The worlds of these YA fantasy novels are chilling, thrilling, and utterly immersive. In Song of the Saltings by Rachael King, people on an isolated island live by an ancient bargain: every year, a sacrifice must be made to the Glimm, the creature that haunts the salt marshes. Humans wage war with wolves for control of the land in The Crucible of Pain, the latest book in Coltrane Seesequasis’s epic A Wolf in the Sun series. From Elle Tesch, The Hanging Bones is a gothic fantasy steeped in Germanic folklore, about a girl who enters a deadly, magical hunt to keep her family safe. The authors will share insights into how they build such engaging worlds that keep readers hooked until the very last page. Moderated by France Perras. Grades 8–12.
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RACHAEL KING is one of New Zealand’s best-loved writers for children. Her novels often reflect her love for the Scottish folklore of her ancestors––the weirder the better. When she was young, she read fantasy books voraciously and galloped horses bareback along beaches. Secrets at Red Rocks won New Zealand’s longest-running literary award, the Esther Glen Medal, and has been adapted into an Emmy Award–winning television series for BYUtv. Her other novels for young people include Song of the Saltings and the multi award-winning The Grimmelings. She holds an MA in creative writing from Victoria University in Wellington.
FRANCE PERRAS is a bilingual actress (stage, screen, voice-overs, hosting & moderating and live announcing) who has worked in Vancouver and across Canada, for the past many years. She celebrates her 30th season with Théâtre la Seizième this year. Her passion for YA literature has led her to moderating at the Vancouver Writers Fest, for many years; meeting phenomenal authors, and reading fantastic books. Her latest foray into TV, incarnating a surf coach on “Surf Bay - Côte Ouest” can be seen on TV5plus.ca.
COLTRANE SEESEQUASIS is a young fantasy writer of Willow Cree heritage who grew up in Gatineau, Quebec. Inspired by a love of nature as well as myths and folklore that challenge the limits of creativity, Coltrane joins a new generation of writers, adding his voice to the immersive genre of fantasy.
ELLE TESCH has lived just east of Vancouver, British Columbia, her entire life. Surrounded by forests and mountains, it was inevitable that she would daydream about what might lurk in those trees. She twists places she loves and writes what she knows best: hungry monsters, casually cruel villains, and ace-spec girls in the stories they deserve.
