Jessica Outram is an educational administrator, presently the Principal of Colborne Public School, a poet, essayist, blogger and playwright. As a singer and actor she is well known in Cobourg and Port Hope. Her love of theatre has taken her to Trent University’s theatre programme and this year in May, she will also direct her own play “Once Upon a Rocking Chair” for Northumberland Players.

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Alan Bland is an insurance consultant and though semi–retired he is a very busy man. He has acted as an Expert Witness at the Superior Court of Ontario and he enjoys working closely with Defense counsel, interviewing defendants, researching cases and taking an analytical approach to case review. Alan also enjoys lecturing on insurance matters. He has hosted and moderated an event for the Toronto Public Library entitled “Look Who’s Reading Canadian Mysteries” and MC’ed the Canadian Crime Writers Association’s Arthur Ellis Awards.  He also finds time to write short fiction and crime novels, perform on the saxophone and to cook.

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Dan grew up in Codrington,  studied at University of Western Ontario then worked in computer technical support in Calgary and Toronto. He returned to Brighton in 2010 to follow his interest in the history of the area, the genealogy of his own family and the genealogy of other local families. He calls this community genealogy and publishes his findings on his website www.treesbydan.com. Deeply involved in historical activities in his community, Dan was one of the founders of Brighton’s History Open House. In 2014 HOH’s focus on the story of Dr King, one of Dan’s own relatives, led to the writing of his book Murder in the Family: The Doctor King Story published by Dundurn Press.

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Rene Schmidt is the author of a number of highly successful books about Canadian disasters and a YA novel, Leaving Fletchville. A long time teacher now retired, he maintains his connections with the younger generation by running a youth drop in centre.

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Janet Kellough is an author and storyteller who has written and performed in many stage works that feature a fusion of music and spoken word. She published two contemporary novels before she launched into the popular Thaddeus Lewis mystery series which incorporates Ontario’s rich history into a highly-readable mystery plot. The latest in the series, Wishful Seeing, is set in the Cobourg area during the 1860s and was released this summer by Dundurn Press.

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Ted Staunton is the award winning author of many books for children and young adults. Born in Toronto, he studied at the University of Toronto. While he was studying for his B. Ed in 1981, he wrote a story called Puddleman for one of his courses and rather to his surprise it was published.  Puddleman was a picture book but he has since written many stories for older children and young adults. Some of the most recent are Who I’m Not which won him the John Spray Mystery Award, Jump Cut, and Power Chord. 

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Margaret Bain spent much of her childhood in India and is presently writing her recollections of that far-off time in the Himalayas during the last days of the British Raj. Her interest in natural history, especially ornithology, and her love of travelling have resulted in birding articles, travel essays and other non-fiction in a wide variety of publications.Currently she is involved in the writing and editing of a series of pocket nature guides, covering such subjects as shorebirds, moths, dragonflies and trees.

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Judy Fong Bates came to Canada with her mother as a six year old to join her father. Neither of her parents spoke much English, so as Judy progressed through school, immersed in this new language, she found herself living between two cultures. She became a well-known story-teller of folk tales and her own original stories in both schools and festivals all over Southern Ontario. Her first book,  China Dog and Other Stories was followed  by her critically acclaimed novel Midnight at the Dragon Café. In 2010 after several visits to China to meet her extended family, she published her memoir, The Year of Finding Memory.

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Heather knows all about being a soccer mom. Three of her kids played. In 2006, after 15 years on the sidelines, she bought some cleats and joined a team herelf. Her biggest thrill while writing Betting Game was touring the Toronto FC Training Ground.

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