Booktopia: In Conversation with Kate DiCamillo [VIRTUAL]

Join us for a conversation with beloved storyteller, Kate DiCamillo! Hear about the inspiration behind some of her beloved, classic books, get writing tips from a two-time Newbery Award winner, and receive reflections on her latest novel for young readers, The Beatryce Prophecy. An instant New York Times bestseller, The Beatryce Prophecy stars one of the best animal characters ever written, Answelica the goat!

All are welcome.

Ask Kate

Have a question for Kate? We want to hear from you! Send it in advance to youth@westvanlibrary.ca or email us during the live discussion (we will have a librarian monitoring email and passing questions along to Patricia).

Giveaway

Kate has generously donated some copies of The Beatryce Prophecy to us for give away.  To enter, send your question for Kate to youth@westvanlibrary.ca

Winners must be able to pick up their prize at the West Vancouver Memorial Library.  We can’t mail any prizes.

About Kate

KATE DiCAMILLO’s writing journey has been a truly remarkable one. She grew up in Florida and moved to Minnesota in her twenties, when homesickness and a bitter winter led her to write Because of Winn-Dixie, her first published novel, which became a runaway bestseller and snapped up a Newbery Honor. ­The Tiger Rising, her second novel, was also set in Florida and went on to become a National Book Award Finalist. Since then, the best-selling author has explored settings as varied as a medieval castle and a magician’s theater while continuing to enjoy great success, winning two Newbery Medals, and being named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She now has over 37 million books in print worldwide.

Kate DiCamillo’s books’ themes of hope and belief amid impossible circumstances and their messages of shared humanity and connectedness have resonated with readers of all ages around the world. In her instant #1 New York Times bestseller ­The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, a haughty china rabbit undergoes a profound transformation after finding himself face down on the ocean floor, lost and waiting to be found. ­The Tale of Despereaux, the Newbery Medal–winning novel that later inspired an animated adventure from Universal Pictures, stars a tiny mouse with exceptionally large ears who is driven by love to become an unlikely hero. ­The Magician’s Elephant, an acclaimed and exquisitely paced fable, dares to ask the question What if? And Kate DiCamillo’s second Newbery Medal winner, Flora & Ulysses, was released in 2013 to great acclaim, garnering five starred reviews and an instant spot on the New York Times bestseller list. In 2021, it was released as an original movie on Disney+. Her most recent trilogy of novels, starring three best friends in the world of Raymie Nightingale, all achieved national bestseller list status and are positioned to become coming-of-age classics for decades to come.

Her latest novel The Beatryce Prophecy, about a girl who is destined to unseat a king, was an instant #1 national bestseller and named a best book of the year by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Publishers Weekly. Born in Philadelphia but raised in the South, Kate DiCamillo now lives in Minneapolis.

Booktopia Programming

In Conversation with Kate DiCamillo is part of Booktopia, West Vancouver’s Literary Arts Festival for young people.

• Create a Comic: Animal Stories Edition [VIRTUAL] | February 24, 4 – 4:45 p.m. | Ages 7 – 12
• Fairy Tale Escape Room [VIRTUAL] | February 26, 2 – 2:45 p.m. | Ages 9 – 12
• Build a Castle with CoSpaces [VIRTUAL] | February 26, 4- 4:45 p.m. | Ages 9 – 12
• Kate DiCamillo Trivia [VIRTUAL] | March 1, 4- 4:45 p.m. | Ages 9 – 12
• Amazing Animals: Coding with Scratch [VIRTUAL] | March 2, 4- 4:45 p.m. | Ages 9 – 12

Booktopia is a partnership between the West Vancouver Memorial Library Foundation and West Vancouver Schools.