Creator Profile:
Mark David Smith
Home Location: Port Coquitlam, British Columbia
Website: marksmithbooks.com
Available for in-person visits: Calgary Metropolitan Region
Craft: Author
Genre: Picture Books, Early Chapter Books, Middle-Grade Fiction, Teen Fiction
Target Audience: Kindergarten to Grade 12
Cost for School and Public Presentation: $250.00, plus applicable taxes
Biography
Mark David Smith is the author of four books for children: Caraviggio: Signed in Blood, an historical adventure novel (ages 12-14); The Deepest Dig, a picture book (ages 5-8); and the first two books of The Weird Sisters Detective Agency series, early chapter book mysteries (ages 6-9; Book 3 arrives in Spring 2024). Mark loves writing adventure stories, stories of wonder and discovery, silly stories--really anything that takes his mind away from emptying the dishwasher or sweeping the floor. Mark likes to say that real life can be boring, but imagination can make anything exciting. When Mark isn't writing, or thinking about writing, or removing one of his two cats from his warm laptop so that he can start writing, he teaches English to high school students in the traditional territory of the Kwikwetlem people, commonly known as Coquitlam, British Columbia. He lives happily with his wife and children, and unenthusiastically with the two aforementioned cats.
Presentation Information
*Note: Additional presentations on writing technique for students grades 4 through 12 available upon request.
Humour Us! How Kids Can Create Ticklish Tales
Target Audience: Primary students (Kindergarten-Grade 4)
(Note: For in-person presentations, students will write and share their humour; in a virtual visit or a visit to a large group where writing isn’t possible, I will take suggestions from students to build humour together.)
Curricular Tie-ins: Creative writing processes, Language features
Using samples from mentor texts, this workshop will explore several humour techniques which are appropriate for the age and writing abilities of the students. Students will have opportunities to create their own humorous writing during the course of the presentation.
NOTE: This presentation can be offered in a 30-minute format or 60-minute format, as needed.
What’s Weird, Anyway?
Target Audience: Primary students who are beginning to read and write independently (Grades 1-3)
Curricular Tie-ins: Social-Emotional Learning, Community
This presentation will look at the contrast between significant and superficial differences. What are the deep things that we have in common? Why do differences make some people feel uncomfortable? Why does each person’s uniqueness matter so much? We will have lots of discussion, look at some loveably weird characters from across children’s literature, and even practice drawing odd characters for our own stories.
NOTE: This presentation can be offered in a 30-minute format or 60-minute format, as needed.
The Bad Writing Workshop
Target Audience: middle/junior high school students (Grades 6-10)
Curricular Tie-ins: Creative writing processes, Language features
This workshop will teach students all the very worst techniques of fiction writing, from overuse of clichés to purposeless dialogue to meaningless metaphors. Students will have fun creating samples that are truly awful, and in the process learn some of the principles of self-editing that will make their writing sing. Duration: 60 minutes
Caravaggio and The Counter-Reformation
Target Audience: Junior Secondary (Grades 8-10)
Curricular Tie-ins: Renaissance history
This is a presentation about the history behind Italy's greatest painter, Caravaggio, and includes a reading from Caravaggio: Signed in Blood, an examination of the paintings which feature in the novel, a lesson Renaissance sword fighting technique, and a chance to look at a miniature model of the camera obscura. (Note: this is a presentation, not a writing workshop.) Duration: 60 minutes
Finding the Story in History: Using Research to Develop Fiction
Target Audience: Secondary students (Grades 8-12)
Curricular Tie-ins: Creative writing processes
This workshop looks at how writers use research to create believable worlds for their characters to inhabit, as well as some of the pitfalls fiction writers should avoid. Students will look at samples of YA texts, considering the research behind each scene, and then spend time creating their own scene based on a “How-to” article. Duration: 60 minutes
Book List
Caravaggio: Signed in Blood (Tradewind Books, 2014)
The Deepest Dig (Owlkids Books, 2021)
The Weird Sisters: A Note, A Goat, and a Casserole (Owlkids Books, 2022)
The Weird Sisters: A Robin, A Ribbon, and a Lawn Mower (Owlkids Books, 2023)
The Weird Sisters: A Coop, Some Goop, and a Sandwich (Owlkids Books, 2024)