Don Aker

Readings

Accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation, I begin by telling students how, as a high school student, I wanted to be a writer but never felt I could actually become one, and then I describe the series of serendipitous events that led me down that writing path toward publication 20 years later. Then I give a brief overview of the books I’ve written, followed by a discussion of my writing process — where I get my ideas, the three questions I need to answer before I can begin writing any story, and my most important writing tool: my writer’s notebook. I then describe the genesis of each of my novels and read a passage from one of them, ending my presentation with an audience Q&A session. I am completely comfortable tailoring my presentation to the needs of a specific audience (e.g., focusing on a particular novel that the students have read or are reading), but I require three weeks’ notice in order to prepare.

Special Equipment:

I will bring my laptop computer to run my PowerPoint presentation, but I do require an LCD projector, a viewing screen, a table for my presentation materials, a microphone (if I'm speaking in large venues or to groups greater than 30) and a bottle of water.

Workshops

I offer a number of workshops and will often create a session to address a specific request. Below are a few of the workshops I have presented to students in the past:

• Writing Short Fiction
• Writing the Novel
• Writing Memoir
• Writing the Screenplay
• Writing Poetry
• Point of View: The Writer’s Paintbrush

Special Equipment:

I will bring my laptop computer to run my PowerPoint presentation, but I do require an LCD projector, a viewing screen, a table for my presentation materials, a microphone (if I'm speaking in large venues or to groups greater than 30) and a bottle of water.

Biography

A husband and father, Don Aker lives in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley and credits his writing success with always being around young people. A teacher for more than 20 years, he writes novels based on issues that impact directly on the lives of his students. He explains, “My teen years were the toughest period in my life, which is probably why I can’t stop writing about characters who are teenagers. For me, it’s the period when human beings experience the greatest challenges and changes.”

In his role as a teacher, Don often encounters students whose life experiences trouble him. “If something bothers me long enough,” he says, “it almost always ends up in a novel or a short story.” In fact, his first novel, Of Things Not Seen, grew out of the moment when Don discovered one of his students was being physically abused by her father. His other novels include issues related to high school bullying, youth crime, teen sexuality, and even suicide, but Don’s stories aren’t all grim. “As much as possible,” he says, “I try to include humour to make heavy subjects like these enjoyable for readers, and I rely on my students to help me recognize what young people find funny.”

The author of 14 books—both fiction and nonfiction—and numerous shorter pieces, Don has won 11 writing awards—among them Ontario’s White Pine Award and Atlantic Canada’s Ann Connor Brimer Award (twice)—and he has been nominated for 10 others. His books are read by teenagers across North America, and he’s often amazed by how readers in very different places react in similar ways: “I recently got an e-mail from a teacher in Tennessee whose students were reading Of Things Not Seen, and they were responding to it the same way as students do in the Annapolis Valley, where the novel takes place.” Don’s audience will continue to grow because HarperCollins is currently translating his novel The First Stone into French. “I won’t be able to read it,” he laughs, “but I can’t wait to see it.”

Because I work full-time as an educator, I am most often available during weekends and the summer months. However, given sufficient lead time, I can sometimes arrange to be available during the school year for short periods.

OTHER PRESENTATIONS:
I have given numerous presentations to adults, among them keynote addresses and PD sessions at conferences for teachers and librarians. Below are some of the PD sessions I have conducted:
- The Writer’s Eye
- Writing Fiction: “The Big Three”
- Responding to Student Writing
- Strategic Reading
- Helping Adolescents Read Poetry for Understanding
- The Power of Point of View
- Cooperative Learning Strategies in the Classroom