Reading & Writing & the Kitchen Sink

For fifty years, Tim Wynne-Jones and Amanda West Lewis have navigated careers as artists while negotiating a life filled with children, books, music, theatre and art. Fifty years filled with successes and failures and always, thankfully, a lot of love. In this informal presentation, they’ll read from their books, talk about their lives as writers and how they’ve continued to inspire, support and encourage each other — and make dinner, too.

Tim Wynne-Jones has written 39 books including novels for adults, young adults and children, picture books, and short story collections. He has won the Governor General’s Award, twice, among many other Canadian and international honours, including making the short list for the Guardian Book Prize, twice. His work has been published in 10 languages in 13 countries. In 2012, Tim was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He taught creative writing for 16 years at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, in the Writing for Children and Young Adults Master’s Program.

Amanda West Lewis combines careers as a writer, theatre artist, and calligrapher. She is the author of ten books for youth and young readers, including Focus Click Wind, which was listed as one of the Best Books of 2023 by The Globe and Mail, and the semi-autobiographical novel These Are Not the Words, which was recommended by the American League of Poets as recommended reading in 2022. Her newest book, A Planet is a Poem, was launched on May 7, 2024.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and The Writers’ Union of Canada.