APPLY TO HOST LEA BEDDIA IN QUEBEC (IN-PERSON)
APPLY TO HOST LEA BEDDIA IN ONTARIO (IN-PERSON)
APPLY TO HOST LEA BEDDIA IN NOVA SCOTIA (VIRTUALLY)
Home Location: Ste-Marcelline, Quebec
Creator Type: Author
Genres: Young adult fiction
Website: www.leabeddia.com
Tour Region: Quebec / Ontario (Ottawa Region) / Nova Scotia (virtually)
Target Audience: Grades 7 and up
Cost: $300* (for one 60-minute presentation)
*(The author 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: NO
Biography
Lea Beddia is an author, storyteller and educator. Born and raised in Montreal, she now teaches in Joliette, Quebec, where she lives with her husband and three children. When she isn’t writing for teenagers, she’s likely watching zombies take over the world, eavesdropping on conversations, or baking something with too much chocolate. She wanted to be a superhero when she was younger, but will settle for creating characters who can change the world. Her missions are to create accessible literature to striving readers, and find the best gelato on the planet. She will not give up on her quest for either.
PRESENTATION DESCRIPTIONS
Finding Joy
Target Audience: Grades 7 and up
Audience size: 25-50 students is ideal; larger groups can be accommodated
Join Lea for a unique workshop experience, where she’ll read from her books, Take Off! and Outta Here, to explore challenging emotions such as fear and anger, and pivot towards joy. This interactive session navigates themes of belonging, bullying, and tough choices, focusing on the role stories have in creating hope for readers. Participants will have the opportunity to express their feelings into visual art and transform these expressions into short, joy-focused poems. The workshop will also equip participants with a toolkit of literary devices to articulate complex topics.
*The workshop can be adapted for participants in grades 3 to 12.
Equipment Required: Smartboard, projector, and internet access
Materials Required: Crayons or markers, glue, scissors
It’s Not Fair
*The workshop can be adapted for participants in grades 3 to 12.
Target Audience: Grades 7 and up
Audience size: 25-50 students is ideal; larger groups can be accommodated
In this workshop, Lea facilitates discussions around the themes of fairness and equality. Drawing on her activist characters in her forthcoming novels My Green Style and No Brainer, Lea introduces the concept of activism to young participants. The session incorporates visual prompts, created by the attendees themselves, to explore various responses to the age-old complaint, “it’s not fair.” By learning about and employing poetic devices, the participants will craft short poems that tackle the question, “What can I do about it?” This workshop empowers participants, enabling them to see themselves as active contributors to their community.
Students’ take-away is effecting positive change through words and self-expression.
Equipment Required: Smartboard, projector, and internet access
Materials Required: Crayons or markers, glue, scissors
Bibliography
Take Off! Rebel Mountain Press, 2023.
Outta Here Lorimer Children and Teens, 2023.
My Green Style. Lorimer Children and Teens, Spring 2025.
No Brainer. Orca Book Publishers, Winter 2026.