What I Did On My Summer Vacation
Reading
Among the excellent books I read: Fiction — Wild Dark Shore (Charlotte McConaghy), The Lion Women of Tehran (Marjan Kamali), The Spirit of Scatarie (Lesley Crewe), The Art of A Lie (Laura Shepherd-Robinson). Non-fiction — My Year in Fairyland: Grief, MAID and a Lifetime of Books (Sarah Ellis), The Reason I Jump: The Inner Life of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism Naoki Higashida). Poetry — The Time of the Great Singing (Elizabeth Philips).
Writing
Completed a profile of author Nan Forler for the upcoming issue of the CANSCAIP newsletter. Made notes on a novel I’m ready to pick up and work on again, having set it aside for a couple of years. Played a bit with feedback I got on a couple of poems. Had three poems accepted by The New Quarterly.
Music
Attended a Yassin and Sean Terrio barn concert at the home of the director of the choir I’m in. Two of the band’s members play for our choir concerts and the energy of their whole group playing together was fantastic.
Film and Friends Close to Home
Visited The Boathouse in Guelph twice and Bardo (I think) once (it was early in the summer and my calendar doesn’t say where we went). Also saw The Sheep Detectives, The Invite, and Peter Asher, Everywhere Man at The Bookshelf Cinema.
Family Time
At our cottage in northwestern Ontario. Especially wonderful to have that time with my daughter, also with relatives from Winnipeg and Ottawa — walking the paths, prepping and eating meals together, swimming, playing cards in the evening, working to maintain the structures, and doing general lazing about. So blessed we are to have this place to gather, surrounded by so much natural beauty, thank to my partner’s grandfather and the ongoing efforts of many.
Professional Connection & Development
Traveled to Ottawa for the 40th IBBY Congress (my second), along with 500+ others, from 60 different countries, many who were visiting Canada for the first time. Huge thanks to the IBBY-Canada volunteers who made such a terrific event happen. I learned so much, enjoyed meaningful (and some more casual) conversations with folks from 17 countries outside of Canada. Had loads of fun with Canadian friends old and new too.
What were the highlights of your summer?
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Kathy Stinson is the author of the classic Red Is Best, the award-winning The Man with the Violin, and the GG shortlisted The Rock and the Butterfly. Her wide range of titles includes picture books, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. She has enjoyed the privilege of meeting with her readers in every province and territory of Canada, in the United States, Britain, Liberia, and Korea. Currently president of CANSCAIP (the Canadian Society of Authors, Illustrators, and Performers), Kathy lives in a small town in southern Ontario.
