Brenda Chapman

Readings

I first speak about the road I took to becoming a published author. Then, I give an overview of my books and the mystery genre. I lead the students through the devices and strategies that writers use to write a mystery, giving short examples from my work. I also discuss the book covers and the way they help to package the story. The session ends with a slightly longer reading and a question and answer period.

Book Sales:

Brenda can bring copies of her books to the readings for students to purchase and have autographed.

Workshops

My workshop is interactive with several writing exercises to have the children involved. My focus is to motivate as well as to give some valuable writing tips. In the Short Story Workshop, I lead the kids through exercises that focus on choosing point of view and writing descriptive sentences that use all five senses and evocative language. As a group, we brainstorm ideas for short stories before I lead them through outlining a short story and writing an opening paragraph. The workshop can be modified to focus exclusively on writing mystery stories.

Special Equipment:

White board / flip chart

Book Sales:

Brenda can bring copies of her books to the readings for students to purchase and have autographed.

Biography

I grew up in Terrace Bay, Ontario and earned a BA in English literature from Lakehead University and a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University. I taught reading and language arts to children, teenagers and adults for nearly fifteen years before entering the federal government to work as a writer/editor. My current position is Senior Communications Advisor in the Department of Justice Canada.

During university, I took creative writing as part of my English degree. While I was teaching, I also wrote short stories that were published in magazines, including Canadian Living. I wrote Running Scared for my own daughters and this led to three more novels in the Jennifer Bannon mystery series.