Fiction (children’s) – Page 9 – Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia

Jan L. Coates

Jan Coates lives in Wolfville, NS with her husband and their Golden Irish, Charlie. She has two married children and four granddaughters and loves visiting schools through the Writers in the Schools (WITS) program. 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 and writers.

In her free time, Jan can be found on the badminton or pickleball court, travelling, at the gym, the cottage, or thrift shopping. Her first picture book, Rainbows in the Dark (Second Story Press, 2005) has been translated into Spanish, Catalan, and Braille, with Korean and Brazilian rights also sold. She has also written 20 ESL illustrated chapter books for Caramel Tree, a Korean-based English Language School publisher.

Her debut novel, A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk (Red Deer Press, 2010), was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award (Children’s Text) in 2011, as well as an Ann Connor Brimer Award finalist. She has also written five middle grade novels; The Hermit (Nimbus, 2020); Say What You Mean (Nevermore, 2019); Talking to the Moon (Red Deer, 2018),The Power of Harmony (Red Deer, 2013), also a Brimer finalist, and Rocket Man, a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers (Red Deer, 2014). Jan’s picture books include: Jessie and Me: Hat People (author/illustrator, Camp Triumph, PEI), The Pocket Pig (author/illustrator) Pandamonium Publishing 2022), Anna Maria & Maestro Vivaldi (Red Deer, 2022), Dancing with Daisy (Running the Goat, 2019); Karissa & Felix (self-published, as both author and illustrator, 2019); A Halifax Time-Travelling Tune (Nimbus, 2018), Sky Pig (Pajama Press, 2016), The King of Keji (Nimbus, 2015), and Rainbows in the Dark (Second Story Press, 2005). Her current passion (other than learning to illustrate and creating soul smiles, her greeting cards) is a work of creative non-fiction for young readers about Canadian landscape painter (and all-around interesting person) Doris McCarthy (1910 – 2010) (Sutherland House, 2026)

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Jane Baskwill

Jane Baskwill is an author, educator, and poet living in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. She writes middle grade novels in verse and picture books that celebrate the power of story, imagination, and place. When not writing, she enjoys exploring local history and folklore—the sparks that often find their way into her books. You can learn more at www.janebaskwill.com

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Jenni Blackmore

A new season just beginning! Definitely time to upgrade my bio; even though some things never change life’s experience continually morphs and expands. Have to love that 🙂

Part of me is still the kid from Manchester, England, who always wanted to be a writer, a painter and a farmer, living by the ocean, and much to my amazement, here I am, living my dream on a small island just east of Halifax. Of course I’m greatly influenced by the coastal environment and references to this locale have a way of sneaking into most of my work. I love my reality but I usually can’t resist adding a twist or two of magic to my work, especially my favorite genres of poetry, adult short fiction and childrens fiction.

As an illustrator and writer, I like to combine both these forms of expression, especially in my books for children. Recently, however the denizens of QuackaDoodle Farm, who take up a fair amount of my attention, have been demanding their space on the page and this has resulted in, Permaculture for the Rest of Us (New Society Publishing) a factual account of life here at QuackaDoodle, my blog site QuackaDoodle.Wordpress.com and occassional posts on the Mother Earth News Site.

My latest book The Foodlovers’ Garden (New Society) is scheduled for release May 2017 and I was delighted to be able to illustrate this with thirty+ illustrations and forty digital images, all celebrating the wonders of homegrown food. Yum! And oh so colourful.

The second edition of Gully Goes to Halifax flew into my life recently. The story remains mostly unchanged but this edition has twice the page size and all the illustrations are in full colour, so I’m delighted about that.

I believe everyone is writer at heart because of course we all have things to say, ideas to share. This is one of the reasons why I particularly enjoy leading writing workshops for both children and adults but mostly, it’s about the stories that get shared. Surely story is the thread that binds us all together while, equally importantly, poetry tends to magnify and perhaps suggest a new way of seeing both the mundane and the magical.

Please visit me at: Quackadoodle.wordpress.com for sporadic but ongoing news of life down here on the farm

Jenni has been mentioned in “Our Choice Book List” and “Outstanding Canadian Children’s Books” by the Children’s Book Centre, Toronto. Her recent novel Island of Dead Souls came first in the Atlantic Writing competition YA category.

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Tom Ryan

Tom Ryan is an internationally best selling, award winning author, screenwriter and producer. His adult mystery debut THE TREASURE HUNTERS CLUB (2024) was an instant USA Today, Globe & Mail, and Toronto Star bestseller and a 2025 Edgar Award nominee. His YA mystery KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF (2019) was the winner of the 2020 ITW Thriller Award for Best YA Thriller, the 2020 Arthur Ellis Award for Best YA Crime Book, and the 2021 Ann Connor Brimer Award. His followup YA mystery I HOPE YOU’RE LISTENING (2020) was the winner of the 2021 Lambda “Lammy” Award for Best LGBTQ Mystery. Tom’s latest novel, WE HAD A HUNCH, was released in October 2025.

For more information, visit www.tomryanauthor.com

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Kenneth Michael Davidson

Kenneth Davidson is a curriculum writer for the Nova Scotia Department of Education, Acadia University, and Nova Scotia Community College. Ken has decades of teaching experience at all grade levels in both Nova Scotia and Manitoba. He has also taught for many years at the university and college level. His pedagogical methods have been widely accepted and refined over the years to culminate, through the writing of The Elf Child, in a desire to appeal to the beautiful minds of young children.

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Anne Carter

Picture Books, MG Non-Fiction and Fiction, YA fiction.

Anne divides her time writing and teaching between Toronto Island and the LaHave River, Nova Scotia.

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Judith Meyrick

Judith’s writing has appeared in various publications in both Canada and New Zealand. Her articles and essays appear in the NZ Listener, the NZ Woman’s Weekly, Pandora Publishing, The Avondale Press, Atlantic Books Today, the Landscape Architectural Review and the Canadian History Association magazine. For about three years, she wrote a book review column for the Halifax Herald which are collected here at reviewbites2.blogspot.com. Her children’s book, Gracie the Public Gardens Duck (Nimbus 2007), won Best Published Book and Best Illustrated Book at the Atlantic Book Awards. Most recently, she wrote an essay which appears in Dwelling on the Margins of History (Bloomsbury, 2025).

She returned to university in 2019, graduating in 2023 with an Honours BA and, in 2024, with a master’s, both in history. Her master’s thesis researched a little acknowledged 1911 amendment to the Indian Act.

She is currently researching and writing a non-fiction book which links Scotland, Nova Scotia and New Zealand in a fascinating history of migration and adventure. After university, she moved to Ottawa to be near her daughter and grandchildren.

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Theresa Meuse

I am a Mi’kmaq member from the Bear River First Nation. After graduating from Dalhousie University in 1990, I worked for two major Mi’kmaq organizations spanning over 10 years. Spent several years after that working as a First Nation Educator and Advisor. Was fortunate to hold the position of Band Chief in our community during the term 2007 – 2009. I presently work as a Mi’kmaq Indigenous Student Support Worker for the Halifax Regional Centre of Education. My writing career began 22 years ago involving three books being published about First Nation culture – The Sharing Circle, L’nu’k and The Gathering.

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Hugh R. MacDonald

Hugh R. MacDonald is a writer of fiction, and a singer/songwriter. Hugh has been a member of the Writers Union of Canada and the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) for many years. His YA novel, Trapper Boy was published by Cape Breton University Press, and the sequel entitled Us and Them waas released in October 2016. Hugh is a graduate of Cape Breton University, and worked in the human services field for 25 plus years, and is now happily retired.

September 2017 — “Trapper Boy” was included in the Reading Nova Scotia publication of “150 Books of Influence” in Nova Scotia–see the link below, which will redirect you to the site. You may have to copy and paste the link.

https://www.nsla.ns.ca/150-books-of-influence

Hugh’s song, “Trapper Boy,” that he wrote prior to the novel of the same name, has been added to the repertoire of the world famous Men of the Deeps, and was included on their 50th Anniversary Compilation CD, which was released in April 2016. Hugh’s version of his song, “Trapper Boy” can be found here: https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=37GBaudAgZA&t=4s

Hugh’s song “A Cape Breton Lament” (written and performed by Hugh) was included on the CD Cape Breton Songs of Steel, Coal and Protest, produced by Dr. Richard MacKinnon (Cape Breton University). See the Youtube link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZpCDIqbZ20.

Trapper Boy was selected by Dr. Patrick Howard of Cape Breton University’s Education Department as a novel around which to develop a Teacher Resource. The resource is currently available at no charge for teachers using Trapper Boy.

Hugh is a member of the Writers in the Schools (WITS) program through WFNS. Hugh enjoys going into schools to meet with young people and sharing his passion for writing. His presentation includes readings from his work, using his songs and his videos to share thoughts on his writing process, and encouraging young people to try their own hand at writing. WITS grade levels P-12.

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Jacqueline Halsey

Originally from the UK, Jacqueline has lived in Nova Scotia, for over thirty years. She has written seven highly acclaimed books, mostly inspired by her love of history, the ocean, and all things maritime.

Her latest book, Joe and the Wreck of the Tribune is based on the true story of a boy know throughout history as Joe Cracker, a thirteen-year- old orphan fisher-boy risked his life to save the survivors of a ship wrecked at the mouth of Halifax Harbour. Her middle-grade novel Piper was short listed for the 2019 prestigious TD Geoffrey Bilson award for Children’s Historical fiction. Peggy’s Letters is available on Tumble Books.

Jacqueline has an art college background, a degree in English and before becoming a full-time writer, worked for many years in the Youth Services department of the Alderney Gate Library in Dartmouth. As part of an imaginative team of programmers, she created and presented literary based programs for children of all ages.

Her love of hiking, splashy boat rides, history, beaches, and taking care of the environment led her to join the “Friends of McNabs Island Society.” She now sits on the Board, takes part in the massive annual beach clean-up and leads groups of visitors on interpretive hikes around the beautiful, historic island in Halifax harbour.

Jacqueline has taken part in the Writer’s in the School programs for over a decade. She is inspired by the students she meets and enjoys sharing her perspective of seeing history through the eyes of a child.

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Fiction (children's)