MASC Young Authors & Illustrators Festival
Tuesday, April 8 — Wednesday, April 9, 2025
The MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Festival returns for TWO DAYS this spring! The festival for students in Grades 4 - 8 will take place on April 8th and 9th at the Canada Science and Technology Museum. Students in grades four to eight are invited to sign up for one or both days of the festival. If you have a passion for writing and art - this is the literary festival for you!
Check out our line-up of award-winning Canadian authors and illustrators coming to Ottawa for the 2025 festival. A big thank you to our event sponsor, Leacross Foundation, for making this amazing event possible.
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
If you have any questions, email us at mascyoungauthors@gmail.com
2025 Authors & Illustrators
Schedule of Events & Master Classes
Your festival day will run from 8:30am to 3:30pm, with a lunch break between your morning and afternoon sessions (lunch not provided). See below for a more detailed breakdown and master class descriptions!
8:30am: Arrival
9:00am-9:40am: Welcome, Meet the Authors, and a special performance
9:45am-11:45am: Master class Session #1
11:45am-12:30pm: Lunch & mini dance workshop
12:35pm-1:00pm: Author readings & prize draw
1:05pm-2:55pm: Master class Session #2
3:00pm-3:30pm: Book Fair, Author Signings, and Farewell
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Bring Your Stories to Life
With Kevin Sands - Grades 4 to 6
In this workshop, we'll learn how effective description can make your stories come alive. We'll discuss what makes for great description, how to choose the right words for your settings and characters, and the secret to making any writing better. Bring your imagination!
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Fear of the Blank Page
With Jeff Ross - Grades 6 to 8
One of the most difficult aspects of writing is knowing what happens next and getting it on the page in a way that does the initial idea justice. Working with the 'Story Circle', this workshop will help young writers understand the nature of story, and how to turn their ideas into full-fledged stories.
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Speechless: Storytelling with Images
With Thao Lam - Grades 4 to 6
In wordless picture books, illustrations are the foundation on which a story is built. The book must give the reader enough to tell the story, while leaving room for the reader’s own interpretation. In this master class, you will explore techniques to convey your story through facial expressions, body language, lighting, composition, colour and pacing. Under Thao’s guidance, you will begin working on your personal creation, and will leave with the start of your very own wordless storybook!
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Creating Compelling Comics
With Brian McLachlan - Grades 6 to 8
This master class begins with a jam-packed lesson on character design, with colour symbolism and shape theory. Then, with prompts to help generate story ideas, you will draw a first draft of a short comic. After lunch, you will have the opportunity to share your work and, with feedback from the teacher and fellow students, you will turn those first drafts into amazing second drafts!
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Poetry and Story Lab
With Rina Singh - Grades 4 to 6
In this master class, participants will explore how their own experiences and curiosity can inspire compelling stories and poems using lyrical language. Through writing exercises, short assignments, discussions, and critiquing, students will discover the joy of playing with language and refine their poetic voice. The sessions will focus on helping students write with passion about topics relevant to their lives. The workshop will conclude with student readings, showcasing their creative work.
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The Imagination Station
With Sarah Raughley - Grades 6 to 8
Sarah Raughley’s master class will introduce writers to the craft of writing, from creating characters to world-building. She’ll talk about the publishing industry from an author’s perspective and give students a chance to put some writing tips into practice through creative flash fiction writing exercises.
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