger Things. Today, Dr. Sam Owens, successor of the horrible Martin Brenner, new head of Hawkins Lab. Read More