Author. Editor. Book Coach.
Suzy is an engaging speaker and Bestselling Author of The Fountain Series (The Fountain, The West Woods, Wall of Wishes). This fantastical series has received three Aurora Nominations for Best Young Adult Novel. She is represented by Naomi Davis of Bookends Literary Agency.
Suzy specializes in breaking down complex writing concepts for newer writers into manageable steps, to get the book idea exploding in their minds onto the page in a way that will make readers take notice.
School visits and presentations are Suzy’s favourite part of being an author. She is a public speaker, writing teacher, and book coach who brings energy and excitement about the writing process to classrooms. Her enthusiasm for everything literary is infectious and will have your students digging deep to explore their own experiences, emotions, and writing talent.
Suzy lives in Calgary with her husband and three children and is an involved community member. She is the founder of the Inspired Writing Community, a Resident Writing Coach for Writers Helping Writers, a teacher at Alexandra Writing Centre Society, a touring member of the Young Alberta Book Society (YABS), and a Program Manager for When Words Collide (WWC), a festival for readers and writers. She is proud to partner with Kids Help Phone Canada, bringing their messaging into classrooms across the country. Suzy is a regular speaker at Young Writers’ Conferences across Alberta, including Calgary (CBE), Red Deer, and Foothills, as well as a presenter and exhibitor at Calgary and Edmonton Expos (ComicCon).
www.suzyvadori.com
Suzy is available for in-person sessions in 2024-25. She is not offering virtual sessions at this time.
In-Person Fees
Half Day (2x 60 minute presentations) $450 plus GST
Full Day (4x 60 minute presentations): $750 plus GST
Student Limits:
Presentations – 200 max
Workshops – 30 max
Presentations
Suzy is an experienced and engaging public speaker comfortable in front of any size audience. Her enthusiasm and storytelling keeps students engaged in learning about all things writing. She speaks on themes of Writing and Editing, as well as Literacy, Friendship Dynamics, and Building Relationships.
Her presentations have been developed with teachers and students in dozens of classrooms. Some of her most popular include:
Where do Stories Come From? (Grade K-3)
Ever wonder where stories come from? From movies to games to books, they all start with stories that were written by someone. Anything you can imagine can become a story. Suzy Vadori tells stories and introduces elements of story, including characters, problems, and solutions.
How Literacy Opens Doors (7-12)
Reading and writing aren’t just skills that help you get ahead in the classroom. Having strong communication skills can give you an advantage no matter what path in life you choose. Former business executive turned award-winning author Suzy Vadori shares stories from her varied career path where Reading, Writing, and even Math helped her land opportunities around the world, and eventually create the job of her dreams.
Making Creative Writing Feel Real (Grades 4-12)
A writer’s job is to make readers FEEL. If we’ve done that, we’ve done our jobs. Suzy Vadori explores writing strategies with students such as Emotion, Reactions, Mood, Setting and Dialogue and demonstrates how they can be used to move stories forward. This can be done as a presentation or workshop, where students practice writing short scenes that convey emotion. This presentation aligns with both English Language Arts and Health curriculum.
Creating Worlds with Magic (Grades 4-12)
Love reading about magic? Suzy Vadori talks about how writers create complete magic systems for their stories and discusses magic systems in popular series. Students create their own set of magic system rules and practice writing in this newly created world. This workshop ties in with the Social Studies curriculum.
Painting Pictures with the Written Word (Grades 4-12)
Reading can paint pictures in our minds – fantastic, vivid scenes that make us feel like we’re really there. In this exciting presentation, Suzy Vadori brings in elements of the world around us and shows how writers can describe everything they imagine in the most interesting way possible.
The Magic of Following Your Dreams (Grades 10-12)
If you could be anywhere right now, doing anything at all, where would you be? In this fun, interactive workshop, students have the opportunity to explore their own future dreams using fiction. They identify people who might help them achieve their goals, challenges they may face, and how they can set themselves up for success, creating the “plot” for their life. This workshop ties in with Health and/or Career and Life Management.
Presentations generally run 50 – 60 minutes but can be tailored to fit the needs of the school.
Bibliography
Wall of Wishes Old Vines Press 2020
- Prix Aurora Awards Finalist, Best Young Adult Fiction, 2021
The West Woods Evil Alter Ego Press 2017
- Prix Aurora Awards Finalist, Best Young Adult Fiction, 2018
The Fountain Evil Alter Ego Press 2015
- Prix Aurora Awards Finalist, Best Young Adult Fiction, 2016
- Readers’ Favorite Bronze Medallion for Young Adult Fiction, 2018
Reviews
Suzy did a good job of engaging the kids. They are working on Narrative writing right now, and they were talking about how the first draft is just for themselves, and they have been actively looking for ways to link story beginnings to endings. These were big messages that Suzy shared… I was also pleased to see how revising writing was highlighted with Suzy!
I’ve been to some of Suzy’s workshops and her enthusiasm for writing is sky-high.