Available for in-person visits: Quebec
Craft: Author
Genre: Picture Books, Middle-Grade Fiction, Teen Fiction, Non-Fiction, Graphic Novels
Target Audience: Grades 1 to 12
Cost for School and Public Presentation: $250.00, plus applicable taxes
Biography
Amanda West Lewis combines careers as a writer, theatre artist, and calligrapher. She is the author of ten books for youth and young readers, including Focus Click Wind, a novel about youth activism in 1968, and These Are Not the Words, a semi-autobiographical novel about the jazz era and growing up in New York City. Her books have been nominated for the Silver Birch Award, the Red Cedar Award and the Violet Downey IODE Award. Amanda has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has acted, directed, produced, and written for theatre, as well as founded the Ottawa Children’s Theatre, a school dedicated to theatre education for young people. Her calligraphic artwork has been exhibited in numerous shows and she has written books on calligraphy and the development of writing. She teaches writing, drama, and calligraphy to young people and adults, often combining these disciplines together. Her new book, A Planet is a Poem (Kids Can Press), will be released May 7, 2024.
Presentation Description
WHAT’S BEYOND: Where Writing and Theatre Intersect
Workshop for Grades 5 – 12 (60 minutes)
We can learn a lot about a character by what they don’t say. Conveying the space between words –– the pauses in life –– is an essential skill for any writer. Drawing on improvisation and drama games, this writing workshop will explore character motivation, points of view and dialogue as we discover the hidden meaning beyond the words.
We’ll do some work on our feet, as well as at desks, so it would be great to have a space where we can spread out and work in groups, as well as places where people can focus on individual writing.
Maximum size 35 participants.
Presentation requirements: Writing tools, handouts (provided in advance)
WRITING FROM MEMORY: Poetry Writing Workshop (60 minutes)
Note: this workshop can be prepared as either a junior version, grades 1 – 3, or senior version, grades 4 – 12.
Writing is made of small moments, like beads strung on a chain. One way to spark an authenticity for these moments is to work from personal memory moments. Working with memory moments, we can discover new ideas to form a base for creating fictional, and non-fictional, stories.
In this hands-on, collaborative workshop, we’ll start with the writing prompt: “What is your earliest memory?” Together, we’ll create a series of group poems that are both specific and personal. We’ll also look at examples of how this same memory prompt inspired the verse novel “These Are Not the Words.”
The workshop explores ways that our memories and dreams can spark ideas and springboard us into larger writing projects.
Maximum in person size: 35 participants.
Presentation Requirements: Projector (for large spaces), writing tools, white board or flip chart
Book List
Leon and Dr. Korczak (Kids Can Press, forthcoming 2025)
A Planet is a Poem (Kids Can Press, May 7, 2024)
Focus. Click. Wind (Groundwood Books, 2023)
These Are Not the Words (Groundwood Books, 2022)
The Pact (Red Deer Press, 2016)
September 17: A Novel (Red Deer Press, 2013)
The Jumbo Book Of Paper Crafts (Kids Can Press 2002)
Making Memory Books (Kids Can Press, 1999)
Rosie Backstage (Kids Can Press, 1994)
Writing: A Fact And Fun Book (Kids Can Press, 1992)