Gals & Good Times – $20

[gdlr_button href="https://www.artscommons.ca/WhatsOn/ShowDetails.aspx?show_id=D1315A70-4040-4A4E-9664-ADEFFA7AAC21" target="_self" size="medium" background="#358CCB" color="#ffffff" border_color="#999999"]Buy Tickets[/gdlr_button] Start off your Saturday morning with a deliciously entertaining Double X lineup of writers who reveal the love and laughter that infuses their lives, careers and passion for writing — regardless of genre or subject matter. Admission includes coffee reception from 9:30 to 10am. Hosted by Catherine Ford. [gdlr_divider type="solid" size="100%" ]

About the Panelists

Jowita Bydlowska

Jowita Bydlowska was born in Warsaw, Poland, and moved to Canada as a teen. She is the author of the bestselling memoir Drunk Mom. Bydlowska writes a popular parenting blog, and her work has appeared in an assortment of magazines, newspapers and online publications, including Salon, The Huffington Post and Toronto Star. A journalist and fiction writer, she lives in Toronto.

Julie Salverson

Julie Salverson's work as a writer, scholar and theatre animator explores what it means to be a witness to violence. She is particularly interested in atomic culture and the role of the comedic and absurd in telling risky stories. She has published essays about atomic culture, ethics and the imagination. Salverson has created projects in community-engaged arts practice for many years, and works with groups to practice resiliency through the exchange and development of stories. She is a member of the Playwright’s Guild of Canada and her plays have been produced in Canada, the US and Thailand. Salverson teaches drama at Queen’s University and the Royal Military College of Canada, in Kingston, Ontario.

Rowan Hisayo Buchanan

Rowan Hisayo Buchanan is a Japanese-British-Chinese-American writer. Her writing has appeared in, among other places, NPR's Selected Shorts, TriQuarterly, the Tin House (Open Bar) and the Indiana Review. A 2015 Margins Fellow at the Asian American Writers Workshop, Buchanan has lived in London, New York, Tokyo, Madison and Norwich.

Vikki VanSickle

Vikki VanSickle is the author of the acclaimed Clarissa books, including Words that Start with B, Love Is a Four-Letter Word and Days that End in Y. Vikki’s most recent middle grade novel, Summer Days, Starry Nights, has been called “Summer reading at its best” and is a finalist for the 2015 Red Maple Award. After obtaining an MA in Children’s Literature from UBC, Vikki’s career began in bookselling at The Flying Dragon Bookshop, which earned her the 2011 CBA Young Bookseller of the Year award. She is a popular children’s lit blogger and is frequently called upon to speak about kids’ books for radio panels, conferences, and as Lainey Gossip’s YA mentor! Currently she balances writing with her duties as the Marketing and Publicity Manager for Young Readers at Penguin Canada.

Ruth Ohi

Ruth Ohi is one of the most popular, prolific, and accessible children’s picture book authors and illustrators in Canada today. She has illustrated over 50 books and has also been the author of 18 of these, including the Chicken, Pig, Cow series, Fox and Squirrel and Shh! My Brother’s Napping. [gdlr_divider type="solid" size="100%" ] [gdlr_button href="https://www.artscommons.ca/WhatsOn/ShowDetails.aspx?show_id=D1315A70-4040-4A4E-9664-ADEFFA7AAC21" target="_self" size="medium" background="#358CCB" color="#ffffff" border_color="#999999"]Buy Tickets[/gdlr_button]