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Fiction allows us to slide into these other heads, these other places, and look out through other eyes.
- Neil Gaiman

Organizing: Festival of Readers literary festival

November 3, 2017

What: A three-day literary festival
When: November 3-5
Where: Niagara Artists Centre Studio Building, Niagara Artists Centre, and St. Catharines Public Library (central branch)

The Festival of Readers: St. Catharines is a new, annual event designed to celebrate the love of reading and help to build a literary culture in the Niagara regions. See more: festivalofreaders.com.

See also two newspaper articles from last year: the St. Catharines Standard article “New literary festival makes its debut in St. Catharines” (Oct 12, 2016) and the Brock News item “Top Canadian authors coming to Niagara for Two Days of Canada conference” (Oct. 11, 2016).


Preseting at Council of Ontario Drama & Dance Educators conference

October 14, 2017

What: Presenting “What Does Home Mean? What Does Less Mean? Rebuilding Identities Through Drama and Embodiment”
When: Saturday October 14, 11:00am – 12:15pm
Where: Deerhurst Resort, Huntsville Ontario,

BUILDING on 2 qualitative studies, one that explored the experiences of 8 marginalized individuals facing life challenges such as addiction, mental illness, poverty, homelessness and unemployment and another that explored body-image with post-secondary and elementary-aged children, this research-based and hands-on presentation introduces at-risk adults to dramatic role play, community practices, and embodiment, and also young children to difficult topics such as homelessness and body image. Using similar drama and movement strategies, this blended presentation demonstrates how groups of people (e.g., marginalized adults, post-secondary students, and elementary-aged children) alike can use dramatic, embodied, and artistic expressions to voice their ideas, and rebuild their identities.

Dr. Kari-Lynn Winters is an Associate Professor at Brock University, where she teaches drama-in-education and language arts to teacher candidates. Kari-Lynn holds a PhD from UBC in literacy education, a teaching degree from University of Toronto, and a certificate in Technical Theatre from the National Theatre School of Canada. Her research interests include: body image, embodied pedagogies, children’s literature, drama, and multimodal literacies. Kari-Lynn is also an award winning children’s author, scholar, playwright, and performer.


Hosting: Word on the Street

September 24, 2017

What: Hosting TD Children’s Literature Tent
When: Sunday September 24, 2017, 2:20-5:20pm
Where: Harbourfront Centre, Toronto

The Word On The Street is a national celebration of literacy and the written word. On one extraordinary Sunday each September, in communities coast to coast, the public is invited to participate in hundreds of author events, presentations and workshops and to browse a marketplace that boasts the best selection of Canadian books and magazines you’ll find anywhere.

There is always plenty to see and do at Canada’s largest book and magazine festival, and best of all, The Word On The Street and all of its events are FREE!


Presenting at Telling Tales 2017

September 17, 2017

What: Presenting at Telling Tales Festival
When: Cathcart Schoolhouse @ 1:15pm, Bandstand @ 3:00pm.
Where: Westfield Heritage Village, Rockton Ontario

Telling Tales is a Canadian, not-for-profit organization committed to inspiring a love of reading and raising awareness of the importance of literacy in our communities. We do this by bringing Canadian authors, illustrators, musicians and storytellers together with their audiences: our children. Telling Tales is building a community of readers, writers and story-tellers with Canada’s diverse communities including English, French and Aboriginal authors, artists, musicians and poets to engage even the most reluctant reader. See more at tellingtales.org.


Hamilton Bulldogs promote Telling Tales and my hockey book!

September 6, 2017

I’m presenting at the Telling Tales 2017 festival, and the Hamilton Bulldogs are helping promote the event and my book Let’s Play a Hockey Game!.

See the full video at facebook.com/hamiltonbulldogs/videos/10155325837165589, or if you’re not on Facebook, see a (small) version of the video embedded below:



Presenting two papers at Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education conference

March 8, 2017

What: Presenting “You’re Not Just Gonna Read to Us, Are You?” and “Co-authorship Alongside Published Authors: Technology, Children’s Literature, and Engagement” with Candace Figg
When: March 8 and March 9
Where: “Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education” conference, sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, Austin Texas

You’re Not Just Gonna Read to Us, Are You?

    Kari-Lynn Winters, Brock University, Canada
    Candace Figg, Brock University, Canada
    Wednesday, March 8 4:55 PM-5:15 PM

Authorship is changing in the 21st century because of contemporary technologies such as web 2.0 tools and access to mobile devices. Through their own agency, children are increasingly choosing tech-enhanced media, especially since children are given opportunities to be positioned as co-authors when they use these materials. How then do we integrate 21st century technical tools and pedagogies without compromising the integrity of traditional children’s literature? And further, how might educators look to published authors and their digital authorship/presentations in order to re-connect today’s media savvy youth with imaginative and modal authorship opportunities through children’s literature?


Co-authorship Alongside Published Authors: Technology, Children’s Literature, and Engagement

    Kari-Lynn Winters, Brock University, Canada
    Candace Figg, Brock University
    Thursday, March 9 1:45 PM-2:45 PM

Authorship is changing in the 21st century because of contemporary technologies such as web 2.0 tools and access to mobile devices. Through their own agency, children are increasingly choosing tech-enhanced media, especially since children are given opportunities to be positioned as co-authors when they use these materials. How then do we integrate 21st century technical tools and pedagogies without compromising the integrity of traditional children’s literature? And further, how might educators rely on digital modes in order to re-connect today’s media savvy youth with imaginative and modal authorship opportunities through children’s literature?

In this workshop session, one language arts associate professor and one tech education professor come together to demonstrate diverse approaches to tech-enhanced and modal literacies in order to explore co-authorship and responses to children’s literature. Technologies being featured include: QR codes, slideshows, slowmation animation, Skype in the classroom, and apps. This session is designed to address the comfort level of those new to integrating technologies as well as those with more expertise.

Research demonstrates that educators may better engage with young audiences when they act as designers of digitally-mediated and multimodal materials (Pahl & Rowsell, 2011; Potts, 2012; Winters & Vratulis, 2012). Previous practices surrounding Language Arts in the classroom (e.g., read-alouds, process writing, creating speeches, current events) may not be as authentic for contemporary young audiences. When using tech-enhanced programming, students can take on the challenge of becoming co-authors. Not only do they read and use interactive storybooks and mobile devices, and use digital tools to create their own books, they can also work directly with professional authors, adapt literature using media, engage in collaborative writing/illustrating, and role play characters moving between virtual and real worlds. Based on a three-year study of professional authors in the schools and how they used technology during their author visits, this session will demonstrate diverse approaches to tech-enhanced and modal literacies in order to explore digital co-authorship and responses to children’s literature. Specifically, it moves children from simply reading or consuming literature to authoring their own ideas and becoming media producers/co-authors.

The two instructors bring (together) over 30 years of experience in elementary school classrooms and at university teacher education settings. The first instructor’s focus has been on multimodal authorship, language arts, and the arts. The second instructor’s focus has been on digital pedagogies, integration of technology in daily classroom teaching, and TPACK.


Reading at Suzuki Niagara Benefit Concert

March 5, 2017

What: Performance of Stinky Skunk Mel with the Suzuki Niagara String Collective
When: Sunday March 5
Where: B’nai Israel Synagogue, 190 Church St., St. Catharines

See more at suzukiniagara.com/2017-fundraiser.


Presenting French Toast at Ontario Library Association Conference

February 3, 2017

What: Reading at the OLA Superconference
When: Friday February 3, 2017, 12:30pm
Where: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Ontario Indie Pavilion

See details at olasuperconference.ca.


Selected for Canadian Children’s Book Week tour!

December 2, 2016

What: TD Canadian Children’s Book Week selected author
When: May 6-13, 2017
Where: across the province of Quebec

TD Canadian Children’s Book Week 2017 runs from Saturday, May 6 to Saturday, May 13, 2017. Thirty Canadian children’s authors, illustrator and storytellers will be visiting schools, libraries, community centres and bookstores across Canada throughout the week. This is the single most important national event celebrating Canadian children’s books and the importance of reading. Each May, over 400 readings are given to over 25,000 children, teens and adults in roughly 175 communities across the country as we make every possible effort to reach children in more remote regions and communities. Hundreds of schools, public libraries, bookstores and community centres host events as part of this major literary festival. See more: bookweek.ca/kari-lynn-winters.


Reading at Saturday Storytime: Sounds in the City!

November 12, 2016

What: Read-aloud and kids activities
When: Saturday November 12, 11:00am
Where: Powerplant Art Gallery, Toronto

In Maria Loboda’s exhibition Some Weep, Some Blow Flutes, a rail along one wall has letters that spell out the sound of a yawn. What other sounds do people make? What about animals? What about sounds in the city?

Children under 5 are welcome to bring Mom or Dad, Grandma or Grandpa, or other guardian to this program featuring award-winning children’s book author Kari-Lynn Winters, who will read On My Walk and lead other related activities. One reviewer writes of On My Walk: “This fun book with onomatopoeic words like clippity-clop, hippity-hop and drippity-drop, is set in Vancouver. The child in the book enjoys a pleasant summer walk with mom (presumably) and pet dog. Along the way, he observes many things, including horses, frogs, fish and freighters. And, of course, the Vancouver rain makes an appearance, turning the summer walk into a summer run. This simple and short book is a celebration of walking in our city.”

See more at thepowerplant.org/ProgramsEvents/Programs/Other-Programs/Saturday-Story-Time–Sounds-in-the-City!.aspx.




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