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Wendy Kitts

 

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First name
Wendy
Last name
Kitts
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Biography
Writing is Wendy Kitts' day job. She has been a freelance writer since 2000 and has written everything from children's books to magazine articles to book reviews to political speeches to movie scripts.

As a writer-for-hire, she has written on topics as varied as pottery made out of mud from the Bay of Fundy; a man who grew up in a Nova Scotian lighthouse; the wild horses of Sable Island; the life of hip hop artist Travis Scott; where earthquakes happen in Canada; and an axe murderer who is thought to be the only person in Canada tried three times for the same crime.

Some of Wendy's coolest writing jobs include an animated commercial; activity guides for the Girl Guides; a booklet about Atlantic Canada for the 2010 Olympics; and interviews with some of her favourite children's book authors such as Sheree Fitch, Dennis Lee and Robert Munsch.

And the best part of Wendy's job (which doesn't feel like a job at all)? She gets to write in her pyjamas all day if she wants - which she wants, a lot. No small grey cubicles for her. Or socks and shoes, if she can help it. Which leads to another thing Wendy loves about her "job": having a laptop lifestyle allows her to write from anywhere in the world, like California, where she turned in her socks and shoes for flip flops for more than a decade.

But most of all, Wendy loves that she gets to help other aspiring writers achieve their magical writing life - whatever that looks like. Through consulting, editing and facilitating writing (and art) workshops, Wendy helps others share their voices with the world.
Publications
BOOKS
Sable Island: The Wandering Sandbar (Nimbus 2011);
Giants of Rap & Hip Hop: Travis Scott (ReferencePoint Press, 2020);
Skilled Jobs in Wellness & Beauty (ReferencePoint Press, 2020);
Disasters in Canada: Prepare and Be Safe - Hurricanes (True North, 2020);
Disasters in Canada: Prepare and Be Safe - Earthquakes (True North, 2020);
The Art of Graphic Communication (ReferencePoint Press, 2019);
Careers in Animation and Comic Books (ReferencePoint Press, 2019); and
Great Jobs in the Skilled Trades (ReferencePoint Press, 2019).

MAGAZINES & NEWSPAPERS
The Los Angeles Times; the Globe & Mail; Readers' Digest; More; Canada's History; Canadian Children's Book News; Pacific San Diego; Saltscapes; Atlantic Books Today; the Chronicle Herald; the Telegraph Journal; the New Brunswick Reader; [here]; the Metro Marquee; the Nova Scotian; and the Moncton Times & Transcript.

ANTHOLOGIES
Spiritual Leaders: Top Picks (Visionary Insight Press, 2017);
When Heaven Touches Earth, A Little Book of Miracles, Marvels, and Wonders (Hierophant, 2016);
The Empowerment Manual (Visionary Insight Press, 2015); and
Breaking the Word Barrier: Stories of Adults Learning to Read (Goose Lane Editions, 2009)
Genres
  • Biography
  • Children's
  • Corporate
  • Creative nonfiction
  • Editing
  • Illustration
  • Journalism
  • Memoir
  • Non-Fiction
  • Young Adult
 

WiSP

WISP Regions
  • East
  • South
  • North
  • West
  • Virtual
WISP Grades
  • 1-4
  • 5-8
  • 9-12
WISP Languages
  • English
WISP What I Offer
A Life in PJs: A Career as a Freelance Writer

Learn how to get started in a career as a freelance writer. Longer version includes exploring topics/niche and how to share and/or sell your writing.

Slide show presentation/Q&A, 60 minutes (quick guide) or half-day (enriched), grades 9-12


Sable Island: The Wandering Sandbar

Discover Sable Island, the wild and magical island off the east coast of Nova Scotia, and how ordinary school children made a difference saving its feral horses from certain death. With its history of pirates, ghosts, as well as sharks, quicksand and tens of thousands of seals, students will be fascinated by this presentation about one of Canada’s newer national parks.

Slide show/Q&A, 60 minutes, grades 4-6
(Please see the teacher’s curriculum guide for specific writing exercises and workshop ideas based on this book: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/556dd9cce4b0c45663c563a6/t/56009932e4b0125504df4c66/1442879794849/Sable+Island+Curriculum+Guide.pdf)


“Written & Illustrated by…”

Learn how to write and illustrate a children's story. Students will write and illustrate their own stories using a 24-page picture book format. If time permits and students wish to share, students may participate in an authors’ reading. Includes brief discussion of various picture books, illustrating, as well as mediums used to illustrate.
Full day workshop, ages 9 and up
Illustration 101
Discover how illustrators create the images for a children's picture book. Students illustrate a classic fairy-tale (or their own story) including doing thumbnail sketches, a dummy book and cover art. Includes brief discussion of various picture books, illustrating, and mediums used to illustrate.

Half-day workshop, ages 9 and up
Picturing Words
Older students will illustrate a page from a favourite story whereas younger students will illustrate randomly selected words and phrases (i.e. a subject, “a pink hippo wearing a tutu” and an action, “walking a tightrope”). Includes brief discussion of various picture books, illustrating, and mediums used to illustrate.
60 minutes, ages 8 and up
TESTIMONIALS
“Earlier in the fall we had an astronaut speak to our kids and, if only for a brief moment, it allowed them to dream; similarly, your presentation has an allure and magic to it that took our students to a different place - a place that will lend itself to a more caring and environmentally conscious society. Thank you for this.”

— John Hamilton: Principal, Bliss Carmen Middle School, Fredericton, NB (Sable Island presentation)

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