Meet our PYI 2022 Speakers

Beverley Brenna (Professor Emerita, College of Education, University of Saskatchewan) is currently the children’s editor at Red Deer Press. Bev has worked in elementary and post-secondary classrooms and published over a dozen titles for young people—including her “Wild Orchid” series (earning a Dolly Gray Award, a Printz Honor, and placing on the Governor General’s shortlist). Visit http://www.beverleybrenna.com

As the bestselling and award-winning author of dozens of titles, with over 4 million books in print in multiple languages, Sigmund Brouwer’s recent non-fiction titles cover one of the most epic successes in human exploration—Apollo 11—and the equally epic failure of Sir John Franklin’s doomed attempt to find the Northwest passage.

Lana Buttonis the award-winning author of nine picture books, including some that (gulp) rhyme. Her new books include Parent’s Magazine-approved The Cow Said Boo! and the CCBC’s Favourite Picture Books for 2021 selection, Tough Like Mum.

Peter Carver has worked in children’s publishing for 45 years, including 25 years as children’s editor at Red Deer Press, and freelancing for other publishers. He was on the staff of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre for seven years, and edited the Freedom to Read kit for 22 years. A highly regarded writing teacher, Peter has taught at George Brown College, at workshops across Canada, and at his Nova Scotia holiday property in collaboration with his wife, author Kathy Stinson. His many awards include the Claude Aubry Award, Vicky Metcalf Award (three times), and Alberta’s Lois Hole Award for editing. Peter and Kathy live in Rockwood, Ontario.

Marty Chan writes books for kids, plays for adults and tweets for fun. In theatre he’s best known for his classic thriller, The Bone House, which had audiences from Edinburgh to Toronto screaming for their lives. His Orca Book, Haunted Hospital, was a Junior Library Guild’s gold standard selection and has gone into second printing. Marty works and lives in Edmonton.

Mike Deas says his love for illustrative storytelling came from his early love of reading and drawing while growing up on Salt Spring Island, BC. Capilano College’s Commercial Animation Program in Vancouver helped Mike fine-tune his drawing skills and imagination.

Natasha Donovan is a self-taught illustrator originally from Vancouver, BC. She has illustrated more than ten books, including the award-winning Mothers of Xsan series, written by Brett Huson, and the graphic novel adaptation of Thomas King’s story Borders. Her recent work includes The Global Ocean, written by Rochelle Strauss, and A River’s Gifts, written by Patricia Newman.

Cylita Guy, PhD, is a Toronto-based ecologist, data scientist, and science communicator who studies bats. Her first children’s book – Chasing Bats & Tracking Rats: Urban Ecology, Community Science, and How We Share Our Cities (Annick Press) is now available. In her downtime, this friendly neighbourhood batgirl is chasing her next big outdoor adventure.

Andrew Katz is a bilingual author based in Montreal. His third and most recent picture book is A Starlit Trip to the Library, published simultaneously in French as Voyage de nuit à la bibli (2022). As a fun extra, the book includes an original song, written by Andrew and performed by Taes Leavitt, aka Boots from the children’s music duo Splash’N Boots.

Soyeon Kim is a Korean-born Canadian artist living in Pickering, Ontario. Her main medium is three-dimensional dioramas, where she creates a world by carefully arranging the painted and texturized paper cutouts. She is the illustrator of You Are Stardust, Wild Ideas, Is This Panama? Sukaq and the Raven, You Are Never Alone, A Last Goodbye, and Once Upon an Hour.

Stacey Kondla is a literary agent at The Rights Factory. Her experience includes working for Scholastic Book Fairs, managing the IndigoKids department at two Chapters/Indigo stores, and freelance editing. Stacey has a broad and eclectic list of authors and illustrators, though she specializes in children's fiction and nonfiction. She thrills in helping her clients find the best publishing homes for their work.

Qin Leng lives and works as a designer and illustrator in Toronto. She has illustrated over 40 titles with publishers around the world. Her picture books include Hana Hashimoto Sixth Violin, Skinnamarink, Over the Shop and I Am Small, which Qin has written and illustrated. www.qinillustrations.com

Tanya Lloyd Kyi is the author of more than 30 picture books, information books, and novels for children and young adults. She writes about science, pop-culture, and places where the two overlap. Tanya lives in Vancouver, B.C., where she’s a lecturer for the UBC School of Creative Writing.

Yolanda T. Marshall is a Guyanese-born Canadian author. In 2015, after becoming a mom, Yolanda was inspired to write her first children's book. Her books are all about celebrations, inclusion and recipes, and include C is for Carnival, My Soca Birthday Party, Hot Cross Buns for Everyone. Yolanda lives in Toronto.

Colleen Nelson is a teacher and author from Winnipeg where she currently teaches Grade 8. Her award-winning books include Harvey Comes Home and Governor’s General nominee Harvey Holds His Own, The Undercover Book List and Schwartz Award winner Sadia.

Sara O’Leary grew up in Saskatoon and now divides her time between Montreal and the Bay of Fundy. She is the author of several books for adults as well as picture books such This is Sadie. Maud and Grand-Maud, and When You Were Small. You can find her online at saraoleary.ca.

Patricia Ocampo is senior editor at Kids Can Press, and previously worked at HarperCollins, Annick Press, Simon and Schuster, and Transatlantic Agency. Patricia is past president of the Canadian chapter of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). She teaches children’s book editing at The Chang School.

Liselle Sambury is a Trinidadian-Canadian author who grew up in Toronto, and her brand of writing can be described as “messy Black girls in fantasy situations.” In her free time, she shares helpful tips for upcoming writers and details of her publishing journey through a YouTube channel dedicated to demystifying the sometimes complicated business of being an author.