Sylvia McNicoll's Blog, page 4
February 18, 2020
Happy I Read Canadian Day!
We created this video as a special thank you to all the authors and illustrators who took the time to be videoed with my son Craig McNicoll at Epilogue Productions. You can view them reading, drawing and discussing their work at the Canadian Children’s Book Centre Youtube channel. There are way more wonderful Canadian writers […]
December 28, 2019
A great year ends!
Making a shortlist and/or winning an award can make a difference in the life of your novel but it’s not anything you have control over. I always tell everyone that I work just as hard on books that somehow don’t hit a note with critics or readers as i do on ones that do. So […]
October 29, 2019
Reviewing Diamond Mistake Mystery Goes to Dogs
Because dogs and dog walking feature so prominently in the entire Great Mistake Mystery Series and because recently everyone in my family adopted dogs, we decided the canines needed to earn their kibble. We joined paws with epilogueproductions.com to get Rosie, the Bernadoodle, Mortie (who is really Ping in the series) Worf,( who is the […]
September 2, 2019
What I think about series
At talks I gave in Seoul and Bogotá on a stand alone novel called Revenge on the Fly, the same question arose: “What do I think of series?” It was clear that the answer was supposed to be that they were a lesser form of literature that you shouldn’t encourage or even allow your young people […]
July 23, 2019
July 19, 2019
Visiting our MP, Hon. Karina Gould
This is our second trip to the Honourable Karina Gould since she’s been elected. We wanted to respectfully request that our government address the suggestions that the House of Commons Standing Committee on Heritage submitted in March of 2019. Four months may not seem a long time to wait for some kind of reaction but […]
July 13, 2019
A Perfect Day in the Life of a Writer
When I tell people I’m heading in to Toronto to meet my agent and publicist, I feel like Lady Gaga. But writers are only celebrities in a quiet, have-you-read my-book, kind of way. What I mean by that is if you haven’t read anything I’ve written, of course I am not famous to you. (Also […]
May 13, 2019
Friends in Hamburger Places
What is the height of success for a writer? Jennifer Mook-Sang’s been nominated for the Silver Birch and many other prestigious awards for her first novel Speechless (Scholastic) but when her second book Captain Monty Takes the Plunge (Kids Can Press) was chosen as a McDonald’s giveaway–that’s when I really felt joy and envy for […]
January 2, 2019
Touring Colombia
It’s amazing to look back on 2018, so many signings, library and school visits. The greatest privilege was to be able to visit with readers in Colombia for Norma Publishing, sponsored also by Canada Council Arts Abroad. Venganza Contra las Moscas was featured in the 20th anniversary essay writing contest and as a result, most […]
