Author Hacks and Apps

Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s writing or art has appeared in over 20 books for young people. She is the award-winning author and illustrator of I Want To Read ALL The Books, Where Are My Books?, Sam & Eva with Simon & Schuster. Her illustrations appear in books by Judy Blume and Michael Ian Black, among others. Debbie is on the SCBWI Advisory Council. She is currently working on art for I'm Busy, a new picture book written by Michael Ian Black, as well as middle grade book projects. Debbie lives with her husband in Toronto, Canada. 

Liana Tang is a teen writer recognized for her acclaimed YA novel, Stuck In Her Head, which won five awards, including a gold medal at the IPPY ceremony. She has served as a guest lecturer, professional screenwriter, and comic book writer. Her co-authored picture book, Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, will be published by Comicker Press in 2025. In her free time, she enjoys voice acting and playing video games.

Nic Brewer is a queer writer and editor from Toronto. She writes fiction, mostly; her first novel, Suture, was published with Book*Hug in Fall 2021. She is the co-founder of Frond, an online literary journal for prose by LGBTQI2SA writers, and formerly co-managed the micropress words(on)pages. She doesn’t look like her author photo, doesn’t have an MFA, and really wants to hear about what you love most in the world. She lives in Kitchener with her wife and their dog.

Photo: Becca Lemire Photography.

Angel Di Zhang was born in northeast China, and raised in China, England, Canada, and the United States. She was educated in the joint BA-MIA program at Columbia University, and is a painter and an internationally exhibited fine art photographer. Her debut novel, The Light of Eternal Spring, was published with Random House Canada in 2023. She is the founder and host of the Angel Reading Series which showcases authors who have a recent or forthcoming book. Angel lives in a secret garden floating above Toronto.

Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail is a multi-passionate and award-winning author, coach, editor, and consultant. She's probably best known for her nonfiction picture books Alis the Aviator and Freddie the Flyer (Tundra Books) and In This Together: Fifteen Stories of Truth and Reconciliation, which she edited. She’s currently working on memoir, book club fiction, and two new historical kidlit projects for Nimbus and Acorn. She loves getting lost in research, travelling, and going on adventures with her little family. It makes it all the sweeter when she's reading fireside (or seaside) in her Nova Scotia/Mi'kma'ki home.