Focusing

The three main things I focus on in my life are writing for youth, teaching youth writing, and youth writers themselves. With the exception of only a couple of my plays, everything I write is either for youth or in conjunction with youth. I teach at WordsWorth youth writing residency in the summer, as well as DramAntics (a theatre camp for kids), and RIO Word Adventure Camp (where the kids actually plan the camp – as scary as that sounds). During the rest of the year I run Reality Is Optional kids’ writing club or RIO as the kids prefer to call it. In these awesome programs I meet some pretty amazing writers, both seasoned and new.

When I was offered this gig to be the November Writer in Residence for Open Book Toronto I saw it as a great opportunity to share not only my views on writing and teaching, but the views of others working in the world of youth writing and writing for youth. So over the next month, that’s what you’re going to see. I’ll be posting interviews with children’s editors, authors for youth, youth writing educators, and youth writers themselves. I hope you enjoy it!