WordPlay – For children aged 0 to 100!

WordPlay, a dedicated children’s literary festival, occurs Saturday, July 6, 2024 outside in the Remembrance Gardens of the River John Legion. It’s a morning of magical storytelling and sharing by children’s authors and illustrators.

WordPlay 2024 will include children’s authors Lorna Schultz Nicholson and Karl Subban.
Watch this space for more announcements, and keep an eye on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/readbythesea, and our Twitter feed, @RJreadbythesea.

Lorna Schultz Nicholson

Growing up in St. Catharine’s, Ontario, and as a child, Lorna Schultz Nicholson loved to read and write. But her early career path took her to the fields of athletics, recreation, and media. As a compliment to her syndicated radio show in Ottawa, she started writing an anecdotal column on the perils of raising children. By this time, she and her husband Bob had three beautiful children (Mandi, Marijean and Grant). And because of Bob’s job with Hockey Canada they moved to Calgary, Alberta, where she did a brief stint at writing magazine articles and a sports column as well as a brief stint as a community events reporter for a local radio station. But Lorna really wanted to write books and be at home with her children so she quit all her part-time work and dedicated her time to raising her children and writing. Today, she is an award-winning author and has published children’s picture books, middle grade fiction, YA fiction and hockey non-fiction. Her books have also been nominated for many different awards and are often on the CBC’s Best Books for Kids and Teens list. Lorna loves travelling and presents at libraries and schools all over North America to inspire children and teens to love reading and writing. Lorna lives in Edmonton in the winter and Penticton in the summer with her husband and quirky dog she rescued from Mexico.

Karl Subban

Karl Subban is best known for being hockey dad to three NHL players – P.K., Malcolm and Jordan. He has been a coach, a teacher, a principal and a parent for more than thirty years. He is also the author of the instant national bestseller How We Did It: The Subban Plan for Success in Hockey, School and Life, a must-read account of one of the sport's most fascinating families, and also of the children’s book, The Hockey Skates, a funny picture book about waiting for a pair of skates, which was inspired by his son, P.K. Hailing from Jamaica, Subban didn't play hockey until he moved to Ontario, Canada as a child. He says when the kids living on his street invited him to play street hockey it marked a turning point in his life and helped him fit in. “It was my love for sports that helped me to discover that bright light inside me, my potential. When you believe in something, it makes dreams possible — especially when you do the work.” In addition to being an author, Subban can add motivational speaker and grandfather to his list of successes. “Success is success when you use it to help others to be successful. I want to continue to use our story to inspire others,” he says.

Wild Willie

Eleven-year-old Wild Willie knows the importance of reading and sharing his love of books with his YouTube channel. Discover new favourites – and remember old ones – with a focus on Canadian authors, especially Atlantic writers as Wild Willie interviews them on location throughout Nova Scotia. With reviews, readings and interviews with well-known and emerging authors, Wild Willie celebrates literacy in a big way!

Visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC059BR1wnLzmeUo5XX9qoxg for his Dan Gutman interview; and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adNxMYoZusk for Willie’s review of a book set near River John, home of Read by the Sea.

“Read by the Sea offers a gorgeous location, a cadre of dedicated volunteers, and a passionate audience of readers. There is something for everyone. If you get a chance, go!”

Jessica Scott Kerrin, author