Annick Goes to OLA

They came from all over the province of Ontario--public librarians, elementary school librarians, secondary school librarians and specialty librarians--to the annual convention of the OLA (Ontario Library Association) in Toronto. Despite the snow and cold outside, the mood was cheery and uplifting as hundreds of librarians checked out the publishers' exhibits.

Annick Press was delighted to have three of its authors signing books at the booth of its distributor, Firefly Books: Kevin Sylvester with Game Day, Judie Oron with Cry of the Giraffe and Sharon McKay with Thunder over Kandahar. The line-ups were long as people waited for the opportunity to meet the authors and get a personally signed copy of their books.

Kevin Sylvester signs GAME DAY

Judie Oron signs copies of CRY OF THE GIRAFFE

Sharon McKay with THUNDER OVER KANDAHAR

Kevin delighted people with his drawing of a cat or dog (their choice) in every copy. Judie answered many questions about how she came to write her book about her Ethiopian daughter, and Sharon was told over and over again how much all her books were loved by young people. It was wonderful to see and hear so many people who love books and want to instill their love of the written word in others. Thank you, librarians!

(Click here for more pictures of the event!)

Murder at the OLA

Unsuspecting librarians walking past the Firefly booth at this year's OLA Super Conference, did a double take when they saw author Liz MacLeod signing her much-acclaimed book, Royal Murder. To get into the swing of things, she offered librarians a lovely golden "crown" to wear while she sported a bloody dagger. Royal+Murder. Get it? (Those are Liz's words, not mine!) Many of those waiting in line had already read the book, but wanted a second copy to share with others. "Great book!" "Even my son, who never reads anything, loved this book!" "I've already ordered two for the library, so this one will be used as a prize." These were only some of the comments from the librarians who were thrilled to meet Liz and delighted to walk off with a signed copy of the book.