Ann Towell Archives - Tundra Book Group

June 4, 2010June 4, 2010

A roundup of interviews with…

Once again, the wonderful team at Open Book: Toronto interviewed some of our Spring 2010 authors and illustrators. Many thanks to Clelia and Amy for their hard work! Click on the links below to read Open Book: Toronto’s interviews with:

Ann Love and Jane Drake – Talking Tails: The Incredible Connection Between People and Their Pets
Ann Towell – Grease Town
Ann Villeneuve – The Red Scarf
Beverley Abramson – Off We Go!
Heather Hartt-Sussman – Nana’s Getting Married
Irene N. Watts – No Moon
J. Torres – Alison Dare
Jane Collins-Philippe and Laura Beingessner – Sail Away With Me
Laura Robinson – Cyclist BikeList: The Book for Every Rider
Luc Melanson – Topsy-Turvy Town
Marla Stewart Konrad – Grand and I Like to Play
Marthe Jocelyn – Folly
Maxwell Newhouse – The Weber Street Wonder Work Crew
Richard Scrimger – Me & Death: An Afterlife Adventure
Rona Arato – Mrs. Kaputnik’s Pool Hall and Matzo Ball Emporium
Shane Peacock – The Secret Fiend

You can take a look at the Fall 2009 Ten Question interviews here. Stay tuned for interviews from our Fall 2010 authors and illustrators!

March 9, 2010

Grease Town Book Launch

Ann Towell sent in a photo from her book launch last Saturday!

The photo was taken by Larry Towell/Magnum and posted with permission from the author.

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate the launch of Grease Town with Ann Towell. Thank you once again to Connie Bell and to the wonderful staff at the Oil Museum of Canada for making the event a success!

February 22, 2010May 20, 2010

Launch of: Grease Town

You are invited to celebrate the launch of Ann Towell’s latest novel, Grease Town.

Launch of Grease Town
Date: Saturday, March 6th, 2010
Time: 1:00pm
Place: Oil Museum of Canada
Address: 2423 Kelly Road
Oil Springs, ON N0N 1P0 (map)
Telephone: 519-834-2840

Do you want to know more about the book? Here are some recent interviews with Ann Towell:

Ten Questions with Ann Towell on Open Book Toronto
Historic race riot inspires new novel in The Sarnia Observer
Novel captures tragedy of Oil Springs race riot in The Windsor Star
Book based on 1863 race riot in Oil Springs in Petrolia Topic
Race riot in Oil Springs basis for fiction in The London Free Press
Grease Town provocative reading for youth in The Chatham Daily News

January 28, 2010January 15, 2010

Black History Month

February is Black History Month, visit your local bookstore or library to learn more. We also compiled our reading recommendations for you (click on the covers for more information):

Grease Town
By Ann Towell
ISBN 978-0-88776-983-2
Fiction
Available on February 9, 2010
A heartbreaking history of prejudice, family ties, and the loss of innocence. The novel is based on a race riot that occurred in Oil Springs, Ontario on March 20, 1863.

Afrika
By Colleen Craig
ISBN 978-0-88776-807-1
Fiction
~ Short-listed for the 2009 IODE (National Chapter) Violet Downey Book Award
~ Selected for the Best Book for Kids and Teens 2009 list, presented by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre

Out of Slavery: The Journey to Amazing Grace
By Linda Granfield
Illustrated by Janet Wilson
ISBN 978-0-88776-915-3
Non-Fiction
~ Selected as a Best Book (Non-fiction) by Quill & Quire
“…is beautifully written, evocative, and heart-wrenching” – School Library Journal

I Came as a Stranger: The Underground Railroad
By Bryan Prince
ISBN 978-0-88776-667-1
Non-Fiction
~ Honor Book for the Society of School Librarians International’s Best Book Award – Social Studies
~ Winner of 2005 Children’s Nautilus Book Awards (Non-fiction)

Season of Rage: Hugh Burnett and the Struggle for Civil Rights
By John Cooper
ISBN 978-0-88776-700-5
Non-Fiction
“…well written and compelling.” – VOYA
“What is really a vignette of events in one small town results in a much broader view of the attitudes of an entire country. An eye-opening story.” – School Library Journal

Rapid Ray: The Story of Ray Lewis
By John Cooper
ISBN 978-0-88776-612-1
Non-Fiction
“…This well-written and engaging biography of the first Canadian-born black athlete to join a Canadian Olympic track-and-field team…” – School Library Journal

December 16, 2009December 3, 2009

Waiting On Wednesday 4

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This event spotlights upcoming releases that we are anticipating.

In our case, we are eagerly waiting for the advance copies of next season’s titles to arrive!

This week’s pre-publication “can’t-wait-to-hold-and-read” selection is:

Grease Town
By Ann Towell
Publication Date: February 9, 2010

Just in time for Black History Month in February.

A heartbreaking history of prejudice, family ties, and the loss of innocence.When twelve-year-old Titus Sullivan decides to run away to join his Uncle Amos and older brother, Lem, he finds an alien and exciting world in Oil Springs, the first Canadian oil boomtown of the 19th century.

The Enniskillen swamp is slick with oil, and it takes enterprising folk to plumb its depths. The adventurers who work there are a tough lot of individuals. In this hard world, Titus becomes friends with a young black boy, the child of slaves who came to Canada on the Underground Railroad. When tragedy strikes in the form of a race riot, Titus’s loyalties are tested as he struggles to deal with the terrible fallout.

Though the characters are fictitious, the novel is based on a race riot that occurred in Oil Springs, Ontario, on March 20, 1863. Grease Town is historical fiction at its finest.

What are you “waiting on?”

Want to participate? Grab the logo from Breaking the Spine, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave a link in the comments section on Jill’s blog!