Larry Loyie is booking fall 2011 author visits / school tours

If you are interested in having award-winning Cree author Larry Loyie visit your school, please read on.

Larry and his touring partner Constance Brissenden are now booking school visits, talks, writing workshops and so on for the fall of 2011.

Larry's new book The Moon Speaks Cree, A Winter Adventure (Theytus) is now in the final editing stages. The illustrations by Heather D. Holmlund combined with Larry Loyie's beautiful text promise to make this a must-have illustrated family-reading book.

Being a children's book author has many perks ... from meeting wonderful students of all ages to travelling to new (sometimes remote) and beautiful places. The photo here was taken in Jasper on the way back from Bella Coola and Quesnel, BC.

This spring, Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden gave a total of 30 presentations in southern Alberta (Sundre, Olds and Delburne) and central British Columbia. The Delburne School visit was partially funded by the Young Alberta Book Society. Thank you YABS as well as the teachers and librarians who organized these visits. On this subject (because we are often asked), we charge $350 per half day and $700 per full day. We may require travel funding. We keep our travel expenses down and try to combine schools to make the visits cost-effective for all concerned. The price of gas is the biggest challege to touring these days.

Schools in Quesnel, Bella Coola and Hagensborg gave us the chance to talk about Larry Loyie's traditional Cree childhood, explain "what was residential school," share his residential school experience (six years in St Bernard Mission residential school, Grouard, Alberta) as introduced in As Long as the Rivers Flow and its sequel Goodbye Buffalo Bay), explain how war affected his family (in When the Spirits Dance, opening conversations on war and its effect today), some discussion of The Gathering Tree (HIV awareness and prevention), and give several writing workshops / classes (grades 2, 3-4, 6-7s, adult learners).

We were also privileged to give a public reading at Acwsalcta School in Bella Coola (thank you Beth Jay, Librarian), and teach a writing workshop at the Li'phaylch Learning Centre, Bella Coola (we really enjoyed the students' works here).

Subjects: When Larry and Constance tour this fall, they can talk about the following subjects:

-- Larry Loyie's new book The Moon Speaks Cree, A Winter Adventure (Theytus) -- what it was like to live a traditional Aboriginal childhood; the rhythms of Aboriginal seasons; how children learned; the importance of being good to animals (in the story, toboggan dogs); sibling dynamics; the emotional influence of family history on children; childhood adventures and using the imagination.

-- Another subject is "what was residential school." Larry Loyie is a balanced speaker who gives a true, compassionate overview of the residential experience as a residential school suvivor. It is difficult to get an accurate accounting from anyone who did not go to residential school. The talk includes images to bring the subject of residential school to visual life. Larry Loyie is a survivor of six years of residential school, has written two books and a play on the subject, and has given dozens of talks on the subject in school classrooms (with Constance Brissenden).

-- Other subjects include the effects of war, HIV awareness and prevention, what it is like bring an author and writing books, Aboriginal publishing. Larry and Constance can adapt their talks to school curriculum.

-- writing workshops are also possible

Your friends, Larry and Constance