School is about to end for most of the young readers out there, and I want to wish everyone a healthy and fabulous summer holiday. I’m planning on doing lots of writing - and a fair bit of relaxing as well. I must admit, it’s been a busy year, filled with author visits, travel, wonderful awards, and the opportunity to meet face to face and via email with many of you. The photograph you see here was sent to me from a school in Italy where the students have spent months working on a project based on my book, Hiding Edith. The book is called Un Posto Sicuro in Italian. I am continally amazed and gratified that my stories are reaching young people around the world. So thanks to all of you who read my books and are touched by the stories.

I’m just back from New York City where I received the prestigious National Jewish Book Council award for The Diary of Laura’s Twin. It was a fabulous weekend and a wonderful celebration of books. There were 16 awards given out in different categories. Mine was Young Adult Literature Book of the Year. Each of the authors were given about three minutes in which to make an acceptance speech. We were not allowed to thank anyone; thank-you’s had to be submitted in writing and they were listed in the program. I thought that was a fabulous idea because it gave each of us a chance to talk about why we had written our books and why these stories were so important - much more interesting than listening to a bunch of thank-you’s. I met authors from across the United States, from Australia, and England. I was thrilled to represent Canada at the ceremony. Check out the photo of me on stage.

Last week I gave an inteview on Roger’s Cable television in Markham. It featured Helen Yermus, who is one of the survivors that I wrote about in Whispers from the Ghettos. Here’s the link to the piece http://www.rogerstv.com/option.asp?lid=16&rid=17&tid=27204. If you go to March 3 and click on the screen, you can watch the video.

I know we’re in the dead of winter, but I’m feeling the beginning of spring! It only takes a couple of sunny days for me to start believing that warm weather is just around the corner. Now to celebrate the coming of spring, I’m thrilled to announce the publication of a new book called Whispers from the Ghettos, a collection of true short stories from survivors of the Holocaust. This book is co-written with the fabulous Sharon McKay (Esther, Charlie Wilcox, and many, many others; www.sharonmckay.ca) Whispers from the Ghettos is the first of a three book collection of short stories from survivors. The second book, Whispers from the Camps will be out in six months, followed six months later by Whispers in Hiding. Sharon and I are thrilled with this collection. We interviewed dozens of survivors from across the country to find the stories that we wanted to include here. The stories are heroic and remarkable and we know that you will be moved and inspired by what you read. Whispers from the Ghettos is available in bookstores and libraries. Let me know what you think of it.

I’m off to New York City next week to pick up a book award - what fun! The Diary of Laura’s Twin has just won the U.S. National Jewish Book Council Award as the Young Adult Book of the Year. I am one of only a handful of Canadian authors who has won this prestigious award. Needless-to-say, I’m thrilled! I’ll tell you all about it when I get back.

Whispers from the Ghetto

Sorry for the delay in writing. In fact I have been very busy blogging - just not on this site. Let me explain. For the month of December, I am the Writer in Residence for Open Book Toronto, an internet website for writers and literary events. As the WIR, I blog four times a week, talking about anything that has to do with writing and books. I’ve talked about the class I’ve been teaching at the University of Toronto, School of Continuing Studies; I’ve discussed my recent travels as part of Canada Book Week; I’ve reviewed a wonderful book by Janet Wilson called One Peace: True Stories of Young Activists; I’ve even talked about good writing days and what that’s like for me. It’s great fun to think about my writing style and put that into words. If you want to read some of those blogs, please go to the Open Book Website, www.openbooktoronto.com and follow the links to WIR. I’ll continue to comment there until the beginning of January.

I also want to let you know that I have been having some problems recently with emails sent to me at this website. I think the problem is cleared up for now, but if you have emailed me in the last month and haven’t heard back from me, then please, please, please email me again. I’m not ignoring you - I promise! And I apologize for any inconvenience.

Here’s wishing you and yours happy holidays, and a wonderful and healthy new year.

Wow! I’m so sorry I haven’t written anything here in quite a while. But I’m ready to update you on all the writing events in my life. This is a busy fall for me. I am teaching my course called Writing for Children at the University of Toronto, School of Continuing Studies (www.learn.utoronto.ca), I will be speaking in a whole bunch of schools and libraries across the province, and I will be traveling to Los Angeles, Halifax (Canada Book Week), and London.

The other event that is coming up is Holocaust Education Week which, of course, is very important to me and many others. Go to www.holocausteducationweek.com to check out the many speakers and events. On Sunday November 9 at 2:30 p.m. I will be talking about my book, The Diary of Laura’s Twin, at 272 Codsell Ave. in Toronto. I’d love to see lots of you come and hear me speak. This event is for children ages 9 and up, parents, grandparents, and educators.

On November 2, at 4:00 p.m. during the Toronto Jewish Book Fair, (www.kofflerarts.org) I will be part of a very interesting panel called Women Writing the Holocaust. Join me, Karen Levine (Hana’s Suitcase), Ami Sands Brodoff (The White Space Between), and Gina Roitman (Tell me a Story, Tell me the Truth) as we discuss the challenges and triumphs of writing about this history.

There’s so much more to tell you about, including the launch of a brand new book. Stay tuned!

It’s been a busy spring for me and quite a while since I’ve had a chance to update my blog. In the past few months I have traveled to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Columbia, and parts of Ontario. I’ve spoken in dozens of schools and libraries, and met hundreds of young people who have read some or all of my books. Here I am in the photo speaking to a large groups of students in Oxford, N.S.

One of the most exciting things to happen was that my book, Hiding Edith, won the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award in the Maritimes. Unfortunately, I couldn’t be there for the ceremony in April. But I was able to pick up my award the following month when I was in Moncton, N.B. I am grateful to the many young people who read Hiding Edith and voted for it, and the teacher/librarians and volunteers who organized Hackmatack reading clubs in their schools and libraries. As writers we are always grateful for the work you do to promote our books.

I hope everyone has a great summer, one that is filled with fun, relaxation, and definitely some good books!

What a fabulous booklaunch I had! Friends, family members, and many others were out in full force to hear me speak about my new book, The Diary of Laura’s Twin. Thanks to all of you who came to the Simon Wiesenthal Centre; thanks to the staff there for hosting the event and the reception afterwards; thanks as always to Margie Wolfe and the staff of Second Story Press, www.secondstorypress.ca, especially Emma Rogers (pictured above with me and Margie), who did all of the organizing of this event.

I was really happy that Dexter Glied-Beliak and his mom were present at the launch. Dexter is one of the young people who I profile at the back of the book. The other young person that I write about, Gabby Samra, was unable to make the booklaunch from her home in Montreal. But she was in my thoughts the whole time.

I was also delighted that Edith Gelbard was there. Edith will be traveling to Halifax and other cities out east in the spring to talk about Hiding Edith. Edith will be speaking in nine different schools in the region! Perhaps some of you will have a chance to see her.

Stay tuned. I’ll let you know about my own travels in upcoming blog entries!

I promised I would bring you news of the launch of The Diary of Laura’s Twin and here it is. On March 19 @ 6:30 p.m. I will be speaking at the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, at 5075 Yonge St., Suite 902. This event is free but it is suggested that you register in advance by going to their website www.fswc.ca/events and clicking on March 19.

I hope to see many of you there. At the event, I will also be talking about my book, Hiding Edith, and my friend, Edith Gelbard (who is the “Edith” of the story), will also be there that evening.

Please stay for the reception afterwards. I’d love to meet you all!

The last two months have been BUSY! Here’s a short list of the talks and author visits that I have done: Associated Hebrew School (thanks to a terrific librarian, Marlene March), Cedarbrook P.S. (despite a very snowy day, Jodi Rees organized a wonderful visit for me), Simcoe County District School Board (my thanks once again to Carolyn Maloy who has invited me up to Barrie several times), Athabasca P.S. (Jen McPhee organized this visit for me), and St. Marks School (my friend, Shelley Macbeth coordinated this Family Reading Night, along with principal, Gerry O’Reilly). I also spoke at the OLA Superconference and Reading for the Love of It. Thank you to all those who helped coordinate my visits and talks. And thank you to the students who came prepared with their many thoughtful questions and comments about my books. And now, its enough with the snow already! The next time I drive to Barrie, or Oshawa, or Whitby, or downtown Toronto, I want the streets to be dry and easy to manoeuvre. Don’t we all!

My big news for this month is that in a couple of weeks, I will have a copy of my new book, The Diary of Laura’s Twin. I can’t wait! It will be thrilling to hold my brand new book in my hands. Stay tuned. In the next few weeks, I will provide information about the launch of this new book. I’d love you all to come.

Hi everyone!

Welcome to 2008. I hope all of you had a restful and fun holiday. Mine was wonderful and included a family vacation in the sun - lucky me! I’m looking forward to lots of school visits in the coming months beginning with a visit to the Toronto French School next week. This is the 8th year that I’ve spoken at TFS, thanks in large part to Jean Fitzgerald, a fantastic teacher who invites me every year. I can’t wait to meet this year’s students.

I recently came across a wonderful website which I’d like to pass on to teachers. It’s called Facing History and Ourselves (www.facinghistory.org). In their words, the group responsible is dedicated to “helping teachers around the world lead their students in a critical examination of history, with particular focus on genocide and mass violence.” The material on the website is geared to middle and high school teachers and includes publications and teacher guidelines that can be downloaded or purchased on line. It’s worth taking a look at this valuable resource.

I appreciate the positive feedback I’ve received about my website, and look forward to hearing from students and educators in the coming months.