WordsWorth: Teen Writing Camp

This February I had a blast as one of the instructors at a teen writing camp in the foothills of Bragg Creek, Alberta. With the mountains in the distance and creativity blanketing the air - it was a weekend to DIE for. Not only was I wowed by the talent and dedication of the WordsWorth supervisors and fellow instructor, poet/professor at the University of Calgary, Owen Percy....the kids were freaking amazing. Funny, shy, exhuberant, quirky, and oh soooooooo keen on the craft of writing.

I wish every kid with a hankering for writing could attend such a camp and that every YA or children's author could have this kind of opportunity. It really was mindblowing. If ever there was a perfect example of why never to write down to kids - it's a camp like this. The quality of the work they produced in 30 minute blocks of writing, their use of lanugage....just....wow. From the snowsculptures to the open mic night. I loved every second.


Below this first video you'll find a little vlog I created with my new Flip Ultra (love it, BTW), documenting Winter WordsWorth, however, feast your eyes on this wonderful promo created by filmmaker, Cynthia Robertson, on behalf of the Young Alberta Book Society (who ran the camp):



WordsWorth: Paranormal Under a Woolen Moon from cynthia robinson on Vimeo.

And now here's my widdle vlog. The still photos were taken by WordsWorth Director, Lisa Murphy Lamb:

Good news to share about Freaksville

Sharing this from my Publisher's blog...

Monday, February 7, 2011
Success for Freaksville
Leap Books is proud to announce that author Kitty Keswick's young adult novel Freaksville has been named by P & E as a 2010 Top Ten Novel for YAs. Teens enjoy the humor and the light paranormal mystery. Here's what one teen reader had to say on Bearamy's Book Club, where Keswick's book was spotlighted for January, "Kitty Keswick is a great writer over all!!"

In addition to kudos for her books, Kitty was chosen as the featured author for the Children's Book Council's January/February column in the American Library Association's publication, Knowledge Quest, a magazine for school librarians. Kitty's article, "D is for Dragons," tells the poignant story of the struggles she overcame to become a novelist.

What's next for this award-winning author? She's hard at work on book two in the Freaksville series. Fans are eagerly awaiting the release of Furry and Freaked. See the great cover design below. Looks fabulous, doesn't it?


If you haven't read Freaksville, check out the story of four teens trapped in a haunted theater on the night of the full moon. Battling hungry werewolves and angry ghosts, sixteen-year-old Kasey and her friends uncover buried secrets to solve a decades-old mystery.

Whereas Freaksville is told with a lighter touch, readers who prefer their paranormals a bit darker will gravitate to Furry and Freaked, where Kasey's in for some hair-raising challenges.

Both books feature art by the award-winning Canadian graphic artist, Val Cox.