Nominee Visits - Virtual Events
FRANÇAIS
The Forest of Reading offers author visits programming as part of the registration in the program. Regularly offered are the following:
- Virtual Author Visits (20-25 visits/per year)
- French language Virtual Authors Visits (~5 visits/per year)
- Illustrator events with nominated illustrators (4-5 events/per year)
- Read-Alouds by the picture book authors (8-10 per year)
- Some events are pre-recorded and some are LIVE
- And much more…
*Each year over 40 virtual events are offered as part of your low-fee registration.
Here are the details:
WHAT: Nominee visits with a selection of the the current year nominees.
WHEN: Sessions released each week at a set time that will be communicated ahead of time, but live sessions will start at the time on the schedule.
Don’t miss out! Be sure to register for this amazing opportunity.
2025 FOREST OF READING - PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
- FOREST FRIDAYS – Author visits with Award Nominees (Silver Birch Express, Silver Birch, Red Maple)
- January 10, 24, 31, February 7, 21
- ILLUSTRATOR EVENTS – Learn to draw from our nominated ilustrators
- February 3-7
- MERCRE-LIT – Author and Illustrator Events with French nominees
- February 12, 19, 26, March 5, 19, 26
- BLUE SPRUCE READ-ALOUD
- April 7-11
- WHITE PINE EVENTS with Award nominees – Dates to be announced.
FOREST FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE – To access all content below you must be registered for the Forest of Reading. Not registered? What are you waiting for? REGISTER HERE.
| FOREST FRIDAY’S | BOOK | Program | Release Date | Release Time (Eastern Time) |
| Heather Smith | Tig | Red Maple | 1/10/2025 | Log in to password site to view |
| Kristy Jackson | Mortified | Silver Birch Fiction | 1/10/2025 | Log in to password site to view |
| Marty Chan | Dragon on the Loose | Silver Birch Express | 1/10/2025 | Log in to password site to view |
| Giselle Vriesen | Why We Play With Fire | Red Maple | 1/17/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| Shari Green | Game Face | Silver Birch Fiction | 1/17/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| Sita MacMillan | Sarah Ponakey and Ahasiw’s Forest Powwow | Silver Birch Express | 1/17/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| Deborah Kerbel | Iggy Included | Silver Birch Fiction | 1/24/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| Uma Krishnaswami | Birds on the Brain | Silver Birch Express | 1/24/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| Wali Shah & Eric Walters | Call Me Al | Red Maple | 1/24/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| A.Y. Chan | The Legendary Mo Seto | Silver Birch Fiction | 1/31/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| Brian Slattery | Escape to Ponti | Red Maple | 1/31/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| Maria Birmingham | Odd Couples: A Guide to Unlikely Animal Pairs | Silver Birch Express | 1/31/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| Candace Savage | Always Beginning: the Big Bang, the universe and you | Silver Birch Express | 2/7/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| Ronnie Riley | Asking for a Friend | Silver Birch Fiction | 2/7/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| Wanda John-Kehewin | Hopeless in Hope | Red Maple | 2/7/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| Christina Kilbourne | 40 Days in Hicksville | Red Maple | 2/21/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| SPECIAL EVENTS | BOOK NAME | Program | Release Date | Release Time | LINK TO CONNECT |
| Freedom To Read Special Event: Meet David A. Robertson along with Ainara Alleyne | David A. Robertson – The Kodiaks: Home Ice Advantage | Silver Birch Fiction | 2/25/2025 | 10:00:00 AM | |
| Freedom To Read Special Event: No More Bubble-Wrap: Teens, Tough Themes & Open Discussions | PANELISTS Lawrence Hill, Multi-award winning Author & Professor Maria Martella, Canadian Children’s and Young Adult bookseller – owner of Tinlids Wendy Burch-Jones, OSLA President and Teacher-Librarian, Toronto District School Board MODERATOR Michelle Arbuckle, Executive Director, Ontario Library Association | N/A | 1/26/2025 | 10:00:00 AM | |
| Red Maple Special Event | Author and Editor, Jael Richardson along with fellow nominees, Marty Chan, Chad Lucas, Rosena Fung from Red Maple Nominee, Today I Am: 10 Stories of Belonging | Red Maple | 3/4/2025 | 10:00:00 AM | |
| Sutherland vs. Szpirglas: Scary Showdown (Special Event) | Red Maple Nominee Jeff Szpirglas, author of Book of Screams and Yellow Cedar Nominee, Joel Sutherland, author of Haunted Canada Graphic Novel 01: Four Terrifying Tales | Yellow Cedar & Red Maple | 3/6/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
| ILLUSTRATOR EVENTS | BOOK | Program | Release Date | Release Time (Eastern Time) |
| Anoosha Syed | Lost Stick | Blue Spruce | 2/3/2025 | 12:00:00 PM |
| Mei Yu | Lost & Found: Based on a True Story | Silver Birch Express | 2/4/2025 | 12:00:00 PM |
| Roz MacLean | More Than Words: So Many Ways to Say What We Mean | Blue Spruce | 2/5/2025 | 12:00:00 PM |
| Mathias Ball | Still My Tessa | Silver Birch Express | 2/6/2025 | 12:00:00 PM |
| Flo Leung | The Blue Bowl | Blue Spruce | 2/7/2025 | 12:00:00 PM |
Mercre-LIT: Digital Author Visits – To access all content below you must be registered for the Forest of Reading. Not registered? What are you waiting for? REGISTER HERE.
| MERCRE-LIT | LIVRE | PROGRAMME | DATE DE SORTIE | HEURE DE PUBLICATION (Heure de l’Est) |
| Stéphanie Boyer | La louve et l’enfant | Mélèze | 2/19/2025 | 12:00:00 PM |
| Andrée Poulin | Semer des soleils | Tamarac | 2/26/2025 | 12:00:00 PM |
| Sarah Lalonde & Catherin | Encore une histoire de pets | Mélèze | 3/5/2025 | 12:00:00 PM |
| Pierre-Alexandre Bonin | Peut-on manger ses crottes de nez? 20 faits sur le corps | Mélèze | 3/19/2025 | 12:00:00 PM |
| Audrée Archambault | Lili-Jade 01 Pro des animaux | Tamarac | 3/26/2025 | 12:00:00 PM |
| Diya Lim – presented in Partnership with Canadian Parents for French | Éli Labaki et les gouttes de pluie | Peuplier | 3/26/2025 | 12:00:00 PM |
White Pine Wednesdays: Author visits & Panel Discussions – To access all content below you must be registered for the Forest of Reading. Not registered? What are you waiting for? REGISTER HERE.
| WHITE PINE EVENT | Program | Release Date | Release Time (Eastern Time) | |
| White Pine Event #1 | White Pine | 2/27/2025 | 11:30:00 AM | |
| White Pine Event #2 | White Pine | 3/27/2025 | 11:30:00 AM |
BLUE SPRUCE READ-ALOUDS – – To access all content below you must be registered for the Forest of Reading. Not registered? What are you waiting for? REGISTER HERE.
| READ ALOUD BY AUTHOR | BOOK | Program | Release Date | Release Time (Eastern Time) | |
| Asha and the Toymaker | Sakshi Mangal | Blue Spruce | 4/7/2025 | 10:00:00 AM | |
| The Blue Bowl | Flo Leung | Blue Spruce | 4/7/2025 | 10:00:00 AM | |
| Harold the Iceberg Melts Down | Lisa Wyzlic | Blue Spruce | 4/8/2025 | 10:00:00 AM | |
| If You See a Bluebird | Bahram Rahman | Blue Spruce | 4/8/2025 | 10:00:00 AM | |
| The Little Regent | Yewande Daniel-Ayoade | Blue Spruce | 4/9/2025 | 10:00:00 AM | |
| Lost Stick | Anoosha Syed | Blue Spruce | 4/9/2025 | 10:00:00 AM | |
| Mandeep’s Cloudy Days | Kuljinder Kaur Brar | Blue Spruce | 4/10/2025 | 10:00:00 AM | |
| More Than Words: So Many Ways to Say What We Mean | Roz MacLean | Blue Spruce | 4/10/2025 | 10:00:00 AM | |
| Still My Tessa | Sylv Chiang | Blue Spruce | 4/11/2025 | 10:00:00 AM | |
| When the Stars Came Home | Brittany Luby | Blue Spruce | 4/11/2025 | 10:00:00 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do I need any special software to participate in the virtual nominee visits?
No. All you need to access is the Internet and log on to the password protected portion of the website to get the link. Ensure that you have a computer that has access to the Internet and working computer speakers. However, it is a good idea to test your internet well ahead of the presentation to make sure that your browser is up to date and that you are able to install any plugins that might be required. All live sessions will be over Zoom and all recorded links will be from YouTube.
I’m having tech trouble prior or during a virtual visit – can you help me?
If you are having trouble accessing it or having difficulty with sound, please restart your computer. As some are live there is the ability to use the chat function when you are logged on.
I would like a number of classes in my school to attend an upcoming nominee visit, how can I do that?
You may distribute the link to your classrooms as long as your school is registered, however for the live events you must register multiple times based on how many computer connections (eg. if you have 5 classes logging on, please register 5 times).
When can I expect the link for the virtual nominee visit to be sent to me?
The links are made available on the password portion of the site and the recording will be posted there after the event. They are not sent via email.
Can my readers ask questions to the nominee?
Yes, the readers may ask questions through the chat section during live presentations and the moderator will ask as many is possible in the time that is scheduled for the live events. If your readers would like to send questions for authors that are pre-recorded please email them to the Director of the Forest of Reading, Meredith Tutching at mtutching@accessola.com.
