Member Profile

Writer and educator Larry Verstraete (B.Sc., M.Ed) lives in Winnipeg. A former teacher with 30 years of experience, he began writing for youngsters over 20 years ago while still teaching. Now a full time writer, he is the author of twelve non-fiction books for young people.

The roots of Larry’s writing lie deep in his own personal experiences. As a youngster, he had a strong interest in true adventure stories and read widely from this genre. In high school, and later in university, science became a major focus. His Master’s thesis focused on establishing ways of making science more relevant to students, a goal he still pursues through his writing today. These elements – true adventure and science – can be seen, sometimes together, in the subjects he explores in his books, and also in his style of writing. Five of Larry’s published works are on scientific themes and many of his books utilize, to varying degrees, a narrative non-fiction writing style that engages youngsters with captivating and memorable material. 

An active promoter of books and literacy, Larry is a frequent visitor to schools and libraries where he shares his enthusiasm for science and writing with students, teachers and parents. He has also presented at conferences and festivals such as Calgary’s Wordfest, Winnipeg’s International Children’s Festival, and Thin Air, The Winnipeg International Writers Festival. As well, Larry has toured with TD Canadian Children’s Book Week and in connection with B.C.’s Red Cedar, Ontario’s Silver Birch, and the Maritime’s Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award. A seasoned public speaker, Larry gives readings and workshops students say are ‘cool’ and ‘funtastic’ and which teachers and librarians describe as ‘riveting’, ‘engaging’, ‘informative’ and ‘highly recommended’.