Orca Echoes Books

This is Sara Cassidy’s tenth book for children. Her books have been short-listed for the Chocolate Lily Award, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature and the Bolen Books Children’s Book Prize, and two were Junior Library Guild selections. For more information, visit www.saracassidywriter.com.

Jeff Pinkney likes to be out in his canoe or on his mountain bike on forest trails, where he has met a few porcupines. He works as a business advisor in Peterborough, Ontario. Soapstone Porcupine and Soapstone Signs draw on Jeff’s experiences while traveling as a development consultant in Canada’s James Bay Frontier, where he acquired a deep appreciation for the people and the landscape. For more information, visit www.jeffpinkney.com.

Alison Hughes writes for children of all ages. Her books have been nominated for Silver Birch, Red Cedar, Diamond Willow, Hackmatack and Alberta Literary Awards, as well as the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award. She shares her love of writing by giving lively presentations and workshops at schools and young-author conferences. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta, with her husband and children, where her three snoring dogs provide the soundtrack for her writing. For more information, visit www.alisonhughesbooks.com.

Award-winning author Natasha Deen loves stories: exciting ones, scary ones and, especially, funny ones! As a kid of two countries (Guyana and Canada), she feels especially lucky because she gets a double dose of stories. When she’s not working on her books or visiting schools, she spends a lot of time trying to convince her dogs and cats that she’s the boss of the house.For more information, visit natashadeen.com and follow her on Twitter and Instagram @natasha_deen.

Pamela McDowell’s first career was in education, teaching junior high and high school. She began writing when she left teaching and has now written more than fifty nonfiction books for children. Pamela grew up in Alberta and enjoys writing about the diverse animals and habitats of her home province. Pamela lives in Calgary with her husband, two kids and an Australian shepherd.

Eric Walters, Member of the Order of Canada, began writing in 1993 as a way to get his fifthgrade students interested in reading and writing. Eric cofounded a children’s program called Creation of Hope that supports orphaned children in the Mbooni district in rural Kenya and is recognized by the Mbooni community as an elder. He spends time each year working with the children and helping to run the organization. For the rest of the year he lives in Guelph, Ontario. For more information, visit www.ericwalters.net.

Amy Meissner currently lives and works in Anchorage, Alaska. Her two, bad orange cats keep her company in the studio all day long where she paints, draws, writes, cuts fabric and moves cats off the things they aren’t supposed to sleep on. Creating art for children’s books is Amy’s favorite job, but she also illustrates for posters and articles. She recently completed an MFA in Creative Writing and has undergraduate degrees in both Art and Textiles.

Helen Flook was born and grew up in the beautiful countryside of Wales. She has a degree in graphic design from the Norwich School of Art. Helen has illustrated numerous children’s books, including many Orca picture books and early chapter books in the Orca Echoes series. She lives and works in Abergwyngregyn, a village in Wales.

Darlene Gait was born on Vancouver Island and began painting as a child. Inspired by nature and by her Coast Salish heritage, Darlene brings a rich understanding of the natural world to her work, which is held in private collections and exhibited worldwide. Darlene lives in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia. For more information, please visit www.onemoon.ca.

Charlene Chua grew up in Singapore, where she divided her time between drawing, reading comics and failing her Mandarin classes. She has worked with clients from Canada, USA, Europe, Singapore and Australia on a wide variety of illustration projects. Charlene lives in Hamilton, Ontario with her husband and their two cats. For more information, visit www.charlenechua.com.

Marcus Cutler is a freelance children’s illustrator from Ontario, Canada. His work has appeared in magazines, books, apps and more. Visit his website at marcuscutler.com.

Working in watercolor and colored pencil, Kasia Charko creates detailed, colorful paintings that bring period, place and character to life. Born and educated in England, Kasia lives in Alton, Ontario, with her family of animals.