Jessica Scott Kerrin

Readings

Jessica’s presentation to early chapter book readers is a behind-the-scenes look at the daily experiences she chooses to write stories about. Her presentation lasts between 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the age group, and involves props and short readings, accompanied by images from her books as well as video clips shown on Powerpoint. She brings her own laptop, projector and speakers.

Jessica uses humour and will pose questions to the audience about similar experiences they might have had that her main character, Martin Bridge, faces. In so doing, she demonstrates how they, too, have had experiences in their own lives worthy of writing about.
Jessica participated in the 2006 TD Canadian Children’s Book Week tour in Alberta. Her publisher, Kids Can Press, recently sent her on a US tour in the Spring of 2007.In May 2007, she presented at the International Reading Association conference in Toronto. She is also part of the 2007-2008 Writers in the Schools Program sponsored by the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia.

Special Equipment:

Jessica brings her own laptop and projector for a PowerPoint presentation. Venue needs to provide screen, a power source and a room that can darken.

Biography

Jessica grew up on the Canadian Prairies, and although she enjoyed school, she had a terrible secret. She was a lousy speller. This made it tough because she really liked to write. It turns out that a lot of writers can’t spell, and Jessica figured this out when she got her first award for creative writing, back in grade three. On the trophy, her writing teacher had misspelled her name! Since then, Jessica has tried, as much as she can, to write about experiences she finds funny, like that one.

Today, she lives with her family and their pet tortoise in downtown Halifax in a house so old, the floors slope, and all the marbles end up in one corner. They like to share outdoor adventures, including a jungle trek in Costa Rica, and more recently, a sailing tour in Croatia. In addition to writing, Jessica has managed galleries, dance schools and museums, and she has worked with artists, performers and curators. Now that Jessica has staff, she gets them to check her spelling. Some things never improve.