Marilyn Helmer

Readings

The title of my presentation is: "IDEAS - Where Do Writers Find Them?" and it is suitable for Grades 1 – 6. During this entertaining and informative presentation, I use a combination of visuals and storytelling techniques to show how, with a little imagination, a writer can use ideas from everyday life to create interesting stories, books and poems. I give examples by reading and storytelling from some of my published work.

For Grades 1 – 3: I use a combination of visuals and storytelling techniques to show the children how, with a little imagination, a writer can use ideas from everyday life to create interesting stories.I give examples, reading from some of my published work including my latest books, Sharing Snowy and The Fossil Hunters. I end the presentation by asking some riddles from my riddle books.

For Grades 4 – 6: I include my two published novels and discuss, with posters, how authors go about getting their work published.

Either presentation runs approximately one hour including a ten-minute question and answer period at the end. I can, however, adjust this to fit a 45 minute period.

Junior Kindergarten / Senior Kindergarten: For JK/SK children I offer a 30-minute session during which I read and storytelling from some of my published books and magazines. I include brief comments in between, such as where I got the idea for the story. I find that this shorter session works much better for the younger children.

Book Sales:

Copies of books can be brought to be sold and autographed.

Biography

I would like to say that I have always had a passion for writing but that wouldn’t quite be true. The seeds were sewn in early childhood, though when I spent many hours play acting and pretending. Making up games and telling stories with my friends are among my happiest childhood memories. But it wasn’t until many years later, when I became a stay at home mom, that I sat down at my portable typewriter (no computers back then!) and focused on my dream of becoming a published author.

My interest in books began with my parents reading to me as a child. When I was six years old, I was given my own library card for my birthday. I remember going to the big old library on Sherbrooke Street in Montreal and walking into the children’s department. What a surprise to see that there weren’t just dozens of books in the world, there were thousands. And I wanted to read every last one. Although I didn’t quite accomplish that goal, I did become a lifelong reader.

Years later when my children were born, it was natural for me to read to them. In fact, it was their love of books that decided my career. When I saw the way their eyes lit up at some books, when they requested the same ones over and over again, I thought the most wonderful thing in the world would be to write books myself that would inspire that kind of joy and pleasure in children. What a satisfaction it would be to write a book that might become a child’s favorite, one that might introduce them to the magic of the written word and that might instill in them a lifelong love of reading. And so my writing career began.

Since then I have had many short stories, articles and poems published in children’s magazines and anthologies in Canada and the United States, as well as twenty-five books for various age levels. And there are always more stories, poems, books and articles in the works

I would consider travelling anywhere in Canada if I were asked to take part in a conference.