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David Poulsen

Authors’ Booking Service is pleased to announce that children’s author, David A. Poulsen is now scheduling visits to Ontario schools.   

David would love to plan a visit to your school or library.  His rate is $475 per half day (two one hour presentations or one two hour workshop) and $925.00 per full day—maximum four sessions (See below), plus travel from Toronto. HST is applicable on fees.

David is a member of The Writers' Union of Canada, and so schools wishing to invite him may be eligible for a travel and fee subsidy to off-set the cost of his visit.  Contact us for details of this program.

David A. Poulsen has been a rock singer, high school football coach, stage and film actor, television host, college English instructor, and most of all--writer.  His popular Middle Reader series, The Salt and Pepper Chronicles continues to delight readers throughout North America and beyond. Shivers and Shakes is the latest adventure in the series which features teenage detectives, Christine (Salt) Bellamy and Pepper Mackenzie along with Christine’s uber-annoying little brother, Hal. The first book in the series--The Vampire's Visit was a finalist for the 2008 Silver Birch Children’s Choice Book Award while the fifth Salt and Pepper book—The Prisoners and the Paintings won the 2010 Golden Eagle Book Award in southern Alberta. David delivered the keynote address at a number of Silver Birch celebration events in spring 2008.

David’s most recent book, the teen/YA novel Numbers was the winner of the Yakura Medal, voted on by English speaking high school students in Japan. David will tour schools in Japan and Korea this fall.

Here’s what Joyce Lister, teacher librarian of Centennial Public School in Brampton, ON has to say about this author:

“The students were inspired by his message, motivated to read more, and sad to see him leave.  He leaves an indelible mark on his audiences."

Published Works

Young Adult Novel Numbers. (Napoleon Publishing, Toronto)

Winner of the Yakura Medal (Reader’s Choice Award) in Japan.

Young Adult Novel Billy and the Bearman. (Napoleon Publishing, Toronto)

Selected by the Canadian Children's’ Book Centre for a Choice Award.

Shortlisted for Blue Heron Book Award and Writers Guild of Alberta Children’s Book of the Year.   

Young Adult novel, Last Sam's Cage. (Key Porter Books, Toronto). Nominated for Snow Willow (Saskatchewan), MYRCA (Manitoba) Young Reader's Choice Awards and R. Ross Annette (Alberta) Award. Selected by the Canadian Children's’ Book Centre for a Choice Award

The Salt and Pepper Chronicles, Key Porter books. Middle reader series

1. The Vampire’s Visit, finalist for the Silver Birch Reader’s Choice Award in Ontario.

2. The Hunk Machine

3. No Time Like the Past, nominated for The Golden Eagle Children’s Choice Book Award in southern Alberta

4. The Book of Vampire

5. The Prisoners and the Paintings, winner Golden Eagle Book Award, 2009

6. Shivers and Shakes

The Lawrence High School Yearbook Series 

Wild Thing

Blind Date

Jeremy’s Song

Cowboy Cool

Awards and Nominations

David’s Young Adult novel Numbers—which examines the lives of students in a high school where the most popular and influential teacher is a Holocaust denier, is the winner of the Yakura Medal, voted on by English speaking high school students in Japan as their favourite book of 2009. David will be touring Japan and Korea in fall 2011 as a follow up to winning the Yakura Medal.

David’s books have also been nominated/short-listed for the Blue Heron Book Award and Writers Guild of Alberta Children’s Book of the Year, Snow Willow (Saskatchewan), MYRCA (Manitoba) Young Reader's Choice Awards, Golden Eagle Children’s Choice and R. Ross Annette awards (Alberta), the Silver Birch Award in Ontario and a number of Canadian Children's’ Book Centre for a Choice Awards.

Presentation Details

“I always wanted to be part Roy Rogers, part Mickey Mantle and part Ernest Hemingway. That’s a difficult combination.”  

David A Poulsen has emerged as one of Canada's most sought-after guest authors and creative writing workshop leaders in schools. His speaking engagements have included sessions and keynotes at conventions, AGMs, Sports Dinners and conferences. His sometimes funny, sometimes gut-wrenching, always entertaining recounting of the life of a writer has spellbound audiences and inspired adults and kids alike from British Columbia to Central and Eastern Canada. A former teacher, he is at home with students from grades 1-12. His high-energy author visits last 50 to 60 minutes as he shares with students his journey to becoming a writer of more than 20 books. And most of all, David fills every room with his passion for and love of reading and writing. In June of 2005, David was one of six Canadian writers selected to present at the first ever ALOUD Conference (a Children's Book Writers component of the famed Readings at the Harbourfront Series) in Toronto.

Making it Believable  (Workshop title)

 The best books are the ones that draw us right into the story so we are right there when all the neat stuff happens, right? Award winning Alberta writer David A. Poulsen will share with you how you can make your stories so believable your readers will be laughing, crying or looking over their shoulders right along with your characters. And the best part is—it’s easy and it’s fun!!

For my author presentation I will speak to upwards of 100 students as long as all can see and hear me. I’m flexible with this number.

For the workshops, which are hands on and working with the kids on a one on one basis, the limit is 20 (I will go to 25 if necessary) and I need from and hour and a half to two hours.

I do offer PD workshops to teachers and teacher-librarians. I am comfortable in libraries, classrooms and smaller auditoriums. I will present in gymnasiums when necessary but it not my preference.

Equipment requirements are minimal—a table and stool (not a chair) for the author presentations and a microphone where necessary. For the workshops, I need access to a white board or chalk board or flip chart and the students need pencils and paper.