THE SMALL PRINT TORONTO STORY
“A new literary series aimed at kids and teens, [that] is set to break the book-talk mould."
- Sarah Barmak, The Toronto Star
How do stories work? Small Print Toronto runs writing workshops and interactive events, designed to help young people develop their own responses to this perennial literary riddle. Our programming is tailored towards curious minds between the ages of two and seventeen. Overall, Small Print Toronto cultivates a dialogue between professional writers and their primary audiences.
Our Tot Studio program encourages readers between two and eight years old to participate in the creative process. It also serves as a public forum for children’s authors and illustrators who want to forego the routine of traditional ‘story-time’ and develop a more creative, performative way of bringing their tales to life. Magic tricks, drawing demonstrations, short plays and sing-alongs are just the tip of the iceberg. Every show culminates with a group arts and crafts project.
Notable amongst the recent events in the Tot Studio are Winnie-the-Pooh’s Homecoming Party, featuring the musical stylings of Don Kerr & The Heffalumps, and the second annual Totsapalooza: The Space Age Rodeo, which drew over 600 intergalactic adventurers, tall and small alike, to Revival Bar.
The Volume One Project is a workshop series for scribes between the ages of eight and twelve. Project director Natalie Kertes ran literary workshops for young people with renowned author Roddy Doyle at Fighting Words Dublin. Kertes and Chris Reed have been developing an indigenous variation on Doyle’s group-writing exercises with a stellar group of local writers, illustrators and storytellers. Every session gives young people a chance to tell their own stories and leave with their own books.
Highlights of the ongoing Volume One Project include “Cracking The Case with Shane Peacock”, where kids composed the ending to a murder-mystery scenario based on clues they unearthed during a scavenger hunt; and A Toronto Alphabet, a three-month writing and photography project with Luminato and the students of Nelson Mandela Park and Queen Victoria Public Schools, that culminated in a book launch featuring illustrator Evan Munday and none other than Roddy Doyle.
Teen Beat is a program where YA authors get a candid and creative response to their latest work directly from their primary audience. The format will vary, depending on the concerns of an individual text. Expect everything - from a thoughtful group discussion to a rollicking cabaret, featuring professional writers sharing the stage with scribes between thirteen and seventeen years old.
Recent Teen Beat shows have featured Emily Pohl-Weary and Lesley Cowan talking about writing and working with at-risk youth, Ibi Kaslik and Susan Juby discussing overcoming addiction, and “Doing It In Public”, a street art chalk drawing contest and panel discussion moderated by Matt Blackett, Editor of Spacing magazine, to celebrate the release of Watch This Space by Hadley Dyer and Marc Ngui.
Visit www.smallprinttoronto.org and join the Small Print Facebook Group.
Contact for Media / Info: Chris Reed, chris@smallprinttoronto.org
SMALL PRINTERS
Artistic Director: Chris Reed
Volume One Director: Natalie Kertes
Musical Director: Don Kerr
Teen Beat Workshop Director: Ibi Kaslik
Teen Beat Workshop Instructors: Emily Pohl-Weary and Natalie Zina Walschots
Illustrator & Graphic Designer: Walker Ballantyne-Hill
Web Designer & Webmaster: Derek Ma
Program Facilitator: Vanessa Hansen
Board of Advisors: Vicki Bell (Editor, The Little Paper), Rebecca Brown (Creative Director, Bunch Family), Susan Kernohan (Toronto Public Library) Wendy O’Brien-Ewan (Professor, Humber School of Arts & Sciences), and Emily Pohl-Weary (Director, Parkdale Street Writers)
"A person's a person, no matter how small".
- Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who
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