Jan Coates

Jan Coates lives in Wolfville with her husband, two teenagers and a beagle. She is employed as an ESL teacher with the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board. Jan’s interest in writing for children grew out of her own love of words and stories and a passion for helping kids become lifelong readers.

In her free time, Jan can be found on the badminton court, at the cottage or Frenchy’s. She has had essays published in Canadian Living Magazine, The Acadia Alumni Bulletin (BA 1981; BED 1986), The Chronicle Herald and on CBC Radio. Her first picture book, Rainbows in the Dark, was published by Second Story Press in 2005 and was an “Our Choice” book for 2006, as designated by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. It has been translated into Spanish, Catalan, and Braille, with Korean and Brazilian rights sold, translation pending. Her ESL Quebec Comprehension Workbook (not yet titled) will be released by Full Blast Productions in the fall of 2009. She worked with Gary Blackwood under the auspices of the WFNS Mentorship program this past winter and is busy polishing her middle-grade novel, A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk.

Publications

Rainbows in the Dark. Second Story Press, 2005.
ISBN: 978-1896764955.

"A delightful choice for young readers … Coates’ tale is neither too sweet nor too preachy. It is just the sort of book to help youngsters learn what it means to have a physical challenge."
–Halifax Chronicle Herald

“The dialogue is sure, the artwork expressive and sensitive, and the story is a lovely one. New friends, a surprise concert, and the assurance that blindness does not have to deter a person from great accomplishment and satisfaction with life as she leads it.”
–Brandon Sun

You can send mail to Jan Coates
c/o Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia