APPLY TO HOST BRADEN HALLETT (IN PERSON)
Home Location: Kamloops, BC
Creator Type: Author/Illustrator
Genres: Picture books, middle-grade fiction, graphic novels
Website: www.bradenhallett.com
Tour Region: North Vancouver Region; Sea to Sky Region
Target Audience: Grades 2 - 12
Cost: $300* (for one-hour presentation)
*(The author-illustrator collects $250 of the fee and $50 of the fee covers The Canadian Children's Book Centre's administration fees for coordinating Book Week).
Taxes charged on presentations: YES
BIOGRAPHY
I'm an author and illustrator from Kamloops BC. I'm a fan of the weird, the wacky and the strange and love writing scary stories that make people scream (and laugh). My creative process is best described as a perpetual state of screeching panic which, though terrible for my general health, apparently makes for entertaining books. I enjoy board games, card games, roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons, and am profoundly allergic to cats. Profoundly allergic. Profoundly.
PRESENTATION DESCRIPTIONS
MAPS! (workshop)
Target audience: Grades 4-6
Preferred group size: 1 classroom
Max group size: Possibly two classes. Kids will work in groups with large sheets of paper, so ample table space is required
MAPS! Maps are super neat and often included in a whole lot of awesome books. Most people start with a story then draw a map to flesh things out, but Braden starts with the map! Braden will share a few of the maps he's made over the years and the stories that have evolved from them, then he will share with the class his super secret method of crafting a map from thin air! Dice will roll and pencils will scribble as students make their own maps and imagine a story to go along with them. Drawing skills are not required!
Required materials: regular sheets of paper, large sheets of paper (for group maps), pencils, pencil crayons/felt markers (anything that works for colouring the maps), 6-sided dice (Braden will always have some with him just in case)
Required equipment: projector/screen with HDMI hookup for presentation and showing how the maps are made and live drawing
Forbidden Drawing Secrets! (presentation)
Target audience: Grades 2-6
Preferred group size: anywhere from one class to on the larger side
Max group size: 100-125 students OR 3-4 classes
Do you ever wonder how illustrators get to be so good at drawing? The short answer is that we cheat. We have drawing secrets that we're not supposed to share with anyone, but Braden is going to do just that! Braden will read from one of his books, share old embarrassing art from his own childhood, and then live draw as he shares the secrets of illustration. Magic shapes and how to ACTUALLY use stick figures in art are just two of the many skills students will learn in this presentation. Just be sure not to tell the shadowy council of artists that Braden has dared to share this knowledge!
Required materials: None for larger groups. If presenting virtually, or to single classes, students are encouraged to draw along with plain paper and pencils.
Required equipment: projector/screen with HDMI hookup for presentation and live drawing. Mic if presenting in a large space would be nice, but not necessary.
Out of the frying pan (workshop)
Target audience: Grades 7 - 12
Preferred group size: one class
Ever wonder how to get to know your characters? REALLY know them? How to turn them from boring, distant people that no one cares about into interesting folks you know like the back of your hand? There are many ways to do this, but Braden's preferred method is throwing them into silly, awful, strange or downright wacky situations and seeing how they react. Braden and the class will work to create some characters (with interesting traits and weaknesses) then see how they manage to get out of various awful, horrifying and weird scenarios. By the end of the workshop the students will have a new appreciation for who their characters are and what they're capable of.
Required materials: pens/pencils and paper for writing
Required equipment: screen; projector with HDMI hookup for presentation
What it ACTUALLY looks like to write a book and the art of the panicked elevator pitch (presentation and workshop)
Target audience: Grades 11-12
Preferred group size: one class
If you have a group of students that are interested in someday having their work published, then this presentation and short workshop may be for them! Students are familiar with the basics of drafting a story (brainstorming, rough draft, final draft, etc.) but what happens after a publisher says "yes please" to your book? Braden will show them the process of getting his first book published all the way from the pitch and single page synopsis to working with the editor and art director. Students will leave with a new appreciation for the kind of teamwork that goes into writing a novel as well as the skills to pitch their story to a publisher.
Required materials: pens/pencils and paper for writing
Required equipment: screen; projector with HDMI hookup for presentation
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Teddy vs the Fuzzy Doom. Annick Press, April 2024.
Teddy vs the Slimy Evil. Annick Press, September 2024.
Teddy vs the Snuggle Menace. Annick Press, September 2025.