MASC Young Authors & Illustrators Festival

Tuesday, April 8 — Wednesday, April 9, 2025

On 8th and 9th April 2025, MASC proudly celebrated the 34th annual Young Authors and Illustrators Festival—a vibrant two-day gathering that welcomed 258 budding storytellers and artists from grades 4 to 8. Students from 69 schools across Ontario and Quebec—including public, private, and homeschool communities—came together to unlock the power of words and images, traveling from as far as London, Gatineau, Chelsea, Manotick, Kinburn, and beyond to be part of this unforgettable creative journey.

The festival offered a rare chance for young minds to engage directly with 10 outstanding Canadian artists across disciplines. From dynamic spoken word sessions with JustJamaal ThePoet and Apollo The Child to expressive dance with Kuljit Sodhi and Khendra Thompson, every moment pulsed with inspiration. Literary adventures were led by acclaimed authors and illustrators including Kevin Sands, Sarah Raughley, Jeff Ross, Brian McLachlan, Thao Lam, and Rina Singh—each guiding students through immersive, hands-on workshops that sparked imagination, sharpened skills, and nurtured storytelling confidence.

Thanks to the generous support of the Leacross Foundation and Copyright Access, this beloved festival continues to thrive—offering young creators the opportunity to learn, grow, and find their voices alongside some of Canada’s most inspiring talents.

We’re already dreaming big for 2026! Stay tuned to our website for exciting announcements this fall. Until then—keep imagining, keep creating, and keep telling your stories.

 

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

  • 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!

  • 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.

  • 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!

  • 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!

  • 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.

  • 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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What people are saying

Thank you for giving us a chance to meet these amazing authors. I learned a lot today and I think it really improved my creativity. Having real authors to guide us through everything was just an awesome experience. Thank you very much for hosting this event! I loved it!

— Participant

I have attended the festival for 3 years now and every year I leave with so much knowledge. I have written some of my best work from ideas I have had at this festival and I am eternally grateful for the tips and expertise that this festival has provided me.

— Participant

This experience today was definitely one that I will never forget. It was so much fun, and I learned so many new ways to write, and techniques to make my writing better. I learned so many new games. And the games aren’t just really fun, but can teach your mind to think in different ways.

— Participant

Thank you for this utterly amazing day!! I was overjoyed during every minute! The activities were simply divine!

— Participant

I love writing and this workshop really helped me learn strategies to warm up my brain when trying to write. …. Listening to all these incredible authors and illustrators talk about how much effort they put into their work really inspired me! Thank you so much!

— Participant

It was a very fun day to be able to come here with other students who all had a common interest. I really hope MASC festival keeps going as it was something I really enjoyed and hope other kids can participate in. It actually helped me in a way to get out of my comfort zone, it was really nice to see/talk to people that had a common interest.

— Participant

This festival was really fun! It is really good to meet writers like me and learn from people who have actually achieved their author dreams. I will definitely come back next year!

— Participant

I hope you understand how important you guys are. I know that so many kids had the time of their lives here.

— Participant

Thank you again for the absolute pleasure of being part of the MASC adventure this year. I loved it, meeting all of you who work so hard to bring the arts alive for talented young Canadians, and meeting Catherine, Tim, Adrienne, Kean, and Soyeon too. And of course, the young writers and artists just blew me away. I felt incredibly lucky to join you all! Congrats on a wonderful event. I had such a good time over the past two days. I'm exhilarated and exhausted, the good kind of exhaustion, the kind that suggests you've been part of something wonderful.

— Philippa Dowding

I just wanted to say thank you again so much for such a lovely couple of days! The event went off beautifully…….everything was just amazing! Once more thank you, it was such an honour to be a part of this. Bravo again, and well done!

— Adrienne Kress

Thank you for organizing the event and having me at the MASC again this year. I had a great time connecting with everyone whether they were kids, volunteers, organizers, writers/illustrators. With ice storms that just missed us and lovely sunny day, I think we were meant to be there, all together inspiring each other to shine.

— Soyeon Kim

Thank you so much for having me! It was a truly fantastic event, as always, and I came home inspired to write and work myself! Please pass along my thanks and sincere gratitude to everyone at MASC. The event ran so smoothly, and it was so much fun-- if you ever need me back for any future events, please don't hesitate to reach out!

— Kean Soo

Today has been one of the BEST days of my life! I have been going for 3 years and I know for sure that I'm going to have some great book ideas as soon as I get home!

— Participant

Thank you so much for this opportunity to express our creativity. I hope that the MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Festival continues for years after this and that my kids can come here one day.

— Participant

Thrilled to learn that my MYAI participant secured a publishing deal with Amazon!

— Amanda West Lewis, Author

Books have been an oasis for many people, especially over the past couple of years. Books provide us with the opportunity to use our imaginations, to think creatively, to explore different worlds, and to relate to others, both like and unlike us. Being able to meet with the artists behind these books is such a treat for young people craving that deeper connection.

— Faith Seltzer, Artistic Director, MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Festival

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