Two Alberta authors will be showing students and residents of all ages the power of words.
On Thursday, April 27, writers David Poulsen and Jacqueline Guest will be in Cold Lake as part of the Wordpower tour, a partnership between the Young Alberta Book Society (YABS) and Cenovus. At 6:30 p.m. at the south branch of the library, the pair will be sharing some of their published works and their journey as authors.
“They're going to come and share their love of reading and writing to everyone. It's open to all ages, Jacqueline writes for children and young adults, and David writes for adults as well as children and young adults,” said Tanya Boudreau, assistant director of the Cold Lake Public Library. “It's a really interactive program so if people have questions they can ask them – it's a really good way to see Alberta authors up close and personal.”
Guest is an experienced Métis author and speaker. With a focus on educating while entertaining, her books range from sports, to mysteries, to history and culture.
One of her latest works, The Comic Book War, tells the story of World War Two from a unique perspective. Loosely based on Guest's own family, the novel is set in Calgary in 1943 and follows a young Métis boy as he copes with the fear and worry that comes with having three brothers fighting overseas.
“When I was doing the research, I discovered that there were lots of books out there talking about the troops overseas, Holocaust, the tragedies that happened over in Japan and Europe. There were very few, if any, about what happened here at home,” explained Guest.
She added, “It's a great story for adventure, coming of age, and a whole bunch of background about what happened during World War Two here at home.”
The Comic Book War is just one of the books Guest hopes to touch on during her visit to Cold Lake. With around two decades of writing behind her, she has published 19 novels. While the topics may vary, one thing that her books all share is that they're written to get children reading.
“Adults have already made their mind up whether they're going to spend half an hour reading a book in the evening. Kids, you can still send them down that path because they're still open to advice, suggestions, and encouragement to get them reading.”
An experienced presenter for classrooms and youth groups, Guest still gets excited to share her stories and get feedback from every group of children she speaks with.
“Interacting with students is why I write for them. I think they are the future, and I want the future to be bright and shiny. I think that comes from reading. Being able to stand in front of the audience and interact with them, that's a big thing for me.”
Joining her on the tour to Cold Lake, and the stop at the library, is author David Poulsen.
Poulsen got his start in writing in 1984, when a short story he wrote won a provincial competition. Since then, his writing career has continued to grow with over two dozen books published.
“I think what's so great about Wordpower is that it's great for the kids to meet real authors, I never had that opportunity as a kid. As much as I loved reading and writing, it would have meant a lot for me to meet a real life author as a kid,” expressed Poulsen. “It's also really good for us because it puts us face to face with the people we write our books for.”
In his young adult novels, Poulsen has gravitated towards capturing historic world events through the eyes of his young characters. For example, ‘Numbers' tells the story of high school students dealing with a teacher who is a Holocaust denier.
“My most recent book is about the dropping of the first atomic bomb, seen through the eyes of a kid in today's world. With the older kids, that's the one I'll be concentrating on, it just came out a few months ago,” said Poulsen.
For his adult readers, the award-winning Alberta author has always been a fan of mystery novels, and has continued to emulate that in his own career. His newest mystery series currently has one book published, with a second due to be released in May and a third that Poulsen just finished writing.
Along with some reading, in his presentation Poulsen will talk about his journey to becoming a writer and finish with a question and answer period. Like Guest, ultimately, Poulsen hopes his writing will inspire his audience to read.
“When I have a kid come up to me and say, ‘I just read a book of yours and I just want to read more because of your book,' that's probably the single best thing anyone can say to me.”
The Wordpower tour has been taking place for over a decade, annually bringing authors and illustrators to communities and schools of all sizes across the province. Which professionals will be participating in the tour is decided through a jury process where they submit an application detailing their career as writers and speakers, and what presentations they would do.
“Wordpower is a fantastic way to get kids to actually talk and interact with authors and illustrators in person, getting a glimpse of how stories and books are created and how they can be part of that process too,” said YABS executive director Stephanie Gregorwich, adding that they find the audience is always more keen to be reading the authors' books after their visit.
“This is a way of creating a personal connection with a book, by creating a personal connection with its creator.”
The Cold Lake stop of the Wordpower tour, featuring Guest and Poulsen, is a free event at the library's south branch for anyone to attend.
