Webinars

Managing Your Career Without an Agent
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
12:00 pm PST / 1:00 pm MST / 2:00 pm CST / 3:00 pm EST / 4:00 pm AST / 4:30 pm NST
60 minutes
Closed captioning available

> Register now

Believe it or not, it *is* possible to have a successful writing career without a literary agent. But what does that look like and how does it work? Join Nadia L. Hohn as she shares the secrets to managing a successful writing career without an agent, the pros and cons of not having an agent, and tips for negotiating more money. Hosted by Rebecca Diem, this webinar runs 60 minutes and includes a Q&A period.

TWUC members who are unable to attend will have access to a recording of the webinar for a limited time.

Nadia L. Hohn is an award-winning author, educator, and artivist who advocates for diversity in children and young adult literature. Nadia is the author of the Malaika Series: Malaika’s Surprise (2021), Malaika's Winter Carnival (2017), and the award-winning Malaika's Costume (2016) by Groundwood Books which was selected as the 2021 TD Book Giveaway title. This means that over 550, 000 children across Canada will receive a copy of Malaika's Costume. Nadia is also the author of Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter (HarperKids, 2018), A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett-Coverley Found Her Voice (Owlkids, 2019), and Music and Media in the Sankofa Series (Rubicon Publishing, 2015). Her upcoming work includes a picture book and anthology in 2023 as well as a picture book in 2024. She is working on middle grade and young adult novels and plays.

Nadia holds a degree in honours psychology from the University of Waterloo as well as Bachelor and Master of Education degrees from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE/UT). Nadia is completing her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of Guelph.  She was an inaugural teacher at Canada's first publicly-funded Africentric school and has been an elementary school teacher for 18 years. She is a professor of writing for children at local post-secondary institutions and a frequent presenter at conferences.

Building a Strong Author Brand
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
12:00 pm PST / 1:00 pm MST / 2:00 pm CST / 3:00 pm EST / 4:00 pm AST / 4:30 pm NST
60 minutes
Closed captioning available

> This webinar is exclusively for TWUC members. Click here to access registration (member login required).

How do you sustain a writing career in a marketplace that feels oversaturated with content and ruled by tweets and ten-second soundbites? How do you carve out your own piece of creative real estate and ultimately stand out?

Being a writer isn’t simply about selling the latest story you’ve written—it’s about selling the story of you. Finding the right author brand can lead to improved book sales, invitations to speak at conferences, and better online engagement.

Join Lee Edward Födi, self-proclaimed daydreaming expert, as he presents strategies and tips for establishing, maintaining, and projecting an effective author brand, including ways to leverage social media, blogs, personal websites, and other marketing materials. Please bring your notebook, your questions, and your open imagination!

Hosted by Rukhsana Khan, this webinar runs 60 minutes and includes a Q&A period.

TWUC members who are unable to attend will have access to a recording of the webinar for a limited time.

Lee Edward Födi is an author, illustrator, and specialized arts educator. His books include Spell Sweeper (HarperCollins), The Secret of Zoone (HarperCollins) and the Kendra Kandlestar series (Simply Read). He is a co-founder of CWC, a not-for-profit program that helps kids write, produce, and publish their own books, and has delivered many workshops in Canada, Korea, and Thailand. He has a degree in English Literature from UBC, and is a member of several organizations dedicated to children’s lit, including being on the executive board for CWILL BC. He lives in Vancouver, where he likes to explore local parks with his wife and son in search of dragon eggs, talking trees, and hidden treasures. www.leefodi.com.

Rukhsana Khan is an award-winning author and storyteller who was born in Pakistan and immigrated to Canada at the age of three.

As a child, she was ruthlessly bullied and turned to books to cope.

She has thirteen books published (one of which was chosen by the New York Public Library as one of the 100 greatest children's books in the last 100 years).

Some of her books have been published internationally.

She’s appeared on television and radio numerous times and has been featured at conferences and festivals around the world.

She lives in Toronto with her husband and family.