I love telling stories to kids almost as much as I love creating stories for them to read. It's one of the pleasures of my life to watch them gradually be drawn in and enthralled by tales of an explorer lost in the Arctic or a Roman Legionary far from home in the dark, threatening forests of Germany. My characters are kids, just like my audience, except they lived long ago and had to deal with situations kids today can only imagine. Audiences leave my presentations excited about history and convinced that books are the way to discover more about it.

My presentation style is flexible and I move seamlessly between any of my more than thirty books that are appropriate to the topic in hand. I have presented to tens of thousands of kids across Canada over the past twenty years and am comfortable in front of audiences of all sizes from grade 4 to 12. I can present history for Socials and History classes, writing for English classes and promote an enthusiasm for reading to almost anyone.

Here are a few examples of topics I can cover:

History—First and Second World Wars, American Civil War, Spanish Civil War, Imperialism and the Indian Mutiny, the Roman Empire, the Crusades and Tudor England.

Explorers and characters from Canadian history—Henry Hudson, Sir John Franklin, John Rae, Norman Bethune, Albert 'Ginger' Goodwin, and Robert Bylot.

Younger grades (4 to 5)—Dinosaurs, Pioneers.

Writing—Researching stories, inspiration, plot development, descriptive writing and creative non-fiction.

Most of these topics can be tailored to a variety of grades. Presentations are between 50 and 70 minutes and can be arranged to fit school timetables. I find that fifty to sixty is a good number for presentations (except workshops where ten to twelve works best), but again, this is flexible. A half day is two presentations and a full day four. These can be split between nearby schools. Rates are based on $250 per presentation, but expenses are in addition. I give discounts for multiple presentations.

What other say.

"John’s stories and calm assurance in describing the research and writing process held student and staff rapt. As a lead in to our Intermediate division history projects, his presentation was perfect." — Alexandra McKnight, Kedron School (Oshawa, ON)

"John is particularly skilled at engaging the audience from the very beginning and keeping them spell-bound for the entire reading. His passion for, and vast knowledge of history, captures even the most reluctant student as he brings the past to life." Linda Irvine, Dover Bay Secondary School (Nanaimo, BC)

"…fascinating, amazing, great, awesome, were some of the qualifiers for your presence here." Willowdale Middle School (ON)

"Your books have flown off our shelves since your visit." Oshawa Central CI (ON)