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Festivals, Bookfairs & Conferences
A selection of previous talks & workshops
- Jewish Women’s Voices: A weekend of Culture, Scholarship and Celebration, Toronto
- Festival of Faith and Writing, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI
- Tattered Cover Annual Seminar with Chris Bohjalian, James Salter and Sandra Benitz, Denver CO
- Contemporary Jewish Creativity, Hampshire College, Amherst MA
- International Culture Appreciation Day, Chicago IL
- From Generation to Generation: A Celebration of Jewish Feminism, New York, NY
- Books & Breakfast, Nicholas Hoare Books, Toronto, ON
- From the Shtetl to China, Salt Lake City, UT
- Sorrow & Strength, Annual Educational Conference, with Eli Danica, Colin Ross M.D. and Shirley Turcotte, Winnipeg, MB
- A Celebration of Jewish Women Writers, New York, NY
- Toronto Hospital Education Day on Abuse, Toronto, ON
- Prince Edward County Authors Festival, Picton, Ontario
- Jewish Bookfairs in Toronto and Vancouver
My First Speech
Coincidentally or not, in the same year I decided to be a writer, I competed in my school’s public speaking contest. I was 10 years old. Just picture me in my school tunic, fair hair in braids, sitting with the big pubescent grade 6s and 7s. As I walked to the front of the stage, I heard someone whisper, “She’s so small.?
I thought to myself, “Ha! Just you wait?because, though shy around new people, I had no fear in front of an audience. I was filled with the passion of a message larger than myself, and my fearlessness showed itself in a voice that hit the back of my school gym loud and clear. I still remember the beginning of my speech, a quote from psalms that segued into the question of the nature of human kind: good or evil. It concluded: “It is up to us as future citizens of the world to continue this work for mankind and to strive for peace.?I won first prize.
An Educator
When my life took an unexpected turn and I became a chartered accountant, I didn’t realize the many ways that I was gaining experience useful to a writer. For one thing, I was let in on people’s deepest secrets because, as I discovered, most secrets involve money and taxes, especially when people get divorced. That led me to conduct workshops on the financial aspects of The Family Law Act, which evolved into teaching at York University. While working toward writing full-time, I also facilitated creative writing groups, both for the Toronto School Board’s Continuing Education and as a volunteer with senior citizens. By the time my first novel was sold in seven countries, I’d had experience in teaching and talking to small and large groups of all ages. I’d learned a lot through the years—but I retained the essence of what I’d known as a ten year old. Talking isn’t about me, it’s about something bigger.
A Writer
When I write, I want to engage readers with a good story and writing that is beautiful and true to human experience. All my books, as well, have had an educational element. I’ve written about the Polish shtetl, 19th century London, female rites of passage, prostitution, dissociative identity disorder and child exploitation. Whatever the subject, and whoever the audience, we are sharing some time and that time is precious. While preparing my material, I think long and hard about the people who’ll be there, what they need, what interests them, and how I can bring something new and meaningful. I may be the one at the podium, but I am there as much to listen as to speak. Listening is not only a function of the ears—it’s also a matter of the heart.
To book a workshop or talk, please contact me.
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