With Lana Button, Jennifer Maruno, and Sylvia McNicoll
Lana Button, Jennifer Maruno, and Sylvia McNicoll share their insights on crafting captivating stories for young readers. These award-winning authors offer practical tips on writing for children and provide valuable advice on navigating the publishing world. A unique opportunity to connect with expert storytellers who have achieved great success writing and publishing books for children and all of whom are nominated for the 2026 Hamilton Literary Awards in the category of Children’s Literature.
A Different Drummer Books will be on site with books for sale and signing after the talk.
Lana Button is the award-winning author of several books for children, including her new chapter book series, Brianna Banana. Her books have been translated into several languages and have received the Crystal Kite Award, the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Award, and the IBBY Outstanding Book for Young Children, and have been shortlisted for The Blue Spruce Award, The Shining Willow, and The Jean Throop IODE Award. Her books have been recognized as the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Best Books of the Year and Best Bets.
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Jennifer Maruno is the author of nine novels for young readers and several picture books, all of which have received starred reviews and recognition. While You Sleep, was selected for the 2023 Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year. Momma’s Going to March won the Horace Mann Upstanders Award. As an elementary school principal, Jennifer encouraged all lessons to begin with a story—even mathematics. She received her Master of Education from Brock University. Jennifer enjoys travelling and mentoring writers.
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Sylvia McNicoll has written over 40 books for young audiences worldwide. She’s spoken and taught in libraries and classrooms across Canada, South Korea and Colombia. In 2022, she earned a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Civic Hero medal for her work in co-editing Writing the Rollercoaster, Stories of Riding out the Pandemic. McNicoll’s latest work, Blue to the Sky, stars an allergic-to-everything 13-year-old who believes reciting her Faceless Food poem on the top of the CN Tower will cure her of her fear of public speaking.
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If you need an accessibility accommodation during this program, please register early so we can confirm arrangements a few days before your visit.
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