Nadia L. Hohn
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Blogpost 1 LIVE from Historic Joy Kogawa House, The Summer 2019 Writer in Residence is in the House

7/24/2019

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     After spending a year teaching in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and upon returning to Toronto in 2017, I began to seek opportunities to help me grow as a writer and published author as well locate funding sources.  Upon visiting the Writers’ Trust website, I learned about a few writing residencies to which I could apply— spaces in which writers could focus on projects and in which the costs of lodging were covered. My inner traveler was excited by these opportunities but since I am also a full-time elementary school teacher in Toronto, it was challenging to find a writing residency that I could complete during my summer holiday.    My challenge was that many writing residencies took place during the school year or up to two years after the application deadline when life is harder to predict down the road. On this website, I learned about the Writing Residency at the Historic Joy Kogawa House. I knew a little bit about Joy Kogawa. When one of my younger sisters attended gifted class in elementary school, the selected book that year was her  novel Obasan.  (Perhaps this selection was welcomed then because my sister also had an obsession with Japan and all things Japanese. So she told me all about this book.) As this was Toronto in the 1980s, there was very little taught in school about the internment of Japanese-Canadians during World War II. So what my sister gained from Obasan which she then passed on to me was important. I also knew about some of Joy’s picture books like Naomi’s Tree and Naomi’s Road.  What an opportunity this would be! So I applied.
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Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia
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​In April 2018, I was blessed with some great news in an e-mail!  My application was selected and I could become a writer in residence at the Historic Joy Kogawa House in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada).  They could only offer me a spot in July and August 2019. Would I accept? Of course. Fast forward to summer 2019 and here I am!   

      During my residency, I will be primarily editing my novel manuscripts as well as picture books.  I will be running workshops and presenting in Vancouver and Victoria. On August 15, I look forward to celebrating the release of my sixth book, one that I began seven years ago, A LIKKLE MISS LOU: How Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice, just in time for the 100th anniversary of this Jamaican poet.  I also have some important decisions to make about my writing career. 
 

     Being a writer in residence at the Historic Joy Kogawa House is kind of like living in a museum.  There are tours and visitors on occasion. I look around at framed photographs, paintings, and plaques.  I wash dishes and brush my teeth in a kitchen and bathroom from which a family was forced to flee long ago.  I try to imagine the chatter of Joy and her family going through daily routines like getting ready for school and then the imminent silence in 1942.   I imagine there are a great number of stories that each wall and corner of this 1912 house may hold. I wonder if the Marpole railroad tracks along the nearby Arbutus Trail which may have led to train stations crammed with Japanese-Canadians clinging on to their wares, anxiety in the air, trying to make sense of their lost livelihoods and sense of dignity. 

Being at the Historic Joy Kogawa House aligns with my interests in social justice education, community-building, and, undoubtedly, writing.  And besides these, let’s face it. Vancouver is gorgeous in the summertime. (The last time I was here it was a chilly damp December in the early 2000s.)  I have taken the gondola and chairlift up to Whistler and Blackcomb peaks, swum in the Kitsilano saltwater pool, watched the steam pour from the Gastown clock, visited the Starbucks roastery and Pike Place Market in Seattle, marveled at the effortless diversity of leaves, trees, and vibrant flowers each day.  I am finding my way in this great city.  ​
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To read the original post on the Historic Joy Kogawa House site, click here.
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Nadia’s Notables Summer 2019 Newsletter

7/15/2019

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In this issue...
● TD Children’s Book Week Tour 2019
● Spring 2019 Tour and Events Recap
● LIVE FROM VANCOUVER: Writer in Residence is in the House
● A Likkle Miss Lou Reviews are Rolling In
● Important Upcoming Dates here to edit
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Dear Reader:

It is summer time.  When it is summer time for me, it means a time in which I get a bulk of my writing and editing completed.  It also means working on new projects and reprioritizing.  There have been a few challenges along the way. 
 My laptop "died" a month ago and I've been working from my ipad and cell-phones, but I need to still see what can be retrieved from the damaged harddrive (sadly a very costly endeavour), but I managed to salvage unpublished novel and picture book manuscripts from various other sources. (Another reminder for writers to backup EVERYTHING.) I placed my writing in five separate binders.  After 5 published books between 2013 to 2018, a 6th forthcoming in August, and a 7th in 2021, I still look at these manuscripts with disbelief, wonder, amazement, anticipation, and fear. Pinch me. My s.o. says, "I got this" and I'm trying to remember that.  Happy reading and writing but most of all happy summer!

Nadia




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TD Children’s Book Week Tour 2019
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​May 4-10, 2019 was Canadian Children’s Book Week.  To commemorate this occasion, TD Canada Trust Bank teamed up with the ​Canadian Children’s Book Centre to tour 38 authors, illustrators, and storytellers to hundreds of schools across Canada.  After having applied to participate for three consecutive years, I was selected to participate as a touring presenter. Alberta was not my first choice to be honest. (I chose Nunavut, Yukon, and Prince Edward Island— the only Canadian province I have not yet visited— as my top picks.). However, southern Alberta won me over as I discovered regions of Canada I had never visited before— Calgary, Lethbridge, and small towns skirting the Rocky Mountains.  Below you will find a recap of my week.

To see my cover on the Strathmore library news click here. 

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The stats:
- Countless times I was asked about having kids, being married, my age, why I write, and if I can live off my earnings as an author (sounds like my mom)
- 3,238 km or 2,012 miles is the distance from Toronto to Calgary, almost 1,800 students saw my presentations
- 403 is the area code of Calgary and southern Alberta
- Pincher Creek is 136km to the closest US border crossing
- 70.4 lbs was the weight of my heaviest suitcase
- $18.20 is the cost to go up the Calgary Tower
- 16 presentations in all
- 12+ meals consumed in which cheese was in the veggie option (my herbivorous digestive tract was working overtime)
- May 11th was the last day of Children's Book Week
- May 10th was the last day of my presentations
- 9:30pm was sunset at this time of year in southern Alberta,
- 8th graders were the oldest students I presented to
- 7 schools visited
- 6 nights on my tour
- 5 cities and towns visited (Calgary, #Strathmore, #Coaldale, #Lethbridge, #PincherCreek + 1 #Hutterite community called #Parklandcolony outside of Fort Macleod)
- continued my fitness routine with 4 runs to prep for my 5km event in June
- 3.75 hr was the length of my flight from Toronto to Calgary
- I stayed at 3 hotels in #Calgary and #Lethbridge
- 2 libraries visited and difference of time zones between Toronto and Calgary, and
- 1 front page spread in the Strathmore weekly newspaper during an amazing TD Children's Book Week.


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Spring 2019 Tour and Events Recap
        Spring 2019 was an extremely busy time of year as I continued to teach as well as participate in TD Children’s Book Week,  school visits, a literary festival, and a conference. In addition to Alberta, I visited New Brunswick and Montreal in addition to other commitments that brought me to New York City and Ottawa.  Truthfully, this was perhaps the most busiest time I have had as an author but I have said this a few times already. Nevertheless, I embraced and enjoyed every minute of sharing my stories and meeting people along the way.

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LIVE FROM VANCOUVER: Writer in Residence is in the House 
     In fall 2017, I began to seek out opportunities for being a writer in residence.  My challenge was that many of these residencies took place during the school year. Also, many of the residencies took place up to two years after the application date.  It was difficult for me to envision where exactly life might bring me so far in advance. However, last year I was blessed with some great news! In April 2018, I received some news.  My application was selected to be a writer in residence at the Historic Joy Kogawa House in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada) but they could only offer it in July and August. Would I accept?  Of course. Fast forward to 2019 and here I am! The house is named after Japanese-Canadian author and activist Joy Kogawa who was evicted with her family during the early 1940s to interned along with thousands of others in remote parts of Canada.  Joy continues to write and advocate for peace and educate generations about the horrors of her experience. Being here aligns with my dedication to social justice, community its, and the arts. I will be running workshops and presenting in Vancouver and Victoria plus working on edits for my novels.  I also have some important decisions to make. For information on events, please visit my website or see the graphic below.

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A Likkle Miss Lou Reviews are Rolling In
      On August 13, 2019, A LIKKLE MISS LOU: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice, my sixth book will be released.  September 7th, 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the birthday of this great Jamaican cultural ambassador, playwright, poet, author, storyteller, and actress.  I am thrilled to see the responses and reviews so far which include my very first ever Publishers Weekly review. Here is a sampler. I also look forward to upcoming reviews from the Globe & Mail, Quill & Quire, and other publications.  

“This joyful book celebrates the importance of language and taking it as your own, from early.”
— Kirkus Reviews (May 26, 2019) 


“Bright illustrations in creamily vivid color by Fernandes capture the richness of life reflected in the language that so captivated Coverley and conveys how the things she sees reappear on the pages she writes.”
— Publishers Weekly (July 3, 2019)


“This biography of the poet as a young girl is a tribute not only to her literary beginnings but also to patois itself.”
— Booklist (July 2019)


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Important Dates
Please check  www.nadialhohn.com/events for updates.

Summer (July/August) 2019 
Writer-in-Residence
​Joy Kogawa House
Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada)
  • July 15-18, 2019 Malaika’s Caribbean Carnival Storytime and Workshops at Spare Time Fun Centre
  • July 25, 2019 Diversity in #kidcanlit: How are we doing? Panel on Diversity in Children and Young Adult Literature with Raymond Nakamura, Mahtab Narsimhan, and Robin Stevenson, moderated by Nadia L. Hohn with the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Canada West, 7:30-9pm, $5
  • Date TBA Teen Writing Workshop
  • Date TBA A LIKKLE MISS LOU Vancouver Book birthday celebration

Greater Victoria Public Libraries 
Victoria, British Columbia (Canada)
  • July 22, 2019 Malaika’s Carnival Storytime at Oak Bay Branch library, 1442 Monterey Avenue, 10:30-11:30am
  • July 22, 2019 Teen Writing Workshop at Nellie McClung Branch library, 3950 Cedar Hill Road, 2:30-5:30pm
  • July 23, 2019 Breaking into Kidlit and YAlit workshop, Greater Victoria Central Library, 735 Broughton Street, 5:30-8:30pm

A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice
  • August 15, 2019 Publication Date
  • ​Date TBA A LIKKLE MISS LOU Book birthday celebration
  • September 5-12, 2019 Miss Lou 100th Birthday Celebration, c/oJamaican Canadian Association, Jamaica
  • September 14, 2019​ 2-5pm A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice Toronto Book Launch, A Different Booklist Bookstore and Cultural Centre, Toronto, ON
  • September 15, 2019 1:15pm Telling Tales Festival,Westfield Heritage Village (Early Settlement Area, Rockton, ON, Canada
  • September 21, 2019 10:30-11:30am Storytime, Bank Street Bookstore, Manhattan, NY, USA
  • September 22, 2019 A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice Storytime, Greenlight Bookstores, 11:30am Fort Green location, 1:30pm Prospect Park location, Brooklyn, NY, USA

September 27-29, 2019 
​FOLD Kids Festival, Brampton, ON

October 5, 2019
Brampton Chapters
Brampton, ON

October 30, 2019
BIPOC Writers Connect
Location TBA
Toronto, ON

November 1​6, 2019
Knowledge Bookstore
Brampton, ON

November 17, 2019
Draft Reading Series
Location TBA
Toronto, ON

November 21-24, 2019
2019 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention
Baltimore, MD, USA

Spring 2021
Malaika’s Surprise release date
Details to follow


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    Nadia L. Hohn

    Write or die chick.

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