I’m thrilled to be coming back to Waterloo in late May! My son, David, has arranged a few
Author Events connected to the 2026 Bookfest, giving me the chance to present The
Winkleys: A Test of Magic to my hometown crowd. We’ll be appearing at Old Goat Books
on Friday, May 29 from 6-8pm and I am told we will appear at a few other locations. It’s a
wonderful feeling to have a published book and be able to share it with young adult readers.
My upcoming trip is a blend of cherished familiar moments and exciting new experiences.
Reconnecting with family and friends after a year-long gap is especially significant at my
age, making this reunion profoundly precious. Now that I am living in the most eastern part
of the province of Ontario, trips back to K-W have disappeared from my agenda. So I’m
looking forward to every moment of it. I’m certainly eager for the nostalgic pleasure of driving
past the beloved landmarks of my hometown once more. And yes, it will be strange to drive
past the house where we once lived, but we’ve all done that a few times in our lives and it
never ceases to feel strange.
Equally anticipated are the completely new opportunities ahead. I’m looking forward to sitting
at a table greeting new readers, signing books and chatting with those who bought them. I’ve
watched other authors do that, and now, for the first time, the year I turn 80, it will finally be
my turn.
But more important than selling books, I always look for opportunities to meet other writers
and creatives within the publishing world and the world of music, art and theatre. This trip
brings me back into the circle of the creative minds and hearts where I began my journey. I
hope to see a few of Waterloo Region’s innovators on this trip. It would be a thrill to renew
old acquaintances, even for a few moments.
Having been a storyteller for much of my life, as a leader in summer camps, as a drama
teacher bringing plays to life with my students and with seniors and now as a book author,
this path feels both ancient and contemporary. I’ve always held the conviction that stories are
the key vehicle through which a society transmits its core values. For me, it is a deliberate
choice that I write for young adults. They absorb and remember good stories, allowing the
underlying values to become an integral part of their lives.
I always told stories to my own children, who are now grown up. To make them fun and
interesting, I often added a touch of magic or a flight of whimsical imagination. That is what I
have done with all 9 books in the Winkley Series. Most of them take place in Waterloo
Region, with the history of the area pushed into the background and the young people’s
adventure story pulled up front and center. My dream is that the hometown audience will
take them all to heart and love Sarah and Jason Winkley as I do.