mail	Vancouver, BC
web	www.tanyalloydkyi.com

Biography

Tanya Lloyd Kyi grew up in Creston, B.C. She began her writing career as a high school poet, producing pages and pages of work that her mother loved and that her best friend religiously archived (possibly for a future blackmailing scheme).

Tanya enrolled in creative writing at the University of Victoria, intending to specialize in poetry. She soon found herself out of place among talented but pale people dressed all in black, who seemed to exist entirely on coffee. She elected to specialize in non-fiction instead. After completing her degree, she worked as a graphic designer for several years before deciding to write full-time.

She now lives in Vancouver with her husband, Min, who claims to be the world’s only Burmese occupational therapist. They have a seven-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son.

Book types: juvenile fiction, juvenile nonfiction, YA fiction, YA nonfiction

Guest speaker/presentation information

On occasion, when the moon is in Taurus and forms a trine aspect to Pluto (or something like that), Tanya can be convinced to leave her keyboard and give a presentation to real, live human beings. Usually, such a presentation takes one of the following forms:

How to be an Astronaut
Designed for small to large groups of middle-grade students, this is a fast-paced presentation with lots of audience participation. First, we’ll talk about “What you want to be when you grow up,” and why great-aunts and grandmas ask such annoying questions. Then, drawing from 50 Poisonous Questions, 50 Burning Questions, Canadian Girls Who Rocked the World, and Canadian Boys Who Rocked the World, we’ll talk about people who overcame obstacles, pursued their dreams, and achieved amazing things. Finally, we’ll look at the tips we can take from these over-achievers, and the ways we might work toward becoming writers, teachers, scientists… or astronauts.

How Non-Fiction Can Change the World
Ideal for small groups of middle-grade or high school students, this workshop will show kids the value of creative non-fiction, and inspire them to write their own. We’ll discuss the use of storytelling and narrative techniques in the non-fiction realm; ways to make facts fabulous though powerful word choices, images, and attention-grabbers; and how to weave our personal stories into information-based writing. The workshop includes lots of activities, idea-sharing, and participation.

Inspiration 101
How do people get inspired to pursue big dreams? How do we inspire others? And… just maybe… how can we inspire ourselves to write? This is the grown-up version of “How to be an Astronaut,” above. It’s designed for older students or adults, and offers practical advice on how to gather ideas, hone skills, and try new things. Other topics include: whether it’s better to be a Starbucks barista than a writer; how to embrace your inner suckiness; and new uses for eavesdropping.

Presentation geographic range: Vancouver, Coast, Lower Mainland

Presentation audience age groups: grades 4-6, grades 7-8, high school, college/university/adult

Published work

The Low-Down on Blue Jeans (Middle-grade non-fiction, Annick, 2011)
50 Underwear Questions (Middle-grade non-fiction, Annick, 2011)
50 Poisonous Questions (Middle-grade non-fiction, Annick, 2011)
50 Burning Questions (Middle-grade non-fiction, Annick, 2010)
Burn: The Life Story of Fire (Young adult non-fiction, Annick, 2007)
Canadian Boys Who Rocked the World (Middle-grade non-fiction, Whitecap, 2007)
True Stories from the Edge: Rescues! (Young adult non-fiction, Annick, 2006)
Jared Lester: Fifth Grade Jester (Chapter book, Annick, 2006)
The Blue Jean Book (Young adult non-fiction, Annick, 2005)
True Stories from the Edge: Fires! (Young adult non-fiction, Annick, 2004)
My Time as Caz Hazard (Young adult fiction, Orca, 2004)
The Crystal Connection (Junior fiction, Whitecap, 2003)
Truth (Young adult fiction, Orca, 2003)
Canadian Girls Who Rocked the World (Middle-grade non-fiction, Whitecap, 2001)

Awards & recognition

Canadian Boys Who Rocked the World was shortlisted for the Silver Birch 2009 Award.

The Blue Jean Book won the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize and was shortlisted for the 2007 Red Maple Award.

Truth was shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award for Canadian crime writing and the Golden Oak Award for adult literacy.