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Amanda Lewis

Amanda West Lewis

Photo: Andrew Alexander

AMANDA WEST LEWIS is a writer, theatre creator, calligrapher and teaching artist who grew up in New York City and Toronto. She has published eight books for young readers and holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, with a specialist certificate in writing picture books. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Ottawa Children’s Theatre, where she teaches and runs drama programs for children and youth. Her latest middle grade novel is These Are Not the Words (Groundwood Books). Amanda lives with her husband, writer Tim Wynne-Jones, in the woods outside Perth, Ontario. 

 

Email:
amanda@amandawestlewis.com
City:
Perth
Province:
Ontario
Genre:
YA

Publications

These Are Not the Words. 2022, Groundwood Books
The Pact. 2016, Red Deer Press
September 17: A Novel. 2013, Red Deer Press
Links:
Find out more
http://www.amandawestlewis.com
Eligible for National Public Readings Program:
Yes

WITS

Are you available for public presentations and/or workshops:
Yes
Presentation Description

“Two Sides of a Coin” tells the story behind the story, revealing the true events and people that inspired the novels September 17 and The Pact. Slides show the children from England and Germany that are represented in the books, illustrating the challenges faced during wartime. The focus is on an empathetic understanding of World War 2 from a child’s perspective view. Topic discussed include propaganda, indoctrination, racism, and survival. Readings from both books are followed by a Q & A.

Presentation Length:
50 minutes
Genre:
Writing for children and young adults
Grades:
Ages 9 - adult
Audience Size:
100+
Presenation:
$300 +HST + travel
Workshop Description:

“The Look and Sound of Words”: Working with sound and visual clues, and drawing on aspects of theatre improvisation, writing games and exercises move participants into character creation, point of view and dialogue. The workshop focuses on playing with words as the basic building blocks of writing.

 

Workshop Length:
90 minutes
Workshop Intended Audience:
ages 8 - adult
Workshop Audience Size:
25
Workshop Fee:
$450 + HST + travel
Are you available for school visits?:
Yes
School Presentation Description:

“Two Sides of a Coin” tells the story behind the story, revealing the true events and people that inspired the novels September 17 and The Pact. Slides show the children from England and Germany that are represented in the books, illustrating the challenges faced during wartime. The focus is on an empathetic understanding of World War 2 from a child’s perspective view. Topic discussed include propaganda, indoctrination, racism, and survival. Readings from both books are followed by a Q & A.

School Presentation Length:
50
School Intended Audience:
grade 7 +
School Audience Size:
200+
School Presentation Fee:
$300 +HST + travel
Interested in participating in the Union’s Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program:
Yes
Interested in participating in the Northern Ontario WITS program:
Yes