Available for virtual visits in : Nova Scotia, Nunavut & Saskatchewan
Craft: Author
Genre: Middle Grade Novels, Teen Novels, Hi-Lo
Grades: Grade 4 – Grade 12
Cost for School and Public Readings Program: $200.00, plus applicable taxes
Website: www.natashadeen.com
Virtual Presentation Information
2020 has been an extraordinary year. From COVID-19, murder hornets, fires, and floods, the world’s circumstances have tested us as individuals and a community. It has been a scary, unpredictable time, and yet, within the protests over police shootings, the grappling of accountability and responsibility with systemic racism, and the continued fight for equality for people of the LGBTQ+ community, there have been breathtaking moments of kindness and perseverance. There has been light, love, and laughter, even in these dark times. My presentations for students seeks to spotlight these moments and create space for them to see their agency, power, and beauty by focusing on the writing fundamental of character, and showing students how this facet shows up in everyday life. More importantly, it is my intention to create a place for students to see that in their lives, they are the main character, and their actions make them the hero in their story.
Presentation for Grades 4-6: Mice, Mutants, and Metamorphosis
We live in a society that loves its heroes and specifically, loves its superheroes. Through books, television, and film, we cheer them on, knowing their victory is near, certain their powers will ensure the win. But look closer. Time and again, superheroes are persecuted, bullied, and terrorized by a society that doesn’t trust them, their origins, or their goodwill. And yet, the superhero perseveres—not because of their powers, but because of their choices. In this presentation, we will discuss the true nature of the superhero, and through it, how the most challenging moments in our lives are not there to break us, but to help us see our power, our kindness, and our ability to affect change in the world. Using real life examples, we’ll see how the small choices we make—from smiling at someone to holding open a door—has big effects, both on our bodies and our brains. Students will learn the physiological changes that result from acts of kindness and find a place to see how important they are to the world and the enormous value they and their stories bring to the people around them. Life Themes include: resilience, perseverance, identity, kindness
Writing Fundamentals: point of view, subtext, deduction
Presentation for Grades 7-12: Chin Down, Head Up: The Hero’s Journey
Students in this age group are asking important questions about their identity, their connections with themselves and the people around them, and what their future holds. In the current climate of racial divide, gender debates, and environmental chaos, it’s understandable for them to feel the world is a terrifying, dark place that holds no hope. And yet, if we look back to those who came before us, we see the strength of the human spirit and the resiliency of hope and kindness. In this session, I will share stories from my family—my grandmothers who educated themselves in secret, my grandfather who endured racial slurs and violence and rose from the “boy” who carried the railway ties to the CEO of the company and in charge of hundreds of employees—to show students it’s not about where we start, it’s where we finish. I will also share stories and examples from my own life to underscore the idea that no matter what the world may throw at us, if we can keep our head down—hold to our dreams and goals, no matter what society says about our worthiness to achieve them—and our chin up to look for hope, to give and receive love and kindness, then the world cannot stop us from becoming the people we dream we can be. Themes include: persistence, strategy, inner power, self-identity
Writing Fundamentals: plot, character, subtext
Book List
NOVELS – Books for children/teens
Girls Survive, Maria and the Plague of Florence (Capstone Publishers, 2021)
Jake Maddox, Girl Sports Stories: Nothing But Net (Capstone Publishers, 2020)
Jake Maddox, Girl Sports Stories: Danger on the Reef(Capstone Publishers, 2020)
Jake Maddox, Girl Sports Stories: Softball Switch-Up (Capstone Publishers, 2019)
In the Key of Nira Ghani (Running Press, 2019)
Thicker Than Water (Orca Book Publisher, 2019)
Lark and the Dessert Disaster (Orca Book Publisher, 2019)
Lark Takes a Bow (Orca Book Publisher, 2018)
Game’s End (Great Plains Publishing, 2017)
Lark and the Diamond Caper (Orca Book Publisher, 2017)
Terminate (Orca Book Publisher, 2017)
Lark Holds the Key (Orca Book Publisher, 2016)
Across the Floor (Orca Book Publisher, 2016)
Gatekeeper (Great Plains Publishing, 2015)
Guardian (Great Plains Publishing, 2014)
Burned (Orca Book Publisher, 2015)
Sleight of Hand (Orca Book Publisher, 2015)
The Not So Secret Case Files of Billy Vale, P.I. (Blueberry Hill Press, 2015)
At Dock’s End (Blueberry Hill Press, MG, 2014)
True Grime 2: Angel Maker (Blueberry Hill Press, MG, 2012)
True Grime (Blueberry Hill Press, MG, 2011)
CREATIVE NON-FICTION ANTHOLOGY
“Not That Kind of Girl,” YouToo Anthology (Inkyard Press, 2020)
“Welcome to the Jungle” Mugged by a Moose (Summit Studios, 2006)
Biography
Guyanese-Canadian author Natasha Deen writes for kids, teens, and adults, and enjoys visiting libraries and schools to help people to find and tell the stories that live inside of them. Her novel, In the Key of Nira Ghani, was a Most Anticipated Novel for both Barnes & Noble and Chapters-Indigo, nominated for a Red Maple Award, MYRCA Award, and the R. Ross Annett Award, and won the 2020 Amy Mathers teen Book Award. When she’s not writing, spends an inordinate amount of time trying to convince her pets that she’s the boss of the house. Visit Natasha on Twitter at @natasha_deen and at www.natashadeen.com.