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Available for virtual visits in : Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland & Labrador and Ontario

Home Province: Manitoba/Quebec

Craft: Author-Poet

Genre: Picture Books

Target Audience: Ages 6 – 10

Cost for School and Public Virtual Presentation with CCBC subsidy: $200.00

Website : www.gilliansze.com

Virtual Workshop Information:

1 . Delicious Love Letters (Two half-hour sessions)

In this two-part workshop, young participants will have a chance to bring together their favourite foods and the love they have for their favourite person.

In the first half-hour session, I will begin by reading my book, My Love for You Is Always. The book centres on sensual analogy: what does love look, smell, sound, taste, and feel like? While the story focuses on Asian cuisine and ingredients, the book is a great starting place for readers to think about food that is particular to their own culture and family. I will then provide instructions for students to write a love letter to someone they love, describing their affection in their own unique way.

In the second half-hour session, we will have a reading where students can share their finished love letters in a warm and supportive setting.

 

2.  Moon & Stars: Poetry Workshop (Two half-hour sessions)

In this two-part workshop, young participants will have a chance to write a poem inspired by sleep.

In the first half-hour session, I will begin by reading The Night Is Deep and Wide, a bedtime poem written in the villanelle form. (Ambitious listeners might want to try out the form themselves!) I will then guide participants to write a collaborate poem, each child contributing a night time image. The class may be divided into small groups for this activity. Resulting poems may be wonderfully soothing or unexpectedly silly. Younger children can also draw a picture inspired by the night imagery found in the book.

In the second half-hour session, we will have a reading where each group can share their collaborative poem in a warm and supportive setting.

Book List

My Love for You is Always, written by Gillian Sze, illustrated by Michelle Lee (Philomel Books, 2021) 

The Night is Deep and Wide, written by Gillian Sze, illustrated by Sue Todd (Orca Book Publishers, 2021) 

Biography

GILLIAN SZE is the author of multiple poetry collections and picture books, including The Night Is Deep and Wide (illustrated by Sue Todd) and My Love for You Is Always (illustrated by Michelle Lee). Her poetry has been nominated for the QWF’s A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry, as well as received awards such as the University of Winnipeg Writers’ Circle Prize and the 3Macs carte blanche Prize. Her work has received starred reviews from Quill & Quire, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews, and has been translated into Slovenian, French, Italian, Turkish, Hebrew, and Greek. Gillian studied creative writing at Concordia University and received a PhD in études anglaises from Université de Montréal. Originally from Winnipeg, she now lives in Montreal, where she teaches creative writing and literature.