This blogpost is about the decade that changed my writing career.  The 2010s was a huge decade for me— both professionally and personally.  At the start of the decade, I was fresh and fly with my beautiful dredlocks a flow.  These photos were taken during a significant week in 2010– professionally (finished teaching my first year at the first ever publicly-funded Africentric school in Canada, I was part of the inaugural staff), personally (I just got engaged), and physically (my doctor discovered a lump in my neck).  Below, you will find the highlights of my 2010s decade which focuses on my writerly life and some of my personal life.  (I have not included much about my teaching career other than what is connected to my writing.). I also have not included all of the things I got rejected from because then this post may get dull.

So here goes...

2010-2019 DESIGN OF A DECADE: MY WRITER LIFE!

2010

• I took my first writing course (Writing for Children 1 at George Brown College Continuing Education then took part 2)
• I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer 
• I got engaged
• I completed my first year teaching Grade 1 at the Africentric Alternative School
• moved

2011

• I had my total thyroidectomy (thyroid gland removal), radiation, and hormone therapy adjustments
• I started sharing about my cancer and transition to veganism is journey on a blog called Blue Butterlfy.  Check it out here.  
• I travelled to Newfoundland to take part in a Young Adult Cancer Canada (YACC) Survivor retreat
• I returned to teaching part-time
• I applied to MFA Creative Writing program at UBC (I did not get in)
• I meet publisher Sheila Barry (then at Kids Can Press) at panel about How to Get Published in Children’s Books at A Different Booklist bookstore
• start attending CANSCAIP meetings
• teaching kindergarten at Africentric then leave to focus on health
• Became a vegan, then switched to vegetarian (added back in cheese, desserts I like) by the next year

2012

• I took Writing Non-Fiction for Children 1 at George Brown College
• I got married in Jamaica
• thyroid cancer follow-up clear
• return to teach full time 
• moved
• I go to my first Packaging Your Imagination (PYI) CANSCAIP Conference
• became volunteer editor of the Thyroid Cancer Canada newsletter

2013

• I cut off my waist-length dreadlocks
• I enter my manuscript Malaika’s Costume to a writing award it loses
• I decide the manuscript was ready to query. I sent it to two publishers— one is a contact through a writer I know and the other is Sheila Barry, then at Groundwood Books
• Dec 2019 (same week) I apply to two PhD programs, I don’t get in, Sheila Barry likes my manuscript and wants to publish it, I get an e-mail asking if I can write books for the Sankofa Black Heritage Collection series.  I say yes.
• I visit VCFA and fall in love with the campus.  I apply to the MFA Writing for Children and Young Adults program but don’t get in.
• car accident, no more car
• started African-Canadian Writers for Children and Young Adults (ACWCYA), later became on an online group renamed Sankofa’s Pen

2014

• I wrote two books— #1 Music and #2 Media.
• I visited Ghana— my first international solo trip— to study Orff music education and connect with my roots.
• Took Orff music level 2
• articles published in the Orff Canada journal and Canadian Children’s Book News magazine
• moved again
• Took courses
• my grandfather (last surviving grandparent) passed away

2015

• visited Bahamas
• #1 Music and #2 Media are published (finally)
• health stuff
• attended writing non-fiction for children and SCBWI NYC conferences in New York City and SCBWI Canada in Montreal, PYI in Toronto
• completed Humber College School of Writers program with author Richard Scrimger
• attended Highlights Foundation in Pennsylvania
• launch of my writing website and blog
• started Brazilian Portuguese class
• research trip to Quebec City from Ontario Arts Council grant
• new car (well technically used new car)
• took part in NaNoWriMo and finished draft of middle grade novel that I worked on through Humber College School of Writers
• won the Isabel Sissons Children’s Book Award through PACE for my manuscript of Malaika’s Costume

2016

• #3 Malaika’s Costume is published
• Book launch and tour to Toronto and Greater Toronto area (GTA), Boston, NYC, Atlanta, Detroit, UK
• attended SCBWI and Kweli conferences both in NYC and VONA Workshop for Writers of Color in Miami, PYI in Toronto, SCBWI Canada in Ottawa
• went to Essence Fest in New Orleans
• moved to teach in Abu Dhabi
• health stuff
• divorce
• returned to Toronto for Word on the Street and Kingston Writersfest
• visit Germany, France, Italy, England
• joined writing community in Abu Dhabi
• more Brazilian Portuguese class
• juror for the TD Children’s Book Award (Norma Fleck Award for Non-Fiction)

2017

• Wrongfully ”let go” from teaching job in Abu Dhabi 
• got new teaching job to finish school year, move to Dubai
• visited Sri Lanka, Egypt, Trinidad, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Barbados, Portugal, Spain, Kuwait
• Accepted teaching job in Vietnam for new school year
• brother passed away suddenly, I decided to stay in Canada
• Groundwood Books publisher Sheila Barry passed away
• joined writing community in Dubai, participate in UAE literary events including the Emirates Air Literary Festival
• Malaika’s Winter Carnival is published and launched
• attended Highlights Foundation workshop in Pennsylvania
• I presented in Trinidad, Philadelphia, and GTA
• I go to Washington DC to accept the Americas award nomination for Malaika’s Costume at the Library of Congress
• took a Writing Science Fiction course at George Brown College
• presented in Toronto public libraries
• looked for and found publisher (Owlkids) for A LIKKLE LABRISH (which became A LIKKLE MISS LOU: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice)

2018

• Took Brazilian Portuguese class
• visited Brazil​ to research and study with American teachers
• Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter is published on the last day of 2018
• attended Kweli in NYC and SCBWI in LA, SCBWI Canada in Ottawa
• Book tour to NYC, Boston
• Attended Highlights Foundation workshop in Pennsylvania and present at the Eric Carle Museum in Massachusetts
• presented in Toronto, Kingston, and local public libraries, schools in Ontario and Word on the Street
• received Canada Council grant
• participated on #kidlit and #yalit panel in Ottawa
• facilitated panel 
• ran NaNoWriMo club with students and teachers at the school I teach.  Finish first draft novel manuscript and now editing it.
• do Humber School of Writers again but this time with author Cherie Dimaline
• my Abu Dhabi friend Angela passed away
• juror for the Children’s L

2019

• Join the FOLD Kids team to organize the first ever book fest focused on diverse books for young people in Canada
• On faculty at SCBWI Canada Montreal
• attend PYI in Toronto, KWELI in NYC
• attend Highlights illustration workshop
• I presented at Frye Festival in New Brunswick, Telling Tales in Hamilton (ON), various schools 
• Writer in residence at the Historical Joy Kogawa House in Vancouver, BC
• presented in Jamaica (at mom’s school and another school), Toronto, NYC, Baltimore, Vancouver, Victoria
• I was part of 50-person delegation to the unveiling of Miss Lou Square and statue in Jamaica.
• took 4-day train trip across Canada, visited Whistler, Seattle, Chicago, Cleveland
• A LIKKLE MISS LOU featured on the front page of entertainment section of the Toronto Star and on CBC (Weekend Edition)
• I was presenting author for TD Children’s Book Week, toured schools and libraries in southern Alberta.  My tour coordinator, contact, and chauffeur Richard Chase passed away.
• featured author at NCTE in Baltimore, signings, etc.
• A LIKKLE MISS LOU published by Owlkids
• I start presenting in the school board in which I teach
• signed Malaika’s Surprise with Groundwood Books (2021)
• took 4 month leave from full-time teaching in the fall
• organize and host the Diversity in #kidlit panel at the CANSCAIP AGM in Toronto
• offered the opportunity to teach Writing for Children (introduction) course at the University of Toronto School for Continuing Studies in spring 2020.
• record Owlkids Behind the Book for A LIKKLE MISS LOU
• participated in Inktober.  For my participation, check out my Instagram page at @nadialhohn_author
• for more details, check out my 2019 Highlight Reel here

I am so blessed to be alive!  Each day is a chance to live my best life.
​

2019 has been a year filled with many “ups” and “downs”, challenges that promoted me to grow and learn, take on new roles, expand my brand and travel.  In one year, I presented in  5 Canadian provinces and 2 American states, realized dreams (travelling across Canada by train, presenting at schools in Jamaica, and delivering writing workshops), and launched two books— HARRIET TUBMAN, FREEDOM FIGHTER and A LIKKLE MISS LOU: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice.  It’s been an incredibly busy year.  So much so that I had not blogged as much as I typically do.  So hopefully you will be caught up soon enough.  Below you will find the 2019 Highlight Reel of my Writerly Life.

March 2019
It’s all a blur.  I think I had a signing or two and a school visit.

May 2019
I attended the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) in Brampton, ON.  Months earlier, I joined the planning team for the first ever FOLD Kids Book Festival to be held in September 2019.

From May 4 to 11, I was one of one 30 presented in participated in TD Canadian Children’s Book Week.  I presented in schools and libraries in Calgary, Lethbridge, Fort MacLeod, Coaldale, and Pincher Creek, Alberta.  My host, chauffeur, and local organizer/contact, Richard Case (pictured right, above), sadly passed away in December 2019.  He was very kind and made me feel very welcome.  May he Rest In Peace.

From May 24 to 26, I was on faculty at the Art of Story Conference organized by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Canada East.  This year’s conference place took place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
to edit.

I have done quite a lot of reading this year.  My goal was to read 200 books in 2019.  As of December 31, 2019, I have read 260 books so far this year.  (Who knows what will happen before midnight?)  I stopped posting all of my book reviews to this blog as it is incredibly time consuming.  However, if you wish to read my book reviews, please "friend me" on Goodreads where my reviews are posted there.  This year, most of my books were written by authors of colour.  Also in 2019, I did not read enough science fiction/fantasy/speculative fiction books to merit creating its own list as I had in 2018.  Instead, I have added an adult fiction, a middle grade, and an adult non-fiction list.  As an author, I dream about finding my book on variety of reading lists, including the ones I have compiled below.  Books that are not listed here, does not mean I don't like them.  I chose books that I love over the moon and back.  I have a soft spot for diverse characters, #ownvoices, and social justice themes.  If an author released two books in 2019, I chose one of the two so no repeats(looking at you SK Ali).  I will share my list on social media outlets and tag most of the creators so they could feel some validation (we all need some) and that another "writer who supports writers".  (Cue in: You are not alone by Michael Jackson.)

My 2018 Top 10 Favourite Canadian Books I Read in 2019:
These books were written by authors who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, authors residing in Canada, or Canadians living overseas.  Regardless, these authors all have a Canadian connection.
​
Winners:
Love from A to Z   by SK Ali
and
Learning to Breathe by Janice Lynn Mathers
​
Runners up:

• Reproduction by Ian Williams
• In the Key of Nira Ghani by Natasha Deen
• Shut Up You’re Pretty by Tea Mutonji
• Fried Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta
• Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
• Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
• That Time I Loved You by Carrianne Leung
• No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

My Top 10 Favourite Young Adult (YA) Books I Read in 2019 (I cheated a bit here)

Winners:  
With the Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo,
Love from A to Z by SK Ali, and
Learning to Breathe by Janice Lynn Mathers
​
Runners Up:

• In the Key of Nira Ghani by Natasha Deen​
• Calling My Name by Liara Tamani
• Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
• Black Enough edited by Ibi Zoboi
• On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
• Riot by Walter Dean Myeres
• Finding Yvonne by Brandy Colbert
• The Agony of Bun O’Keefe by Heather Smith​

​My Top 10 Favourite Middle Great (MG) Books I Read in 2019

Winner:  
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
​
Runners up:

• The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
• The New Kid by Jerry Craft
• Sunny by Jason Reynolds
• Bad Babysitters by Caroline Cala
• The Season of Styxx Malone by Kekla Magoon
• Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
• The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boone
• Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes
• No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen​
• Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott

​My Top 10+ Favourite Picture Books I Read in 2019

Winners (I cheated a little bit, included my own):
Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty, illustrated by Bryan Collier​,
A LIKKLE MISS LOU: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice by Nadia L. Hohn, and
Sulwe by Lupita Nyongo, illustrated by Vashti Harrison
​
Runners Up:

• The Undefeated  by Kwame Alexander
• The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
• Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins
• Khalida and the Most Beautiful Song by Amanda Moeckel
• You are Stardust by Elin Kelsey, illustrated by Soyeon Kim
• Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
• A Place to Land by Barry Wittenstein, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
• Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
• I, Promise by Catherine Hernandez, illustrated by Syrus Marcus Ware 
• The Good Egg by Jory John, illustrated by Pete Oswald
• Small World by Ishta Mercurio, illustrated by Jen Corace
• King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

​My Top 10 Favourite Adult Fiction That I Read in 2019

Winner:

• Queenie by Candace Carty-Williams (really, really hard choice as I would tie this with Carrianne Leung, Tea Mutonji, and Ian Williams)

​
Runners Up:

• Reproduction by Ian Williams
• How to Love A Jamaican by Alexia Arthurs
• Aisha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
• The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel
• Fried Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta
• Shut Up! You’re Pretty by Tea Mutonji
• Women Talking by Miriam Toews
• That Time I Loved You by Carrianne Leung​

​My Top 10 Favourite Adult Non-Fiction That I Read in 2019
Winners: 
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell,
Well-Read Black Girl edited by Glory Edim 
Runners Up:

• The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
• Becoming by Michelle Obama
• Hunger by Roxane Gay
• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
• Real Romance by Aziz Ansari
• The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell by W. Kamau Bell
• Twelve Years A Slave by Solomon Northrup
• How to Be A Bawse by Lilly Singh
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• The Wait by Devon Franklin & Meagan Good

​Top 12 Overall Favourite Books I Read in 2019 That Were Published in 2019

• Love from A to Z  by SK Ali 
• Learning to Breathe by Janice Lynn Mathers

• Reproduction by Ian Williams
• Shut Up You’re Pretty by Tea Mutonji
• With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
• Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
• The New Kid by Jerry Craft
• Queenie by Candace Carty-Williams
• Sulwe by Lupita Nyongo
• The Good Egg by Jory John, illustrated by Pete Oswald
• King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
• Fried Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta

In this issue...

• ​Writer in Residence at Historic Joy Kogawa House Wrap-Up in 2019 
• A LIKKLE MISS LOU in the media
• FOLD Kids 1st Festival
• Important Upcoming Tour and Launch Fall 2019 Dates

​Letter from the editor
    It has been a beautiful and productive summer.  I did not travel to any foreign countries but instead went to new places within Canada and the United States— Winnipeg, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Whistler, Seattle, Chicago, Cleveland, Vancouver, and Victoria.  This summer was incredibly busy (see Writer in Residence at Historic Joy Kogawa House Wrap-Up in 2019 below) but fun. Being on the West Coast, I was blessed with slow mornings and quick evenings, hot yoga and strolls along the Arbutus Trail.  I marvelled at the variety of trees, flowers, and spiders. I found a church and connected with members of the writing, Jamaican, Caribbean, and #kidlit communities. I also met wonderful BC-based writers and creators like Junie Desil, Janice Lynn Mather, Kathryn Shoemaker, and Eva Campbell.  I even had the opportunity to meet author, poet, activist Joy Kogawa in whose childhood home, I conducted my writing residency. It was also wonderful to meet again with author Sarah Ellis who I spoke with 8 years ago during her writing residency at the Toronto Public Library (TPL).
In the words of the late Miss Lou, “Walk good!”

Nadia

​
​
Writer in Residence at Historic Joy Kogawa House Wrap-Up in 2019 
by Nadia L. Hohn
 
    This summer, I had the amazing opportunity to be a writer in residence at the Historic Joy Kogawa House in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  The summer was quite busy and I realized quickly that prioritizing tasks was necessary to realize my personal and professional writing goals. The following is a list of achieveables/achieved tasks this summer.  I was able to accomplish:

• 4 morning workshops for students at Spare Time Day Care Summer Camp in Vancouver for children ages 3 to 12 years old.  The workshops involved readings of my stories, Carnival peacock headpiece making, a neighbourhood parade, poetry writing, and a slam poetry performance on July 15 to 18, 2019
• 3 writing workshops in the Victoria Public Library (VPL) system on July 22 and 23, 2019
  • Malaika’s Carnival Storytime with crafts and parades at Oakridge Public Library
  • Teen Writing Workshop at Emily Carr Library
  • Writing #kidlit and #yalit for adults at Greater Victoria Library
• Hosting 1 panel on Writing Diverse #kidlit and #yalit at the Historic Joy Kogawa House on July 25, 2019
• 1 A LIKKLE MISS LOU: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice Book Birthday party at the Historic Joy Kogawa House on August 15, 2019
• 1 presentation at the Jamaican Canadian Cultural Association of British Columbia (JCCABC) 57th Independence Gala in Coquitlam, BC on August 4, 2019
• 1 table display at the JCCABC Jamaica Day Festival in Surrey, BC on August 10, 2019
• 1 presentation at the Reverb: Songs, Poems, Stories at Tenth Church in Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC on August 17, 2019
• 1 talk at the Writing, Publishing and the Children’s Book Trade graduate-level class in the Library School at the University of British Columbia (UBC) on August 8, 2019
• 4 hour-long online Weekly Wednesday Write-in Workshop on Instagram LIVE and Facebook LIVE July 31 to August 21, 2019
• 1 A LIKKLE MISS LOU storytime at the Marpole branch of the Vancouver Public Libraries (VPL) on August 15, 2019

    I managed to write a picture book draft and complete edits on one draft of my young adult novel manuscript.
    I would like to believe that it was a productive summer 2019.

A LIKKLE MISS LOU in the media
By Nadia L. Hohn
A LIKKLE MISS LOU: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice was officially released on August 13, 2019 in the United States and on August 15, 2019 in Canada weeks shy of what would have been her 100th birthday (September 7, 1919).  In fact, in Jamaica, the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange declared 100 days of Miss Lou commemorations and celebrations.  My new book, published by Owlkids and illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes, is available online (publisher website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indigo-Chapters) or a bookstore near you (if it isn’t, you can ask for it to be ordered). (However, several stores stocked this book on their shelves weeks before the release date.). All celebrations and upcoming book tours aside, the media response for this book has been positive.  I was excited to have completed an interview with the Toronto Star which became the front page of the entertainment section.  I was impressed that a photographer was sent to capture photos of me while I was in Vancouver.  The Globe & Mail, Open Book, and an upcoming edition of the Quill & Quire magazine are all excited about A LIKKLE MISS LOU in Canada.  In the United States, the reviews so far have also been favourable in Booklist, Kirkus Review, and Publishers weekly.  To check out all of the media articles so far, please visit the link for A Likkle Miss Lou reviews and interviews. Have you bought your copy of a A LIKKLE MISS LOU today?
   

                                                                                      FOLD Kids 1st Festival 2019
I am excited to announce that the first ever Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) Kids festival will be taking place on September 27-29, 2019 in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.  As a member of the planning team, I am excited about the upcoming program and the amazing authors who will be part of this line-up. Visit www.thefoldcanada.org/kids for more information.
                                                                                                                                Important A LIKKLE MISS LOU Upcoming Tour and Fall 2019 Dates
My fall 2019 tour dates are filling up fairly quickly and I have other related events which are listed below.  It is quite an exciting time! For updates to this schedule, please check my website at www.nadialhohn.com/events.  To request a presentation or signing near you, please send me an e-mail at nadialhohn@gmail.com.


Spring 2021
Malaika’s Surprise release date
Details to follow

November 24, 2019
Bookstore Presentation
Washington, DC, USA

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

November 21, 2019
Enoch Pratt Library Presentation (details to follow)
Baltimore, MD, USA

November 20, 2019
School Book Fair (details to follow)
Manhattan, NY, USA

November 17, 2019
Draft Reading Series (details to follow)
Toronto, ON, Canada

October 30, 2019
Mentor, BIPOC Writers Connect (details to follow)
The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC)
Toronto, ON, Canada

October 27, 2019
1-3pm 
Chapters Ajax
Ajax, ON

October 6, 2019
12-4pm
Chapters Vega
Mississauga, ON

October 5, 2019
2-4pm
Knowledge Bookstore 
Brampton, ON
 
September 27-30, 2019
FOLD Kids Festival
Brampton, ON

September 22, 2019
A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice Brooklyn Book Launch and Storytime
Greenlight Bookstores
11:30am Prospect Leffert Gardens location
1:30pm Fort Greene location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
 
September 21, 2019
10:30-11:30am
Storytime
Bank Street Bookstore
Manhattan, NY, USA

September 17, 2019
Celebrating Miss Lou: Queen of Jamaican Culture
5:30-8:00pm
Toronto Reference Library (TRL)
Beeton Hall (1st. Floor)

September 15, 2019
1:15pm
Telling Tales Festival
Westfield Heritage Village
Rockton, ON, Canada
Early Settlement Area
​
September 14, 2019
3-5pm
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 5-12, 2019
Miss Lou 100th Birthday Celebration 
c/o Jamaican Canadian Association 
Jamaica







© Nadia L. Hohn, 2019
Toronto, ON, Canada

     A LIKKLE MISS LOU deh yah! A LIKKLE MISS LOU: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice is here! It gives me great pleasure to share that the project I had been working on for the past seven years, my sixth picture book, was released into the world on August 15, 2019, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes, published by Owlkids.  In the words of the late author Toni Morrison, "[this is the] book I wanted to see in the world".  Most of all, the book has been completed in time for the 100th anniversary celebration of Miss Lou's birthday. And we're not the only ones talking about it.  Check out this link to see what the reviewers from such publications as Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, The Toronto Star, OpenBook, Booklist, and The Globe & Mail are saying about A LIKKLE MISS LOU.  On August 15, there was a lovely A LIKKLE MISS LOU birthday celebration held at the Historic Joy Kogawa House in Vancouver, BC, Canada where I was the writer in residence in summer 2019.  This was the perfect warm-up to the upcoming A LIKKLE MISS LOU Book Launch to be held on Saturday, September 14, 2019 3-5pm at A Different Booklist bookstore in Toronto, ON, Canada and tour (see below and check for updates here).  I hope you will join us in celebration and purchase your copy.  A LIKKLE MISS LOU soon come to a city near you!  Walk good!

    In June 2019, I sat down with the Owlkids Books marketing team to film this Behind the Book! interview about my upcoming book, A LIKKLE MISS LOU: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice.  My sixth book comes officially out in less than two weeks— on August 15, 2019.  But several stores already have copies (and signed ones at Munro's Books in Victoria and Kids Books in Vancouver).  Buy it online at Owlkids Books, Amazon, or your local bookstore.  Just in time for Miss Lou’s 100th anniversary.  (She was born on September 7, 1919).   My Vancouver book launch is on August 15, 2019 4-8pm at the Historic Joy Kogawa House. My Toronto book launch is on September 14, 2019 at A Different Booklist.  My New York City storytimes are on September 21st at Bank Street Bookstore in Manhattan and 22nd at both Greenlight bookstores in Fort Greene and Prospect Park, Brooklyn.  I have also had some amazing reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and there are more to come.  For more upcoming events and updates, visit here.  For more press articles, visit here.

     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.
​

​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.  ​

To read the original post on the Historic Joy Kogawa House site, click here.

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

​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. 

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

    As of the day I finish writing this blogpost (July 12, 2019), I have read 64% books of my 2019 reading goal so I am at 127/200. In the past two and a half months, I managed to read a lot more picture books, particularly the New York Times Bestsellers and award-winners, with a total of 60 books.  I still review each book I read on Goodreads but will rank my 2019 favourites in December.  

• Twenty Years A Slave by Solomon Northrup
• How to Be A Bawse by Lilly Singh
• The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
• Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi (contributors: Ibi Zoboi, Tracey Baptiste, Coe Both, Dhonielle Clayton, Brandy Colbert, Jay Coles, Lamar Giles, Leah Henderson, Justina Ireland, Varian Johnson, Kekla Magoon, Tochi Onyebuchi, Jason Reynolds, Nic Stone, Liara Tamani, Renée Watson, Rita Williams-Garcia)
• Garvey and Garveyism by Julius Garvey, John Clarke, and Amy Jacques Garvey
• American War by Omar El Akkad
• The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
• Can You Say Peace? by Karen Katz, illustrated by 
• Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Lillian Hoban
• Adrift At Sea: A Vietnamese Boy's Story of Survival by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, illustrated by Brian Deines
• On Being 40(ish) edited by Lindsey Mead, various contributors
• The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
• The BFG by Roald Dahl
• No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen
• With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
• The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6'4", African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama's Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian by W. Kamau Bell
• Honeysmoke: A Story of Finding Your Color by Monique Fields, illustrated by Yesenia Moises​
• Front Desk by Kelly Yang
• The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kama Bell: Tales of a 6’ 4”, African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama’s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian by W. Kama Bell
• The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1) by Lemony Snicket
• Fake ID by Lamar Giles
• Bossypants by Tina Fey
• The Agony of Bun O’Keefe by Heather Smith
• Thank You, Omu! By Oge Mora
• A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O’Leary, illustrated by Qin Leng
• They Say Blue by Jillian Tamaki
• Sun Dog by Deborah Kerbel, illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo
• Mary Wears What She Wants by Keith Negley
• Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by  Sophie Backall
• Maya by Mahak Jain, illustrated by Elly MacKay
• The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, illustrated by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak
• Over the Rooftops, Under the Moon by JonArno Lawson, illustrated by Nahid Kazemi
• The Branch by Mireille Messier, illustrated by Pierre Pratt
• Braids by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Dave Whamond
• Wet by Carey Sookocheff
• The Log Driver’s Waltz by Wade Hemsworth, illustrated by Qin Leng
• Rosie’s Glasses by Dave Whamond
• Say Something by Peter H. Reynolds
• The Good Egg by Jory John, illustrated by Pete Oswald
• You Made Me a Dad by Laurene Sala, illustrated by Mike Marlborough
• Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama, illustrated by Loren Long
• Fresh Princess by Denene Millner, illustrated by Gladys Jose
• On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
• Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari
• What I Know for Sure by Oprah Winfrey
• Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
• Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
• The Night Diary by Vera Hiranandani
• Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet edited by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Calling My Name by Liara Tamani
• Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta
• Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
• In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende
• The Nest by Kenneth Oppel
• Woke Baby by Mahogany L. Browne, illustrated by Theodore Taylor III
• Dear Girl by Amy Krause and Paris Rosenthal illustrated by Holly Hatam
• The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton
• I Am Enough by Grace Byers, illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo
• Dear Boy by Paris and Jason Rosenthal, illustrated by Holly Hatam
• The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds