FOLD 2023 Educator Guide

E D U C AT O R ’S GUIDE

PRESENTED BY

THE FESTIVAL OF LITERARY DIVERSITY APRIL 30 — MAY 7, 2023 >> VIRTUAL + IN-PERSON

GETTING STARTED This guide was created to help educators engage with their students while attending the festival events. The pre- and post-activities below can be used for all our events. The exercises that explore specific events, and the author profiles are meant to provide you with more information about the creatives participating in this year’s festival.

After each activity, we have provided a link to a graphic organizer that scaffolds learning.

A Google Drawing copy of the exercise will be created to be printed or shared digitally.

PRE-EVENT ACTIVITY Before watching a festival event, look up the authors. Select one, and make note of the books they’ve written and any other information you can find about them.

1. What made you choose this writer or illustrator?

2. What was the most interesting thing you learned about them?

3. Share why you chose the author and something about their life that impacted you or made you curious to know more.

Prepare one question you would ask them if you got the chance to interview them.

POST-EVENT ACTIVITY After listening to the session, identify: 1. Three things you learned 2. Two things you found interesting 3. One question you still have about writing or about one of the authors

SCHOOL GROUP SESSIONS + EXERCISES

In this Writer’s Life series event, SyrianCanadian author Zoulfa Katouh discusses her writing process and routine as Kids Coordinator Ardo Omer digs into the journey of writing her debut best-selling

QUESTIONS: 1.

How long do you think it takes an author to publish a

young adult novel, As Long as the Lemon

book from first draft to a published book available in the

Trees Grow.

store?

2.

Make note of the steps involved for an author to turn their story from a draft to a published book. What surprised you the most about the process?

3.

Record any interesting comments or quotes from the session. What question would you ask Zoulfa?

OPEN OUR INTERACTIVE EXCERCISE FOR STUDENTS

Writing nonfiction can be tricky, especially for emerging writers. In this panel for young people, three nonfiction writers discuss how they turned their real-life stories and historical research

QUESTIONS: 1.

What part of your life would you focus on if you were to

into a book. How do you share those

write a short memoir? Where would you start the story

difficult personal moments? How do

and which people in your life would you write about?

turn research into something interesting to read?

2.

As you listen to the event note the similarities and differences between how the authors navigate personal stories in their writing.

3.

Have you ever turned someone you know into a character in a story? What steps can be taken to protect their privacy while sharing your truth?

4.

What types of research is involved in writing about real life topics like historical figures?

OPEN OUR INTERACTIVE EXCERCISE FOR STUDENTS

Families are messy—which makes them perfect subject matter for great stories and story-telling. In this panel discussion designed for school groups and readers and writers of young adult fiction, three

QUESTIONS: 1.

Before you watch the session, consider the word

authors discuss the family dynamics in

“family” — consider what it is assumed to mean and all

their most recent novels and the pro-

the types of people it should or could include.

cess for creating and cultivating believable relatives and relationships.

2.

What are some of the ways the authors created realistic family dynamics in their novels?

3.

Friendships are key relationships to the characters in these novels. What role do friendships have in your life?

OPEN OUR INTERACTIVE EXCERCISE FOR STUDENTS

Being a teen can be tough. From managing the weight of expectations to dealing with big topics and world issues, it can feel like life is too big and too much to handle. In this panel designed just for

QUESTIONS: 1.

Consider your point of view on reading. Is it a tool that

students, three young adult authors

you use to escape from every day life or is it something

discuss the ways reading and writing

you’d rather do to learn more about the world?

can be a tool for escape and entertainment, as well as a powerful tool to tackle everyday issues.

2.

Consider the last few books that you have read. Did you read them for escape or entertainment? Or did you read them to learn something? Is it possible for books to do both? Provide books you’ve read in the past to support your answer.

OPEN OUR INTERACTIVE EXCERCISE FOR STUDENTS

In our annual teen spoken word showcase, three poets take the mic and present incredible poetry. Hosted by poetry curator The Wild Woman, this event is geared towards high school students.

QUESTIONS: 1.

Before you watch the session, discuss as a class the difference between reading poetry and watching it performed. (Predict what the differences may be if your group does not have much experience watching performances.)

2.

As you watch the session, record themes you hear or use the activity provided to organize your ideas.

3.

What are some skills spoken word poets need to perform for an audience? How could these skills transfer to other areas of your life?

OPEN OUR INTERACTIVE EXCERCISE FOR STUDENTS

WRITER & PERFORMER BIOS + SOCIALS

DANIEL ALEMAN TORONTO, ON

Daniel Aleman is the award-winning author of Indivisible. He was born and raised in Mexico City.

A graduate of McGill University, he is passionate about books, coffee, and dogs. After spending time in Montreal and the New York City area, he now lives in Toronto, where he is on a never-ending search for the best tacos in the city. His second novel, Brighter Than the Sun, was published on March 21, 2023 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL

website: danielaleman.com twitter: @Dan_Aleman instagram: danaleman

Brighter Than the Sun (2023) • Ages 14+ • ISBN-13: 978-0316704472 • Available as: Print, eBook OTHER BOOKS • Indivisible (2021)

BRITTA BADOUR TORONTO, ON

Britta Badour, better known as Britta B., is an award winning artist, spoken word poet, performer, emcee, voice actor and educator. She lives in Toronto. Most recently, Britta was announced Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Artist of 2021.

Her works have featured in print, in sound and onstage across North America in notable spheres such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, CBC Arts: Poetic License, The Walrus Talks, TEDx and The Stephen Lewis Foundation. She is an alumna of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity Spoken Word Residency and 2018 Toronto Arts Council Leaders Lab Fellow. As an educator, Britta facilitates artisttraining seminars, poetry workshops and social justice programs in partnership with organizations like JAYU, Poetry In Voice, Prologue Performing Arts, League of Canadian Poets and The Power Plant. Britta holds a Creative Writing MFA from the University of Guelph and is a professor of spoken word performance at Seneca College. website: brittab.com twitter: @missbrittab

FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL

Wires That Sputter (2023) • Ages 14+ • ISBN-13: 978-0771004544 • Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook

CODY CAETANO TORONTO, ON

Cody Caetano is a writer of Anishinaabe and Portuguese descent and an off-reserve member of Pinaymootang First Nation. He has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Toronto, where he wrote this memoir under the mentorship of Lee Maracle. Excerpts of Half-Bads in White Regalia earned him a 2020 Indigenous Voices Award for Unpublished Prose.

FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL

website: codycaetano.com instagram: cody_caetano

Half-Bads in White Regalia (2022) • Ages 18+ • ISBN-13: 978-0735240858 • Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook

JEN FERGUSON Métis (on her father’s side) and Canadian settler (on her mother’s side), an activist, a feminist, an auntie, and an accomplice armed with a PhD. She believes writing, teaching and beading are political acts. She is represented by Patricia Nelson at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Her debut young adult novel, The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, is out from Heartdrum / HarperCollins. Her first book for adults, Border Markers, a collection of interrelated flash fiction stories, is out now with NeWest Press. Her novella “Missing” won the Malahat Review’s 2022 Novella Prize and her essay “Off Balance” was selected for the Best Canadian Essays 2020. Learn more about her other novels, short stories, essays, and poems. She lives on the traditional and unceded territories of the Meskwaki, the Báxoje and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ nations, and teaches fiction writing, among other things, at Coe College. website: jenfergusonwrites.com twitter: @jennyleeSD instagram: jdotferg

FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL

The Summer of Bitter and Sweet (2022) • Ages 13+ • ISBN-13: 978-0063086166 • Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook, Brialle

KEVIN HERONJONES TORONTO, ON

Kevin heronJones is an author, poet, journalist, editor, actor and lecturer. This electrifying artist is best known for his profound and powerful delivery.

His writing is edu-tainment. It is poignant and inspiring. Words that equally speak to the street, the church, the night club and institutions of higher learning. He attempts to analyze life beyond the physical and spiritual norms to find the scientific parallels between our art forms, belief systems and history. He attended Sheridan College where he earned a diploma in Journalism and later furthered his education with the University of Toronto studying creative writing. He began his professional career as a writer and performer in 1998. He began freelancing articles while at the same time shopping his poetry to numerous publications.

FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL

Not Talking About You (2022)

website: heronjones.com

• Ages 12+

twitter: @kevinheronjones

• ISBN-13: 978-1459417076 • Available as: Print OTHER BOOKS • Half-Court Trap (2021)

TALIA HIBBERT

UNITED KINGDOM Talia Hibbert is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who lives in a bedroom full of books. Supposedly, there is a world beyond that room, but she has yet to drum up enough interest to investigate. She writes spicy, diverse romance because she believes that people of marginalized identities need honest and positive representation. Her interests include makeup, junk food, and unnecessary sarcasm.

Talia and her many books reside in the English Midlands.

FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL

website: taliahibbert.com twitter: @TaliaHibbert instagram: taliahibbert

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute (2023) • Ages 13+ • ISBN-13: 978-0593482339 • Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook, Brialle BOOKS FOR ADULTS • Act Your Age, Eve Brown (2021) • Take a Hint, Dani Brown (2020) • Get a Life, Chloe Brown (2019) and more...

JESMEEN KAUR DEO

ONTARIO, CANADA Jesmeen Kaur Deo grew up in northern British Columbia, where she spent most of her childhood daydreaming. She loves books that can make her laugh and tug at her heartstrings in the same paragraph. When not wrapped up in stories, she can be found biking, playing the harmonium, or struggling to open jars. TJ Powar Has Something to Prove is her debut novel. She currently resides in Ontario.

FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL

website: jdeowrites.com twitter: @JDeoWrites

TJ Power Has Something to Prove (2022) • Ages 12+ • ISBN-13: 978-0593403396 • Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook, German

ZOULFA KATOUH SWITZERLAND

Zoulfa Katouh is the only person in her family who can’t roll her tongue, but that’s okay because she writes characters who can do so. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Drug Sciences. She is trilingual in English, Arabic and German. Zoulfa currently resides in Switzerland where she finds inspiration in the Studio Ghibli picturesque scenery.

Ever since her Mama gave her a copy of Anne of Green Gables when she was eight years old, she discovered the beauty of books. Soon enough she was sneaking books under her school desk to read while teachers went on about Math and Physics. Her imagination grew, and one day, she had the courage to pen down the stories that roam her mind. And she never stopped! One of her many dreams is to get Kim Nam-joon to read one of her books. Her speculative contemporary YA debut As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow is published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Bloomsbury, making her the first Syrian YA author to be published in the US and UK. website: zoulfakatouh.com instagram: thelemonwitch_

FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL

As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow (2022) • Ages 14+ • ISBN-13: 978-0316351379 • Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook, Braille

JEN SOOKFONG LEE NORTH BURNABY, BC Jen Sookfong Lee was born and raised in Vancouver’s East Side, and she now lives with her son in North Burnaby. Her books include The Conjoined, nominated for International Dublin Literary Award and a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, The Better Mother, a finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Award, The End of East, The Shadow List, and Finding Home. Jen acquires and edits for ECW Press and co-hosts the literary podcast Can’t Lit.

FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL

website: sookfong.com twitter: @JenSookfongLee instagram: jenleefur

Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart: A Memoir (2023) • Ages 18+ • ISBN-13: 9780771025211 • Available as: Print, eBook, Audiobook BOOKS FOR CHILDREN • Finding Home: the Journey of Immigrants and Refugees (2021) • The Animals of Chinese New Year (2019) • Chinese New Year: A Celebration for Everyone (2017)

LINDSAY RUCK HALIFAX, NS

Lindsay R. Ruck, born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is a graduate of Carleton University’s School of Journalism in Ottawa. Since graduating in 2008, she has worked in the marketing, communications and publishing fields. Similar to her grandfather, the late Calvin W. Ruck, she has a deep and abiding respect and affection for her home province of Nova Scotia. She has recently returned to Halifax, after living in Ottawa for twelve years, to further her career as a writer and editor.

FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL

website: lindsayruck.ca instagram: lindsay_ruck

Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians: Inspiring Stories of Courage and Achievement (2021) • Ages 8–12 • ISBN-13: 978-1771089173 • Available as: Print, Audiobook OTHER BOOKS • Against the Grain (2019) • Winds of Change (2014)

LISELLE SAMBURY TIMMINS, ON

Liselle Sambury is the Trinidadian-Canadian author of the Governor General’s Literary Awards Finalist, Blood Like Magic. Her work spans multiple genres, from fantasy to sci-fi, horror, and more. In her free time, she shares helpful tips for upcoming writers and details of her publishing journey through a YouTube channel dedicated to demystifying the sometimes complicated business of being an author.

FEATURED AT THE FESTIVAL

website: lisellesambury.ca twitter: @LiselleSambury instagram: lisellesambury

Delicious Monsters (2023) • Ages 14+ • ISBN-13: 978-1665903493 • Available as: Print OTHER BOOKS • He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Lost in the Void (2023) • All These Sunken Souls (2023) • Blood Like Fate (2022) • Blood Like Magic (2021)

TAHIRA RAJWANI

ONTARIO, CANADA Tahira Rajwani is a student, volunteer and spoken word artist. She is the winner of Mississauga’s 2022 poetry slam and has been published with The Stranger Poets, Poetry Undressed and Paper Crane Magazine. Most recently, she was also the runner-up for Button Poetry’s 2022 poem cover contest. Tahira is currently Marketing Lead with Sauga Poetry, an up-and-coming organization that aims to foster the local spoken word community and create opportunities for spoken word artists. By day, she is a psychology student at the University of Toronto. instagram: tahira_rajwani

GAVIN RUSSELL WHITBY, ON

Gavin Russell is a Spoken Word Artist out of Whitby, Ontario. Over the course of the last decade, he has brought his words to stages all over, attempting to bring levity, contemplation, and a desire to relish in the mundane to audiences everywhere. A multi-city champion in poetry slam, and a one-time national champion, he hopes to enlighten and entertain you. Yes, you specifically.

SOURCES Links for all resources are embeded below...

GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS/EXERCISES “Ditch That Textbook - 25 FREE Google Drawings graphic organizers — and how to make your own” Post-Reading (Google Slide) Noun Project (images)

CHOSEN FAMILY “What ‘Chosen Family’ Means — and How to Build Your Own” “People in the Queer Community are Leaning on Their ‘Chosen Family’ — Here’s Why That’s Important”

BOOK LIST 2023 Elamin Abdelmahmoud

Gia de Cadenet

Ali Hassan

Meegan Lim

Alessandra Naccarato

Tanya Turton

SON OF ELSEWHERE

NOT THE PLAN 9780593356647.00 Penguin Random House

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DUMPLINGS

IMMINENT DOMAINS:

9780771002229.00 Penguin Random House

IS THERE BACON IN HEAVEN?

JADE IS A TWISTED GREEN

9781552454527.00 House Books

9781771667753.00 Book*hug Press

Daniel Aleman

Cherie Dimaline

Catherine Hernandez

Roselle Lim

Dimitri Nasrallah

Anuja Varghese

BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN

VENCO

THE STORY OF US

HOTLINE

CHRYSALIS

9780316704472.00 Hachette Book Group CA

9780735277212.00 Penguin Random House

9781443459754.00 HarperCollins Canada

SOPHIE GO’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB

9781550655940.00 Vehicule Press

9781487011666.00 House of Anansi

Wayne Arthurson

FUNERAL SONGS FOR DYING GIRLS

Kevin heronJones

Robyn Maynard

Janika Oza

Sandra S.G. Wong

NOT TALKING ABOUT YOU

REHEARSALS FOR LIVING

A HISTORY OF BURNING

IN THE DARK WE FORGET

978-1-4594-1707-6 Lerner Books

9781039000650.00 Penguin Random House

9780771002311.00 Penguin Random House

9781443465564.00 HarperCollins Canada

Therese Estacion

Talia Hibbert

Suzette Mayr

Casey Plett

Dan K. Woo

PHANTOMPAINS

HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS AND UNFAIRLY CUTE

THE SLEEPING CAR PORTER

A SAFE GIRL TO LOVE

TAOBAO: Stories

9781552454589.00 Coach House Books

9781551529134.00 Arsenal Pulp Press

978-1-989496-51-0 Wolsak & Wynn

El Jones

Susan Mockler

Danny Ramadan

FRACTURED: A Memoir

THE FOGHORN ECHOES

9781772602708.00 Second Story Press

9780735242180.00 Penguin Random House

DISHONOUR IN CAMP 133

9780735265639.00 Penguin Random House

9780888016218.00 Turnstone Press

Britta Badour

Phantompains

WIRES THAT SPUTTER 9780771004544.00 Penguin Random House

POETRY

9781771666862.00 Book*hug Press

9781982149178.00 Simon & Schuster

9780593482339.00 Penguin Random House

9780593335611.00 Random House

Reckoning with the Anthropocene

T H E R E S E E S TA C I O N

Kate Beaton DUCKS:

Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch

Two Years In The Oil Sands

KNOT BODY

ABOLITIONIST INTIMACIES

9781770462892.00 Drawn & Quarterly

978-1-988355-21-4 Metatron Press

9781773635521.00 Fernwood Publishing

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Jen Ferguson

Zoulfa Katouh

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Lindsay Ruck

REHEARSALS FOR LIVING

THE SUMMER OF BITTER AND SWEET

AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW

THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU

AMAZING BLACK ATLANTIC CANADIANS:

9781039000650.00 Penguin Random House

9780063086166.00 HarperCollins

9780316351379.00 Hachette Book Group Canada

9780593355350.00 Penguin Random House

Inspiring Stories of Courage and Achievement 9781771089173.00 Nimbus Publishing

Cody Caetano

R. Barri Flowers

Jesmeen Kaur Deo

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Liselle Sambury

HALF BADS IN WHITE REGALIA

DANGER ON MAUI

T.J. POWAR HAS SOMETHING TO PROVE

MEXICAN GOTHIC

DELICIOUS MONSTERS

9780525620808.00 Penguin Random House

9781665903493.00 Simon & Schuster

9780735240858.00 Penguin Random House

9781335582492.00 Harlequin

9780593403396.00 Penguin Random House

Michael Christie

Markus Harwood-Jones

Jen Sookfong Lee

Sheila Murray

Nisi Shawl

GREENWOOD

IN A HEARTBEAT

SUPERFAN:

FINDING EDWARD

EVERFAIR

9780771024481.00 Penguin Random House

9781459416277.00 James Lorimer & Company

9781770866263.00 Cormorant Books

9781466837843.00 Tor

How Pop Culture Broke My Heart

9780771025211.00 Penguin Random House

9781459748606.00 Dundurn Press