K.A. Wiggins's Blog, page 5
September 11, 2022
School Visits, Public Speaking and Teaching
I���m passionate about encouraging, inspiring, and equipping readers and writers of all ages and welcome the opportunity to join events including festivals, conferences, school visits, camps and workshops, and more, schedule permitting.
ExperienceI publish short, novelette, novella, and novel-length speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction & horror) for middle grade (=kids), young adult, and adult readers, and have experience in speaking to elementary, middle school/junior high, high school, and adult audiences.
I���m a registered speaker with (and, as of 2021, president of) the Children���s Writers & Illustrators of British Columbia (CWILL BC) Society. (Speaker���s profile.)
I���m also a creative writing coach with Creative Writing for Children Society, and have extensive experience creating curriculum and facilitating seasonal camps and term-length workshops on creativity, storytelling, and writing themes for ages eight and up.
Previous, one-off, in person and remote festivals, sessions, workshops, panels, and masterclasses have included topics on writing and storytelling including craft, short fiction and/or genre fiction, publishing skills, local-history-in-storytelling, eco-fiction and imagining the future, and motivation and resiliency.
LogisticsI prefer to work collaboratively with clients to identify the best topics for their needs and audience and don���t currently offer ���set��� presentations. That said, for school settings, I can certainly suggest several topics that have worked well in the past, depending on age and subject. Climate futurism, fighting the patriarchy, ghosts of the past, and horror-meets-humour are popular ���broad-interest��� topics for general (non-writing) groups, while creative writing or ELA bookings may focus more on paths to publishing, worldbuilding, descriptive writing, etc.
Please enquire regarding dates, fees, and any other pertinent logistics with as much notice as possible.
Fees are generally in line with local standards, but may be subject to adjustment based on the specific event. Nonprofits should enquire about discounts or alternate arrangements if budget is a barrier. Assistance with grant and funding applications may be available.
Home base is Abbotsford, BC and the nearest international airports for travel purposes are Abbotsford or Vancouver, BC. Zoom/remote presentations are available.
Testimonials���Kaie recently joined our Guild of Young Writers program for a virtual Speculative Fiction workshop that exceeded all of our expectations! Kaie provided such an insightful presentation, sharing her own writing process and tidbits about the business of writing itself before diving deep into the elements of speculative fiction.
Her presentation was interactive and engaged the students with specific tips and examples from her own writing, along with suggestions to bring back to their own writing practice. She answered all of their questions with thoughtful and knowledgeable responses and provided the students with such inspiration to move forth with their own writing projects.���
-Rebecca Ruiter, Coordinator & Facilitator, Story Studio Writing Society
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���K.A. Wiggins is an articulate and engaging professional who knows how to bring authors into dynamic conversations meant to inform, entertain and enlighten audiences of all levels. Her ability to seamlessly orchestrate events from beginning to end further demonstrates her passion and care for all that she does.���
-Bonnie Nish, PhD, Executive Director, Word Vancouver and Department of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia
ResourcesI have a couple mini writing tips posted on social: Spooky Middle Grade Openings and Speculative Worldbuilding Skills, and here���s a quick video created by the awesome team at ORCHIDS Childrens Literature Fest (Mumbai, India) with some classroom teaching footage:
Please get in touch directly by email (kaiewrites@gmail.com) to discuss your event!
Word Vancouver Festival 2022
Date: September 19, 24-25, 2022
Time: Various
Location: Online (Monday, Sep. 19), Surrey City Centre Library (Saturday, Sep. 24) / SFU Harbour Centre (Sunday, Sep. 25)
Type: Panels, Readings, Activities, Book Sale, Giveaway & More
Join CWILL BC at Word Vancouver 2022!
Our authors and illustrators are offering virtual midweek sessions (schools, libraries, home learners etc. encouraged to tune in!), we���ll be offering a children���s activity center on Saturday, and hosting a table in the exhibitor���s hall on Sunday. Stop by to say hi, grab some free bookmarks, and enter our giveaway!
I���ll be on site all weekend helping out with free drop-in kids activities, running the CWILL BC table, and moderating the following events:
Finding the Way in your City A panel for Early Readers (roughly Kindergarten to Grade 3) featuring author-illustrator Kari Rust and Darren Lebeuf on Monday, September 19, 2022 from 9:30-10:15 am on Zoom: ���Two authors share stories of kids discovering how to connect to their city and see places in a whole new light. In one case, a group of children befriend an older man and learn about the many fascinating older objects he holds onto in his house. In the other, a visually impaired young girl experiences the places around her through all her other senses, appreciating them in all their richness.��� Register Here!
Twists and Turns A Reading/Conversation Circle for Middle Grade Readers (roughly grades 4���6) featuring Emily Seo and Bree Galbraith on Saturday, Sep. 24 at Surrey City Centre Library from 1-2 pm: ���Life can be full of twists and turns especially when you���re trying to fit in, help family and friends, and ultimately find out who you are. Join these two authors as they share their characters��� unique ways of being true to themselves in a world full of questions and observations.���
A panel on children���s publishing (for aspiring writers/illustrators & kidlit fans) featuring Claire Lordon, Sara Leach, Bryce Raffle & Danielle S. Marcotte on Sunday, Sep. 25 at SFU Harbour Centre from 11:30-12:30
Check out the full list of CWILLers at the festival, free drop-in activities, and giveaways and browse the whole schedule here!!.
The Horror Anthology of 2022
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Hungry Shadow Press (@hungryshadowpress)
I���ve just seen the print proofs for It Was All A Dream: An Anthology of Bad Horror Tropes Done Right and this is one you won���t want to miss!
The star-studded lineup alone makes it one of the most exciting anthologies of Spooky Season 2022(TM), but the creepy/schlocky, retro-horror-movie black-and-white interior illustrations for each story make this not only an incredible read for horror lovers, but a real show-stopper for your shelves.
Swing by the publisher���s site to grab your copy (drops October 18, 2022/preorders open now).
Brandon at Hungry Shadow Press has really been working overtime making this an exciting launch. Here���s a bunch of us chatting horror and weird fiction on Bonehead Weekly���s Show and watch this space for art reveals and interviews with many of the authors about their inspiration and insights into each trope-story pairing (mine drops October 12!)
Content note: while I write for middle grade, young adult, and all-ages audiences and my story in this anthology is suitable for my regular audience, the anthology as a whole is recommended for adult horror fans.
Speaking of my weird-horror-humour short in this anthology, ���Castoffs���, it went through five versions and amassed almost 40 rejections before finding its home (all it takes is one ���yes������hang in there, writers!)
Here are some of my favourite rejection notes:
���This is extravagantly bizarre, and I mean that as the highest compliment. The ���deal with the devil��� scenario has been done so often that it���s difficult to make that scenario seem new and imaginative, but you manage to do just that. The mixture of lavish, mouth-watering food descriptions with the macabre scenario and the pound of flesh is equal parts tantalizing and perverse���I love it. Best of luck getting this published.���
���It was funny ��� truly. Referring to the female character as dinner was hilarious (���) The journey of the demon putting out the candles is nice ��� especially because the candle names and scents themselves evoke an aura of middle-class blandness that becomes vivid for the reader. We also thought the bit about the publishing contract would resonate with many. The end was hilarious. Both characters ending up happy is rare and added much humour to the piece.���
���Fun in its own insane, visceral way.���
And from Hungry Shadow Press���s very own Brandon Applegate: ���It���s exactly the kind of bonkers, inside-baseball, disgustingly great spin on a well worn trope I was looking for when I started putting this together.���
Don���t miss this insane, funny, and somehow happy (?!) gross-out horror comedy and a truly awesome linup of other horror stories! Preorder now at hungryshadowpress.com
July 3, 2022
MayorChicken
MayorChicken (pen name) was an elementary-aged student in my Spring 2022 anthology workshop (remote/Korea) with CWC. Check out his fun story from our anthology reproduced on Wattpad!
dalightningthief
dalightningthief (pen name) was a middle-school-aged student in my Spring 2022 anthology workshop (remote/Korea) with CWC. Check out his dramatic story from our anthology reproduced on Wattpad!
June 26, 2022
Short Fiction With StoryStudio
Date: August 2, 2022
Time: 10-11 am PST
Location: virtual
Type: workshop + Q&A
StoryStudio is a a Victoria, BC-based charity that provides free and low cost creative writing programming, resources, and contests for kids and teens across Canada.
This is a private event for Imaginary Island registered campers ages 10-16 and registration is now closed, but if you���re a young writer (or a parent), check out their site for how to get involved, upcoming programs, and regular writing contests!
Awards News!
����New Badge Unlocked����
— K.A. Wiggins is celebrating 5 years of publishing! (@kaiespace) June 27, 2022
Blind the Eyes was shortlisted in the Whistler Independent Book Awards!
This is a fun one, since it's the first book award in my own backyard, so to speak. Also, very competitive, with a huge pool of entrants, so I'm honoured (and a little shocked)!�������� pic.twitter.com/qi49OH8Kii
May 25, 2022
Celebrating Five Years
My debut novel, Blind the Eyes, dropped June 1, 2018. It���s been an absolute whirlwind of a ride ever since. Some things I���d hoped for never turned out; other things I���d never even dreamed of came out of the woodwork.
I���d planned to mark the occasion with something small���a new cover for Under, my subscriber-exclusive series prequel novella. Maybe a little giveaway.
But the redesign looked so awesome, I couldn���t help myself:
So, yeah, buckle up for a complete series relaunch:
A brand-new trilogy collection ���box set��� ebook drops June 1 get the collection The new edition of Blind the Eyes launches the same day get the new BTE edition Black the Tides is scheduled for July 6 Burn the Skies will relaunch in August and the short fiction titles will hit stores throughout the fall (but newsletter subscribers can grab their copies now!)Subscribe hereThanks for your patience as I work through these updates���pages and links might be a little wonky in the transition (and the reason everything doesn���t drop June 1 is there���s a ton of work on the backend to get all the pieces in play.)
And check back before June 1 for details on the 5th Anniversary Giveaway!
May 14, 2022
Surprise TOC Announcement
The results are in from the Writers of the Future awards (which is HUGE). Children of Earth got an honourable mention!
But that nice little accolade is overshadowed by the sudden and star-studded Table of Contents drop of It Was All A Dream: An Anthology of Bad Horror Tropes Done Right:
Art by Evangeline Gallagher
Why, yes, that is THE Wendy N. Wagner���s name just above mine! AND Gabino Iglesias to the left of hers! In fact, please, go ahead and just take a moment to absorb that fantastic lineup!
No release date yet because the publisher is commissioning interior artwork for the stories, but I���ll keep you posted.
This is really exciting for me because my twisted little story, Castoffs, has been one of my most popular AND most rejected. It features both a ���deal with a devil��� trope and a rather insider writers joke, which has made it a really hard sell.
But editors LOVE it. Here���s some of my favourite rejection notes:
���This is extravagantly bizarre, and I mean that as the highest compliment. The ���deal with the devil��� scenario has been done so often that it���s difficult to make that scenario seem new and imaginative, but you manage to do just that. The mixture of lavish, mouth-watering food descriptions with the macabre scenario and the pound of flesh is equal parts tantalizing and perverse���I love it. Best of luck getting this published.���
���It was funny ��� truly. Referring to the female character as dinner was hilarious (���) The journey of the demon putting out the candles is nice ��� especially because the candle names and scents themselves evoke an aura of middle-class blandness that becomes vivid for the reader. We also thought the bit about the publishing contract would resonate with many. The end was hilarious. Both characters ending up happy is rare and added much humour to the piece.���
���It���s fun in its own insane, visceral way.���
And from Hungry Shadow Press���s very own Brandon Applegate: ���It���s exactly the kind of bonkers, inside-baseball, disgustingly great spin on a well worn trope I was looking for when I started putting this together.��� (!!) Seriously, just absolutely glowing over here! And can���t wait to see what else made it in (28 stories total~)
So, look forward to this insane, funny, and somehow happy (?!) gross-out horror comedy and a truly awesome linup of other horror stories one day soon!
May 9, 2022
Save the Dates
Date: September 25, 2022
Time: TBC
Location: SFU Harbour Centre
Type: Panel
I���ll be moderating a panel on children���s publishing featuring CWILLers Claire Lordon, Sara Leach, Bryce Raffle & Danielle S. Marcotte at WORD Vancouver festival, time TBC. Stop by our table in the exhibitor���s hall for free bookmarks and enter our giveaway. And teachers/librians/home learners won���t want to miss Kari Rust���s WORD-sponsored free virtual school talk in the week leading up. More details to come here.
Save the Date #2: CWILL BC Presents: 2022 BC Books + Intro to Collaborating with Local Authors at BCTLA Fall ConferenceDate: October 21-22, 2022
Time: TBC
Location: New Westminster Secondary School
Type: Multimedia Presentation & Workshop
I���ll be presenting a mixed-format multi-media presentation and workshop on behalf of CWILL BC highlighting our free resources for teachers and librarians, presenting 2021-2022 new and upcoming releases, and engaging dialogue around BC books for kids. Exact date/time TBC. We may also have a presence in the exhibitors��� hall. Register here when the details are finalized.
