Writing a picture book ...

 

My daily stack of picture books
from Toronto Public Library

... is the toughest write of all!

I've always suspected as much, now it's confirmed. I've been a poet, a musician, an award-winning copywriter, a Governor General award-winning writer for children ... and writing a picture book this winter is the hardest writing job I've ever had.

Truly, 450 words is not a lot, each one has to be the right one. I've searched for the right word before, we all have, but this is different.

Each time I sit down to work on my picture book, I completely rewrite it. The story is the same, the idea doesn't change, the ending, the message, all that is set, but the way of journeying through the maze to get there is not. I guess this is going to be the process for me. George Saunders calls writing "touch" and "iteration." I'm finding my picture book feet, and touch and iteration is part of it, every day! 

Along with learning the cello this year, this is my latest mind-bend. I'm grateful to the Ontario Arts Council for the Recommender's Grant and the chance to expand my writing horizons. Stay tuned.

In other news, my next book is coming in October 2025. I'm waiting on the cover before I say more, but a little news now: it's a book about love. A bit of a departure for me, stay tuned on that, too!

Keep writing, keep reading, we need thinkers (and love) more than ever.

Thank you to the Ontario Arts Council for the Recommender Grant!

10 of my 14 books have been supported by
Ontario Art Council Recommender's Grants, THANK YOU!

 

It's that time of year when I finish up last year's projects and begin to think about new work. 

Last year, I received a Recommender Grant for my war story, GUN TURRET BOY. I'm happy to say that manuscript is polished enough for a read with my publisher. Stay tuned.

This year, I received a Recommender grant for my first picture book, a story about homelessness in the big city! I'm super excited about this new project, and I'm reading a TON of Canadian picture books to see how this genre works. It's tricky, short, what is unsaid is maybe more important than what is said. Wish me luck.  

As a writer, it's really important to be supported by the arts community, and to be validated in what we do. The OAC grants do that and more. The OAC also awarded my book FIREFLY with the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award (in 2022), which also has a cash prize. Again, hugely thankful.

This is the 11th OAC grant I have received since I began this writing gig in 2009, and I'm always grateful to the OAC for their support. Thank you!