Annick Goes to Word on the Street

The weather couldn't have been better for this year's Word on the Street. The warm, sunny day brought out thousands of people to the annual book festival in downtown Toronto. This year, Annick displayed mostly board books and picture books, which were very popular. Visitors with small children were particularly drawn to the board book versions of Red is Best and the Robert Munsch titles. And a signing by Andrea Wayne von Königslöw resulted in many happy kids walking away with their own copy of How Do You Read to a Rabbit? and Toilet Tales. Thanks to the wonderful people at Mabel's Fables for hosting us and making everything run so smoothly.

Word on the Street this Sunday!

Just a quick note to say Annick Press will be selling books at the Word on the Street festival in Toronto this Sunday, September 26. Drop by our booth (KS27): we'll be selling all of our books at 20% off--even the new Fall titles. If you mention this blog, we'll give you a FREE book, and if you buy any 4 books, you'll also receive a FREE surprise bag of books! (While supplies last.)

And if that wasn't enough, you'll also get to meet the fabulous Ruth Ohi, who will be signing her books. She'll also be in the Children's Reading Tent at 11:30 a.m.

Here's an interview with Ruth in which she discusses her adorable Chicken, Pig, Cow series:



Hope to see you there!

Word on the Street Wrap-up

Although a few dark clouds lingered over downtown Toronto on Sunday morning, the sun soon fought them off and provided a beautiful day worthy of the annual Word on the Street festival. (I even had to break out the sunscreen! Not that I'm complaining.)

Queen's Park was buzzing with people of all ages checking out the various booths, events, and food. From author readings (including one by Margaret Atwood) to live music to games, crafts, and cooking demos, there was something for everyone. I also loved seeing the whole spectrum of people involved in the book business: from authors and illustrators to writers' groups, magazines, publishers, wholesalers, booksellers, and, of course, readers!

The Annick booth was a busy place to be: we enjoyed both introducing our books to new readers and hearing from people who were already familiar with our titles (for example, our Robert Munsch display elicited many happy cries of, "Oh, I remember reading that as a kid!"). It was especially touching to see parents introducing the books they'd loved as kids to their own children.

Along with offering a 20% discount on our books, we also ran our popular String Pull game (photo below), in which kids pull one end of a string and then win books based on the color of the token on the other end. It costs just $1 to play and all proceeds go to this year's Reading Summit (Nov. 11-13).

Ruth Ohi (pictured below) dropped by in the afternoon to sign her books and chat with fans; she especially enjoyed signing her books with cartoon sketches of the child who the book was for!

I've uploaded our photos to our Flickr account, and you can also find more wrap-ups of Word on the Street in Toronto on the following blogs: BlogTO; Another Day, Another Thought... or Two; Talking with Tundra, and Debbie's Blatherings. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Word on the Street Update

Just a reminder that Annick will be at booth Book KS 15 (on Wellesley Street) at the Word on the Street festival in Toronto this Sunday, Sept. 27! Drop by and say hi... and if you mention our blog, we'll give you a free hardcover book, while supplies last! (Which book? It's a surprise!)

Also, author/illustrator Ruth Ohi will be at the Children's Reading Tent from 1-1:30 pm, and then she'll be at the Annick booth to sign books from 1:30-2:30! Come meet Chicken, Pig, and Cow!

Telling Tales Festival and Word on the Street

Last weekend was the Telling Tales festival in Rockton (just north of Hamilton, Ontario), and Annick set up a colourful booth to join in the fun!


There were 32 children's authors, illustrators, and performers attending, including our very own Loris Lesynski (Dirty Dog Boogie; I Did It Because...) and Ruth Ohi (Chicken, Pig, Cow; Chicken, Pig, Cow on the Move). Great weather, wonderful books: what a perfect family outing! For a great blog post (with pictures of Ruth doing her drawing demonstration!), check out the Papertrails Family Blog.

Loris Lesynski with her books:

If you missed Telling Tales this year, don't despair: you're not too late for The Word on the Street festival on Sunday, September 27! There are four venues: Vancouver, Kitchener, Toronto, and Halifax.

Join us at the Toronto location (Queen's Park) as we celebrate reading and literacy. There are tons of activities for adults and children, including performances, readings, signings, crafts, and more. There's a lot going on, but don't worry: the editors at Chirp, chickaDEE, and OWL have put together a great Kidstreet Activity Guide so you can plan your day. You can also follow the Toronto Word on the Street Twitter account for updates, contests, trivia, and photos.

Ruth Ohi will be at the Children's Reading Tent from 1-1:30 pm, and then she'll be signing books at the Annick booth, so come on by! Also, if you visit the Annick booth and mention that you've read our blog, we'll give you a FREE hardcover book while supplies last. (Which title? It's a surprise!) Hope to see you there!

A Perfect Day

Warm sunshine on a cloudless day, stacks of books wherever you looked, balloons, food, and hundreds of kids, dogs, and families enjoying a beautiful autumn day - such was the scene at this year's Toronto Word On The Street Festival. Things were hopping at the Annick booth where we shared space with Barefoot Books and Random House Children's Books. With the good people from Mabel's Fables tending both cash registers, things were hopping inside the tent and out. Appearances by two of Annick's best loved authors, Kathy Stinson and Loris Lesynski drew crowds, while interest was high in The Bite of the Mango, the moving memoir by Mariatu Kamara and Susan McClelland. While many people came looking for their old favourites - books by Robert Munsch, Ruth Ohi, Kathy, and Loris - they often left with new treasures such as Elizabeth MacLeod's Royal Murder or Mattland by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert. For book lovers, booksellers, families and friends, it was a perfect day in the park.

It's Festival Time

It's that time of the year--cool nights, fall colors and book festivals! Sunday, September 28 is when cities across Canada will be holding their annual The Word On The Street Book and Magazine Festival this year. Authors, readings, arts and musical performances--and lots of fabulous books will be the order of the day as people flock to hear and see the best that Canadian publishers have to offer.

For those living in Toronto, we hope that you'll come by and visit the Annick booth (#347 on Kidstreet). And make sure to catch two of our most popular authors, Kathy Stinson and Loris Lesynski.

Loris will read from her latest book, Shoe Shakes, at the Children's Reading Tent at 2:00, and will be signing books at the Author Signing Tent at 2:30 and at the Annick booth at 3:30.

Kathy will read from A Pocket Can Have a Treasure in It and from her classic Red is Best at the Children's Reading Tent at 1:30 and the Little Readers' Tent at 4:00. Come and have your books signed at the Author Signing Tent at 2:00 and at the Annick Booth at 2:30.

And if you're planning to attend the Kitchener Word On The Street, you're in for a treat as Ruth Ohi reads from her new book, Chicken, Pig, Cow at 11:30 at the 96.7 CHYM Children's Reading Tent.

For those of you who will be at The Word On The Street in Vancouver, make sure to visit the Canada Writes tent at 11:20 to hear author Laura Trunkey read from her just-published junior novel, The Incredibly Ordinary Danny Chandelier.

And what would a festival be without a few show specials at the Annick booth?
• Buy any 3 books and get 2 free hardcover picture books (for younger kids), or 2 free paperbacks (fiction & non-fiction assortment, for older kids)
• Surprise bags $5 each (cash only)

The Word On The Street is celebrating it's 19th year, and is expecting over 300,000 people across Canada; can't wait to see you there!