Authors'
Booking Service is pleased to announce that Montreal young adult author
Jill
Murray, is now
scheduling visits to Ontario schools.
Jill Murray
would love to plan a visit to your school or library. Her rate is
$250 per session, $400 per half day, or $700 for a full day, plus local
transportation costs. Jill takes public transit when she is in Toronto
(Go, TTC or Via Rail) and rents a car when touring from Ottawa.
Jill is also
available for virtual "SKYPE" visits to Ontario schools anytime during
the school year.
Jill writes
young adult urban fiction, focusing on the lives of Canadian young
adults.
- In Rhythm
& Blues, Alya Merchant (aka hip hop dancer, Phat Alya) is
recruited into hot new girl group, EnChantay and swept up into the
dizzying quest for stardom. Yet, all that glitters is not gold, and
Alya soon finds herself questioning what she's becoming, the person she
knows deep down she's been all along, and which of her dreams she truly
wants to follow.
- In Break
On Through, Nadine "Lady 6Sky" Durant struggles to make a place
for herself and breakdancing in the remote suburbs of Toronto after she
is abruptly cut off from the inner-city neighborhood of her
childhood.
Jill
Murray's Break On Through has been featured Harbourfront
Centre's ALOUD: A Celebration for Young Readers, and on YTV's
The Zone. Break On Through is a Canadian
Children's Book Centre Best Book for 2009, a "Ms. Julie Recommends"
selection of the Quebec Writers Federation and a curriculum book for
Canadian Literature & Identity at Vanier College. As a
speaker, Jill has lead workshops and given presentations at schools
& libraries around Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes.
Here is what
reviewers are saying about this fresh new voice in YA lit:
-From its original plot, centred on
the world of breakdancing, to its determined, complex heroine, Break on
Through is an engaging slice-of-life read for teens
- Quill
& Quire
"Murray's characters provide great
examples, even role models, of young women attempting something
important to them and breaking through (pardon the pun!) any barriers
preventing them from reaching whatever goals they may have."
-
CM Magazine
"Jill Murray's Break on Throughis a YA novel with substance
and style, much like its heroine Nadine… The author has a fresh,
contemporary voice."
- Montreal
Review of Books
"First-time novelist Jill Murray has
made an impressive debut with this highly original urban novel"
- Canadian
Children's Book News
Jill Murray
is a member of The Writers' Union of Canada, and so schools wishing to
invite her may be eligible for a travel and fee subsidy to off-set the
cost of her visit. Contact us for details of this program.
Time slots
are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis, so please respond early
if you are interested in booking .
_________________________________________________________________
Published
Works:
Rhythm
& Blues, Doubleday Canada, 2010
Break On
Through, Doubleday Canada, 2008
JILL
MURRAY's Presentation Details
Jill will
give an introduction to how she became a writer, and the challenges she
encountered along the way. With the help of humorous visual aids, she
will describe her writing process-- with an emphasis on the revision
process. Finally, she will read from one or both of her novels,
and and conclude with a Q&A period.
For each
book, it is also possible to have a presentation geared around
particular themes, such as the cultural history of hip hop (Break On
Through) or diversity, inclusiveness and LGBT issues (Rhythm &
Blues.)
Jill is
interested in tailoring her presentations to the needs of your class or
group, and encourages you to communicate your needs and ideas prior to
the visit, to make for the best presentation possible.
Average
Length: 45-minute presentation, 15-minute question period.
Grades I
will present to: 7-12
Is this
flexible? No. I have found the subject matter of the book and my
presentation is really most interesting to teens and older teens.
Maximum number of
students per session:
I have
presented to groups of 300 students or more, and while it is possible,
your students will get more out of the presentation in groups of 100 or
less, with a grade-span of no more than 3 grades is really preferable.
Is this
flexible? Everything is flexible. Let's talk about your group and how
to best meet their needs.
Workshops
available?
Jill's
workshops are fun, highly interactive and can be tailored to the needs
of your group. Examples include:
1- Page 6
Drama: We dissect celebrity gossip columns and adopt their style to
write "gossip" about our day. What DID we eat for breakfast? Who were
we seen chatting with in homeroom? Exaggeration and invention are
encouraged. We'll never read gossip the same way again.
2-Workshop
Idol: Students are challenged to abandon their ideas of "good" and
"bad" writing, to write a pop song packed with as much emotion-- real
or melodramatic, serious or silly-- as they can handle.
3- So You
Think You Can Write: students learn a basic dance sequence, then use
their observations from to write a short, vivid action sequence
Maximum
participants for workshop: 30
Venues I'm
comfortable in:
classroom,
library, auditorium, gymnasium -- I can present almost anywhere, as
long as technical requirements are met and I know what to expect.
Is this
flexible? Yes.
Equipment
and other requirements:
a digital
projector (one that can project from the laptop I will bring. Must also
have access to connect my laptop to projector.)
