Nadia's Notables Newsletter
May 2024
Editor’s Note
As a writer, it may seem that I get to live in a land full of imagination and stories. I get to be a writer, an author, and tell stories in a variety of media and share them with the world. In some ways, I am living the wildest childhood dream. And I do, much of the time. In the midst of this celebration, I’m very aware that there is a lot happening in the world right now. Palestine, Haiti, Congo, environmental crises, and societal issues which are concerning to me. Millions of people and our planet are being impacted in unimaginable ways. Celebrating book news sometimes, for me, feels like a luxury and I’m learning a lot in the process. I appreciate how my fellow creators are using their respective platforms to highlight world issues and elevate the voices of those who need to be heard. I, too, feel tasked with a responsibility to tell truths that aren’t always easy to hear. Behind my writing and work, I’m guided by the principles of community, social justice, and self-expression through creativity. And this is why it’s truly an honour to receive the 2023-2024 ETFO Anti-Racist and Equity Activism Award. I will share more details about this soon. In the meantime, I encourage you to learn about these causes and support underrepresented voices.
Nadia L. Hohn
In this issue…
Cover reveal of Patty Dreams
Working the Scene in Colour
The Antiracist Kitchen Recognitions
More Winnipeg… Canadian Children’s Book Week 2024
What’s up next?
Cover reveal of Patty Dreams
“A tasty celebration of family, food culture, and Jamaican patties”
May 7 was Read Across Jamaica 🇯🇲 Day!
To commemorate this special occasion, I present the cover for PATTY DREAMS.
Five years in the baking, this book 📚 truly is a dream worth waiting for.
Written by me (Nadia L. Hohn) in July 2020 and illustrated by Sahle Robinson, PATTY DREAMS will be published by Owlkids Books.
This will be my eleventh book.
PATTY DREAMS soon come on January 7, 2025.
Fun Fact: My picture book A LIKKLE MISS LOU: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice was the Read Across Jamaica Book in 2022.
Reel by Nadia L. Hohn
Song 🎵: Stick by Me by John Holt
Working the Scene in Colour
My play’s scene was selected for Working the Scene in Colour.
A scene 🎬 from Wheel and Turn, a play that I wrote was selected for an upcoming table read. I am so excited. I wrote this play in Writing for the Stage course taught by author/playwright/professor #JudithThompson @judithfrancesca in the Master in the Creative Writing program at the University of Guelph. I’ve been wanting to have a table read for this play “forever” and I will finally have my opportunity on May 23.
Please join us on May 23 at 7pm ET on Zoom. Stay tuned for the Zoom link.
I wrote and staged plays and skits throughout high school, but like some of my other creative pursuits, I stopped. But, my love of theatre 🎭 and the screen 📺 never left me.
Thank you #WorkingtheSceneinColour and #ActraToronto for this opportunity.
Thank you also to Judith and my #MFA classmates for believing in me and this play.
Posted @withregram • @workingthesceneincolour And here are our selected, stellar writers for WTSC 18!
Congratulations to Onyeka Oduh (Lost Child), Leandro Matos (Millennials), Krista Jang (Good Enough), Aaron Maxwell Williams (The Neverlands) and Nadia Hohn (Wheel and Turn).
Come out Thursday May 23rd at 7PM on Zoom and to see some of ACTRA Toronto’s finest actors read these amazing scenes!
Zoom link is here.
See you then!
The Antiracist Kitchen Recognitions
The Antiracist Kitchen has received several positive reviews and recognitions so far. Here are a few:
- 2 #ChildrensBookCouncil (#CBC) 2024 Favorites Awards. One award is the Librarian Favorites list, #8 on the #TopTen. The other award is the Teacher Favorites list.
- a 2024 Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year in the ages 9-12 section
This edition includes more than 600 titles chosen by the Children’s Book Committee as the best of the best published in 2023. In choosing books for the annual list, reviewers consider literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place, age suitability, positive treatment of ethnic and religious differences, and the absence of stereotypes. Each book accepted for the list is read and reviewed by at least two committee members and then discussed by the committee as a whole.
- a 2023 Outstanding Work of Literature (OWL) Awards shortlist
“Each of these books across all categories express unique ideas that impact society for the better. These incredible authors have mastered the art of storytelling to share a new perspective of the world (and of ourselves). Through diligent research and eye-opening insights, they share their wisdom and represent the power of books to ignite continuous learning and growth. Prepare to immerse yourself in the transformative narratives that grace our 2023 OWL Awards Shortlist.”
- an Ontario Library Association (OLA) 2024 Top Ten Best Bets for Junior Non-Fiction
https://accessola.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-Best-Bets-Book-List.pdf
The books evaluated are suitable for children and young adults from birth to nineteen years old. From these discussions, the Committee produces “Best Bets” lists, annual annotated lists of recommended titles. These lists are released each year at the OLA Super Conference.
More Winnipeg… Canadian Children’s Book Week 2024
Although we don’t use camera rolls 🎞️ as much as we used to, I thought I’d share a quick reel highlighting my recent Canadian Children’s Book Week tour. I had been working on a longer reel but my computer program kept crashing, so I’ll have to share that one at another time.
My Canadian Children’s Book Week Tour 2024 was packed— 7 days of virtual and in-person presentations in #BC and #Ontario with 6 days in #Manitoba.
Although this was my 4th time in #Winnipeg (2x with #ICEDINBLACK in 2002 and 2003 and 1x on cross-Canada @viarailcanada train in 2019), this April 30-May 4 was my very first time as an author.
Aside from one major gaff (after a week of sickness, no voice, and a sleepless Sunday night, I mixed up Toronto’s two airports for my Monday flight ✈️ ), I made it to #Winnipeg. Regardless of the change, there were many highlights to this tour. Here are a few.
Thanks so much to #CarolAnnHoyte for organizing and the #CanadianChildrensBookCentre for sponsoring this tour each year.
Thanks 🙏🏾 to my amazing volunteer drivers Dave, Harriet, and Nadia (and in a bind, City Taxi and Uber).
Thanks 🙏🏾 to @porterairlines for rescheduling my ticket 🎟️ with no extra cost, plus the upgrade and great customer service. 😉
Thank you 🙏🏾 to all of those who invited me to present workshops and sessions this passed week:
@yorkregionfoodnetwork
@growingchefs
#MapleLeafPublicSchool @yrdsb.schools in #Newmarket, #Ontario
#AssiniboineSchool
#tachelibrary
#powerviewschool in #Powerview, #MB @pvspac
Dr. #JocelynThorpe at the @umanitoba
#MulveySchool
and
Rhonda at @bhmwinnipeg
For a longer, in-depth video, please watch below:
What’s Up Next?
Books
Patty Dreams, Owlkids Books (January 7, 2025)
Getting Us to Grandma’s, Groundwood Books (October 1, 2024)
Editor and Contributor, The Antiracist Kitchen: 21 Stories (and Recipes), Orca Books (Fall 2023)
Malaika, Carnival Queen, Groundwood Books (Spring 2023)
“Louise Go a Country” short story in 100+ Voices for Miss Lou: Poetry, Tributes, Interviews, Essays by Opal Palmer Adisa (ed.), University of West Indies Press (2022)
Kwanzaa section in Celebrate with me! Recipes, Crafts, and Holiday Fun from around the world Magic Cat Publishing/Abrams Kids (2022)
Malaika’s Surprise, Groundwood Books (2021)
A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice, Owlkids (2019)
Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter, Harper Kids Publishers (2018)
Malaika Winter Carnival, Groundwood Books (Fall 2017)
Malaika’s Costume, Groundwood Books (Spring 2016)
Sankofa Music (Gr. 5) and Media (Gr. 6), Sankofa Series, Rubicon Publishing Inc. (2015)
© Nadia L. Hohn, 2024
Toronto, ON, Canada