Richmond Hill author Rishma Govani has been generating a lot of positive buzz for her world-travelling children’s book Sushi & Samosas: A Trip of Tasty Transformations! 🍣
Author of Immigration, Race and Survival Cecily Alexander was featured in The Caribbean Camera!
This memoir is a collection of many journals she has kept over the years. She uses journalling as a way of working through feelings and emotions and of learning from her experiences. She has had a career as a dietitian for over forty years. Her career has included academic writing, and she has one previous book publication: a book on nutrition and weight loss called “Just Eat Less: Easier said than done.” She has a master’s in business administration specializing in organizational behaviour in addition to her nutrition degree from the University of Guelph. She has taught at both the university and college levels. She lives in Southern Ontario.
Blood and Silver won its second major award this year, taking home top honors for the Young Adult category at the 2021 New York Book Festival! Vali Benson previously won first place in two categories at the San Francisco Book Festival in the same year.
Carole Aldred’s I Call My Grandma Gigi, a book about celebrating the special relationship between grandmothers and grandchildren, received the Canada Book Award.
Our authors have been making headlines all month long! From winning awards to securing interviews, to generating reviews – our authors are getting their names out there! Great work, everyone!
Kathleen Boucher’s Nine Ways to Empower Tweens #Lifeskills does it again! She is a finalist in the Young Adult Non-Fiction Category of the 2021 International Book Awards sponsored by the American Book Fest!
Now that the world is opening up to a new normal, our authors are diving back into the world of author events. This past month, we’ve seen some fantastic meet-and-greets, readings, and even a cross-country launch! We’re so happy and proud to see our Tellwell authors getting themselves out there to promote their books!
Paula Gregory – Dream High As The Sky
Mississippi-based children’s author Paula McClellan Gregory finished off the month with an adorable book launch at the Gumtree Bookstore to promote her inspiring children’s book Dream High As the Sky. Paula’s book launch included a fun read-along, a discussion about the children’s dreams, colouring time, snacks, exclusive bookmarks to go with signed copies of the picture book, and even a giveaway for a Dream High As They Sky t-shirt!
Dream High As They Sky follows little Zach (based on Paula’s grandson) as he discovers life’s possibilities and ways of achieving his dream of flying like the birds high in the sky. This high-flying children’s book encourages your little ones to follow their dreams. After all, Zach can tell you, “I dreamed as high as the sky, and my dreams came true.”
We love seeing our Tellwell authors crushing it! From top award wins, to featured interviews, to rave reviews – we’re offering a huge congratulations to our authors for these terrific accomplishments!
AWARDS
Madalsa and Zuivere’s intergenerational poetry collection Get Lost Dirty Covid-19! won the IndieReader Discovery Award for Best Poetry Book! Described by IndieReader as engaging, emotive and enormously relevant, this poetry collection comes from a mother-daughter duo, providing the perspective of two different generations on this world-changing subject.
The book features nine COVID-19 themes with heart-touching poems relating to the isolation and pain we all felt in early 2020, to the bright and optimistic hope we feel now as we enter the new, vaccinated world.
Tellwell authors, do you ever rest? So many of you have accomplished so much over this last month! We’ve seen interviews, online book readings, reviews, awards, and book launches. You continue to impress and surprise us!
Take a minute to sit back and relax so we can celebrate each of you!
REVIEWS
We’re especially excited to celebrate this first review. Tellwell’s own Jennifer Chapin received a terrific 4-star rating from IndieReader for her book, The Poet and The Angel.
You may have connected with Jennifer when you started your self-publishing journey with Tellwell. She’s been with our team as a publishing consultant since nearly the beginning! We love seeing reviewers like IndieReader recognize her talent as a writer.
“THE POET AND THE ANGEL is a moving exploration of the life and death of Frederico Garcia Lorca that offers historical insight and cultural relevance. While the plot is spare, the author’s language is enchanting.
“Chapin’s lyrical language and talent for crafting evocative imagery consistently elevate this book beyond typical historical fantasy. For example, Angelina is introduced with a poetic description: She twirled round and round like a spinning top, her hair an aureole of red and gold. Her skirt swirled around her in fuchsia disarray, like the petals of a flower opening its arms to the sun on a warm summer day.” – Lisa Butts for IndieReader.
Click here to read the full review for The Poet and The Angel.
The Hollywood Book Review had nothing but great things to say about Monique Gliozzi’s new thrill-ride of a book, Facets of the Past.
“Facets of the Past: No Dark Deed Goes Unpunished is undoubtedly a successful work. Very quickly, the book puts you on your toes. It starts to become a real page-turner all without the standard cheap elements designed to move forward a plot. It truly does feel like a fully realized world that you can get lost in and the characters are memorable. I loved how the author thrust us into the life of the antagonist and how in the plot, he was slowly becoming a victim of the unknown. ” – Lily Amanda for Hollywood Book Review.
First time author Karen Bailey recently published Obsidian Mine. The Prairies Book Review had nothing but great things to say about the first book in Karen’s new urban fantasy trilogy, calling it, “Hypnotic, bold, and deeply seductive…“
Karen has made quite the literary debut! Here at Tellwell we already can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.
Each month, we’re always excited to highlight the successes of our authors! From top award nominations, to featured interviews, to rave reviews – we’re offering a huge congratulations to our authors for these terrific accomplishments!
AWARDS
Dr. Chelinay Gate, author of Lucky-Child: The Secret, just made it to the Prime Minister’s Book Club in Australia. A huge honor!
This compelling coming-of-age tale is the story of Lucy. Answering her dying great-grandmother’s call, Lucy is lured into the dark red heart of Australia’s Great Sandy Desert. Indigenous mother tongues Mangala and Wajarri exquisitely mimic the landscapes and evoke a feeling of timelessness that transports Lucy and the all-female search party into a Dreamtime World, where she learns to respect the Lore, Country and herself. “Like the striking of an ancient gong, I heard my name, Lucy Lucky-Child.”
Lucky-Child: The Secret also won first place in the Fiction category for the 2020 Next Generation Indie Books Awards! The book also won the grand prize in the First Novel category, and was a finalist in the Action/Adventure Category and Regional Category.
This month, as we celebrate Women’s History Month, we want to celebrate the successes of some of the incredibly talented women published with Tellwell!
These fabulous women have risen up and used their imagination, voice and experience to create something timeless. Each of our featured authors are celebrating a unique success in their journey as an author.
From the kind generosity of young author Shreya Gupta, to some local spotlights for authors Jennifer Chapin, Gabriella Kikwaki, and Dr. Greta Archbold! Back around to the highly acclaimed work of Darice Cairns, Ellie Beals, and Maria Depenweiller.
We hope you check out the stories from some of Tellwell’s women creators.
Shreya Gupta donated all the the proceeds made in the month of February from the sales of her book, Flamingo Feet, to #PinkShirtDay! What is Pink Shirt Day? Pink Shirt Day is an Anti-Bullying Day when people wear a pink shirt to symbolize a stand against bullying.
Shreya’s involvement in Pink Shirt Day had her featured on Global News, 980 CKNW radio, Breakfast Television with Bevo Brown, and on the Pink Shirt Foundation website! Shreya, we celebrate your continued success and generosity. You go girl!
Check out Shreya’s interview with Breakfast Television with Devo Brown by clicking here!
Shreya is also the recipient of the 2021 International Elite Women’s Global Award (youth category). The award recognizes outstanding women & young girls who have demonstrated innovation & leadership. Congratulations Shreya!
Gabriella is another young Tellwell author who we are excited to celebrate! Gabriella, and her parents Angel & Olivier, joined Mike Stubbs on London Live 980CMFL to discuss her bilingual juvenile chapter book A Link Between Two Worlds / Un Lien Entre Deux Mondes: Volume 1 & 2.
Check out Gabriella’s interview with Mike Stubbs by clicking here!
It’s Black History Month, a time to celebrate the contributions that Black people have made to history, society, and culture. We’ve had the privilege of working with so many talented Black authors on their self-publishing journey, and we want to share a few of their unique stories with you!
From National Hero and first Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds, to eight-year-old author Adetola Babatunde who wrote her first children’s book to combat Covid boredom, to motivational speaker, coach and consultant Anthony Sanni, we hope you check out the stories from some of Tellwell’s Black creators.
Kyra’s BIG Appetite is a humorous story written in a playful rhyme scheme. Kyra is a rambunctious child with a sweet tooth she can’t seem to control. She has an unhealthy diet consisting mostly of cookies, ice cream, and cake. Although Kyra’s mother warns her that unhealthy eating will catch up to her, she does not listen. Kyra now faces the responsibility of making a decision about her eating habits. What will she decide?
Tequis McGann, a GTA native currently residing in Toronto, Ontario, graduated from McMaster University in 2015 with an Honours Bachelor’s degree in English. In 2018, Tequis returned to school to pursue an interest in learning American Sign Language, and in 2019 she graduated from George Brown College with an ASL and Deaf Studies certificate. A passionate writer and poet, Tequis tells stories inspired by real experiences and people. Through her extensive career in the social service industry focusing on mental health, seniors, at-risk youth, and children, Tequis has a plethora of experience working with ethnic and culturally diverse people. Her love and fascination for the difference that people bring to their communities, motivate her to detail these idiosyncratic encounters through storytelling.
