North Shore Writers' Association

Luanne Armstrong ... novelist, poet, writer of non-fiction and memoir, children's writer, teacher, mentor, story-teller, humorist and student. This wonderful speaker took the time from her very busy schedule to speak to us about her writing life on January 18 at the Silk Purse in West Vancouver. Luanne read from her latest book, still in first draft, a memoir of growing up on a small organic farm in the Kootenays. She writes with both humor and pathos of her early recollections of living in a small farming community and what led her to become a writer.

Julie's presentation, Leary of Queries?, gave all present an excellent overview on writing query letters. Julie is a local author and writing coach for teachers, students, writers, and speakers. Her website is www.beaconlit.com.

Sheri Radford is a delightful speaker and the talented author of the very funny and well-illustrated children's picture book, "Penelope and the Humongous Burp".

Our evening was spent listening to and interacting with Sheri as she spoke about her journey in writing, including her perseverance through a decade-long attempt getting "Penelope" published. She dispelled a few myths about the genre, described the various types of books which exist for children - from board books to young-adult novels - and provided us with valuable resources for children's book writers.

The evening's highlight was Sheri reading her wonderfully riotous book aloud to our adult crowd - we felt like children again. Sheri was fun and informative and we would welcome her back!