(Author, editor, publisher) Frank B. Edwards switched from magazine publishing to books early in his career — and then launched his own kids book company with illustrator/author John Bianchi. Bungalo Books and Pokeweed Press. Together they created 40 children's titles that sold almost 2 million copies before John passed away in 2017.
Today, Frank continues to write books for kids and adults. He also visits schools and libraries across the country, works as a student outreach consultant, and a self-publishing mentor. He has been nominated for Silver Birch Awards twice.
His current project is a juvenile non-fiction book about a Canadian soldier during the Second World War — Beyond Juno Beach.
In 2018 he co-authored Sign Posts and Promises, an illustrated history of the Canadian portion of the Alaska Highway. He has also written a biography of Robert Munsch for intermediate grade readers.
I have presented to family audiences across Canada, often combining the reading of my stories (illustrated with projected images) with chat about reading, writing and my life as an author/editor.
Starting in fall 2023, I will be focusing on my upcoming book, Beyond Juno Beach, talking about the main character in the book who was my father. The focus will be on the ordinary young Canadians, often still teenagers, who enlisted to escape poverty at home and found themselves making history. It is not about heroics but about young soldiers supporting one another in difficult, dangerous times.
1. Writing for children, aimed at adults.
2. Self-publishing, aimed at adults.
3. How to write a story, aimed at students.
4. Researching real people, aimed at senior students and adults.
I have visited hundreds of schools across Canada, both independently and as a part of programs sponsored by The Canadian Children's Book Centre and The Writers Union of Canada. I even toured Middle Eastern schools twice for The Arab Reading Association.
I bring a digital projector so that I can share my picture books with large and small audiences in classrooms, libraries and auditoriums.
I fashion each presentation to the level of the students, combining information about the importance of reading and writing with stories of my childhood — and show how my life ties into my books.
At the high school level, I focus on making a living as a writer/editor and pursuing editorial dreams (in book and magazine publishing). I also talk about my latest book's main character, a teenager who joined the Canadian army during the Second World War and found himself on the beaches of Normandy.
