Karen Kelloway’s signature storytelling style blends fact and fiction with a twist of the supernatural for an educational and entertaining read for all ages. Her first novel, Raphael’s Riddle was chosen as the grade 5 book club read for all Nova Scotia classrooms. Her second novel, Keepers of the Pact (Nimbus Publishing), won the Nova Writes Joyce Barkhouse award recognizing excellence in writing for children.
Karen gets inspiration from the setting of her stories. She spent time in Turkey to research her first novel, Raphael’s Riddle and in Brigus, Newfoundland and Labrador for her latest novel, Keepers of the Pact.
Karen is also the Founder/CEO of the Career Story Project. She works with organizations, executives, and entrepreneurs to create a rewarding career path and believes in the power of storytelling to learn life lessons. She has been designing and facilitating workshops, keynotes and presentations for 20+ years.
Karen lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with her husband, two teenagers, and their fluffy black-and-white Havanese, Chewie. A portion of all Karen’s book sales goes to school breakfast programs.
Novel Writing: The Art of Blending Fact, Fiction and Fantasy
With Karen Kelloway
Do you believe mermaids are real? When Karen Kelloway first reached out to Elder Gloria Johnson to discuss how to create more authentic indigenous characters, she wasn’t expecting the conversation to go in a completely different (and supernatural) direction! In this interactive writing workshop Karen will share tips on how she achieves a balance of realism while maintaining the mystique of the imaginary or unknown.
Specifically, Karen will cover:
- The three anchors that shaped her latest MG novel, Keepers of the Pact.
- The three Rs that will help every writer create more believable fiction.
- A fun two-part writing activity to balance facts with fiction (and maybe even sprinkle in a supernatural twist).
(Find the full power point to download with colouring page and discussion questions from her MG novel, Keepers of the Pact, here: https://karenkelloway.com/teacher-librarian-resources/)
Do you believe mermaids are real? When author Karen Kelloway first reached out to Elder Gloria Johnson to discuss how to create more authentic indigenous characters for her novel, she wasn’t expecting the conversation to go in a completely different (and supernatural) direction! In this interactive classroom visit, Karen will share tips on how she keeps her stories 'real' while also maintaining the mystique of the imaginary or unknown.
Specifically her presentation will cover:
- The three anchors that shaped her latest MG novel, Keepers of the Pact.
- The three Rs that will help students create more believable stories
- What goes into designing a book cover (a look at the before and after)
- A fun writing exercise at the end
