News & Events
• Caroline was interviewed by Australian Broadcasting Corporation's NightLife program via Zoom on October 19, 2024 about becoming a lighthouse keeper, a topic that never ceases to fascinate dreamers and wannabe hermits from all over the world!
• Caroline was interviewed on CBC's On The Island by host Gregor Craigie. He spoke with Caroline about her new kid's book Have You Ever Heard a Whale Exhale.
Listen to the clip here.
• Bolen Books, Victoria · Wednesday, June 19, 2024 at 7-8:30pm *Launch & reading with artist Claire Watson in attendance
• Munro's Books, Victoria · Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 10 a.m.*signing
• Volume One Bookstore, Duncan · Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 4pm *Reading & signing
• Möbius Books, Port Alberni · Friday, June 21, 2024 from 1:30pm-2:30pm Signing with artist Claire Watson
• Mermaid Tales Bookshop, Tofino · Saturday, June 22, 2024 from 11:30am-12:30pm Signing with artist Claire Watson
• Remote Passages Marine Excursions, Tofino · Saturday, June 22, 2024 from 2-4pm *Reading & signing with artist Claire Watson
• The Orange Door Gallery, Ucluelet · Sunday, June 23, 2024 at 11am *Reading & signing with artist Claire Watson. We gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of the Canada Council through The Writers' Union of Canada. Grateful thanks to the Pacific Rim Arts Society as well.
• Mulberry Bush Bookstore, Qualicum Beach · Monday, June 24, 2024 from 11:30am-12:30pm *signing with Caroline only
• Sea & Summit Bookstore, Parksville · Monday, June 24, 2024 at 3 pm*signing with Caroline
• Laughing Oyster, Courtenay · Tuesday, June 25th from 11:30am-12:30pm *signing with Caroline
• Blue Heron Books, Comox · Tuesday, June 25th at 3 pm *signing with Caroline
• Windowseat Books, Nanaimo · Wednesday, June 26th at 10 am *signing with Caroline
• North Slocan Community Library, New Denver · Tuesday, July 2, 2024 2:00pm
A Library Fun(d)raiser! Prizes, baking, entertainment!
• Nakusp Public Library, Nakusp · Tuesday, July 9, 2024 10:00am *Reading & signing with Caroline
• Nelson Public Library, Nelson · Saturday, July 20, 2024 10:30am *Reading & signing with Caroline
• Pownal Street Press is thrilled to announce the June publication Have You Ever Heard a Whale Exhale? A picture book written by Caroline Woodward and illustrated by Claire Victoria Watson.
This coastal adventure for kids of all ages will bring your senses to life!
In this splash of a tale, author Caroline Woodward and illustrator Claire Victoria Watson take the reader on an exploratory journey through the senses. From sun-warmed rocks to crackling campfires, this is one book that leaps with the dolphins and barks with the sea lions. On a journey of touch, taste, sight and smell, this whale of a tale urges littles to explore their surroundings — and imagine the rest.
Have You Ever Heard a Whale Exhale?
$24.95
Hardback
ISBN: 9781998129072
On Sale: June 18, 2024
Pre-order HERE
• Caroline was interviewed on CBC Radio One's The Current by host Matt Galloway along with retired Newfoundland lightkeeper Barry Porter on January 15, 2024 about the need for a new generation of lighthouse keepers to do worthy work for Canada's mariners and helicopter and sea plane pilots. Listen to the clip here.
• Have You Ever Heard A Whale Exhale? a picture book with wonderfully quirky illustrations by the amazing West Coast artist, Claire Victoria Watson will be released in June of 2024 by Pownal Street Press on Prince Edward Island! East & West unite! I had a lot of fun writing this long rhyming poem about all kinds of sea creatures for K-3 kids!
• In April of 2023, I was lucky enough to be a writer-in-residence at the Stegner House in Eastend, Saskatchewan. As well as reading my picture books and answering lots of good questions from the Eastend School's K-3 students, I was able to finish writing four short stories for adults, write another book review for BC Bookworld, and polish three children's picture book stories including Have You Ever Heard A Whale Exhale? It is a wonderful, supportive program for artists in all genres and the Eastend Arts Council deserves a national award for saving and administering this residency program in the 1917 wood frame house where Wallace Stegner spent the happiest years of his young life and from which landscape and prairie community life his classics of Western literature like Wolf Willow and The Big Rock Candy Mountain were inspired.
• Read the June 28, 2022 Kinute.com article/interview: The life of a modern lighthouse keeper - Caroline Woodward’s time as a lighthouse keeper began with a twist of fate, ending with the adventure of a lifetime.
• Painting With Words or Picturing Stories: The Art and Craft of Writing Books for Children This Peace Liard Regional Arts Council interactive Zoom workshop was held September 26, 2021. The workshop was enjoyed by us all!
• Read Caroline's great Globe & Mail essay on Choosing Solitude (As a lighthouse keeper, I have chosen isolation. Here’s what I’ve learned about solitude) which appeared in the Saturday April 25, 2020 edition here.
• Check out the article/interview "Can Write – Meet Caroline Woodward" by Margriet Ruurs from Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Spring 2020 issue.
• Check out Caroline's interview with Mary Woodbury, author, founder of Moon Willow Press and the Eco-Fiction online group of writers and scientists from around the world. Kindred spirits all toiling away... very inspiring! Read the interview here.
• Singing Away the Dark is now out in a new, jacketed, large format special edition from Simply Read Books. The original edition of Singing Away the Dark (Simply Read Books, 2010) was a finalist for the 2011 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Prize, the 2010-2011 Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award, the 2011 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award (Picture Book category), and the 2011-2012 Chocolate Lily Award (Picture Book category). It was also a 2012 Best Books for Kids and Teens selection by the Canadian Children's Book Centre.
Past Events
• The Covid-19 Lockdown has meant reaching out via Skype and Zoom to story times and book clubs. In April 2020, Caroline connected with North Peace River children by reading Singing Away the Dark via the Peace Gallery North "virtual storytime" (view the video here). Caroline also connected to a book club for the Teegatha'Oh Zheh based in Whitehorse, YT that supports adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities with life skills development and community inclusion by reading A West Coast Summer.
• Singing Away The Dark - Comox Valley Children’s Choir Concert - Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at 6 PM – 7:30 PM. Little Red Church Community Arts Centre, 2182 Comox Ave, Comox, British Columbia V9M 1P7. Click link for event page.
• Singing Away the Dark is published in China by Aurora Publishing House and in Japan by publisher Fukuinkan Shoten. Singing Away the Dark is also published in South Korea and Bulgaria as well as Quebec.
• A West Coast Summer has been nominated for B.C. Chocolate Lily Award 2019/20!
A West Coast Summer was the #10 BC Bestseller for 2018! And it was just released September 2018!
Island Mini-Tour with artist Carol Evans!
Tofino Launch Tuesday, October 2nd, 4 pm,
Tofino Community Theatre, 380 Campbell Street, Tofino.
Slide show presentation and Q&A with author and artist
All children and adults welcome! Free to the public.
Mermaid Tales Bookshop will be selling books.
Courtenay Launch Wednesday, October 3, 2 pm,
Courtenay Public Library, 300 6th Street, Courtenay. Slide show presentation and reading. All children and adults welcome!
Laughing Oyster Bookshop will be selling books.
Parksville meet & greet & book signing, Wednesday, October 3, 4:15 pm at Mulberry Bush Bookstore, 102 280 East Island Hwy, Parksville. Qualicum, Parksville, Lantzville and Errington friends, do come out to meet Caroline & Carol in this most excellent Island bookstore!
Salt Spring Island launch, Thursday, October 4, 1:30 pm
Salt Spring Public Library, 129 McPhillips Avenue, Ganges. Slide show presentation and Q&A with artist and author.
Salt Spring Books will be selling books which author & artist will happily autograph.
Duncan Drop-In, Thursday, October 4, 4 pm,
Volume I Bookstore, 149 Kenneth Street, Duncan. Autographs and hand shakes in another lovely and long-established Island bookstore! Lake Cowichan, Cobble Hill and friends near and far invited!
Sidney, BC's Book Town, Friday, October 5th, noon,
Tanner's Books, 2436 Beacon Avenue, Sidney. Meet & greet & sign books at yet another venerable Island independent bookstore! Vancouver Island has the most indie bookstores per capita anywhere in Canada which is another great reason to take that ferry ride. Or just move here!
Bolen Books, 111-1644 Hillside Mall, Victoria, Friday, October 5th. If this is your bookstore, you have excellent taste AND you can request personalized autographs as Carol Evans and I will be dropping in to sign copies of A West Coast Summer.
Munro's Books, 1108 Government Street, Victoria, Friday, October 5th. As with Bolen's, if this is your neighbourhood bookstore, lucky you, and if you'd like signed copies, just let the excellent staff know as we will be dropping in to sign books with a flourish especially for you!
Maritime Museum of British Columbia, 634 Humboldt Street, Victoria, Friday, October 5th, 4 pm. Slide show and presentation with author and artist. All children welcome! This event, like all the events listed, is free to the public.
The Maritime Museum will be selling books and author and artist will happily autograph them for you.
Past Events 2017
• Sponsored by the Fort Nelson Community Literacy Society, Friday, June 23rd, 7 pm, public reading at the Phoenix Theatre in Fort Nelson. Launch of the new edition of Alaska Highway Two-Step, film screening and a presentation by authors Christine & Dennis McClure.
10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, June 24th, Writing Workshop at the Learning Centre, Free.
2:30 p.m.-Reading from Alaska Highway Two-Step at the Fort Nelson Museum. Christine and Dennis McClure will present their research and excerpts from their book on the building of the Alaska Highway as well.
• June 3rd - Northern Lights College, Dawson Creek, BC - Caroline was awarded an Honorary Associate of Arts Degree for her contribution to Peace River Literature as well as Canadian and International Literature!
• December 2016 - Light Years is a featured book for the VPL's 2016 Fundraiser as one of four books picked by the Vancouver Public Library for their 'Stay at Home and Read a Book Ball Fundraiser' for December.
Past Events 2016
• Caroline will be performing with four musicians at the Whistler Festival of Writing on Friday, October 14th at 8 pm! The Literary Cabaret is always sold out and this year's event will be hosted by CBC radio host, humourist and author, Bill Richardson. http://whistlerwritersfest.com/festival-info/festival-schedule-2016/
• On Saturday, October 15th, from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Caroline will lead a workshop with writers who want to tackle their own memoirs. Memoir: Writing the Light & Dark Years of our Lives. Caroline has taught writing courses and workshops since 1985 to people aged 8 to 88 plus. Register with the Festival for a seat.
• Thursday, October 20th, 7 p.m., Eric Ross Room, Queen Charlotte Community Club- Lighthouse slide show and talk/readings from Light Years: Memoir of a Modern Lighthouse Keeper, sponsored by the Haida Gwaii Arts Council and the Canada Council. Photographer and lightkeeper Jeff George and author/lightkeeper Caroline Woodward are thrilled to return to Haida Gwaii where they were married in Queen Charlotte City! Book sales and signings to follow. Free to the public.
• Friday, October 21st, 7 p.m., Nature Centre, Delkatla, Masset, Lighthouse slide show and talk/readings from Light Years. Book signing to follow. Photographer/lightkeeper Jeff George and author/lightkeeper Caroline Woodward will be available to answer questions, visit and sign books afterwards. Free to the public. Both Haida Gwaii events are sponsored by the Canada Council, Harbour Publishing and the Haida Gwaii Arts Council.
• Light Years is a finalist for the Bill Duthie Booksellers Award for the 2016 BC Book Prizes! The Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony will be held at the Lieutenant-Governor's House in Victoria on April 30th.
• Caroline will be touring schools, bookstores and libraries in the North and South Peace regions and a number of Vancouver Island cities and towns from April 25-29 as part of the BC Book Prizes celebration of BC books and authors.
• Monday, April 25th, 7 PM Fort St. John Public Library - presentation with Jeff Steudel, BC Book Prize poetry finalist for Foreign Park
• Wednesday, April 27th, 6:30 PM - Courtenay Public Library-presentation with Jeff Steudel. Both events are free to the public & books will be sold and/or signed so come out to meet the BC Book Prized Authors!
• Saturday, April 30th, 12 noon-2 PM - Munro's Books, Victoria-Caroline and other BC Book Prize finalists will be on hand to chat with customers, conduct book trivia games, assist with your book choices and sign their own books too. It's a Book Party! All are welcome to play.
• Thursday, May 19th, 7 PM - North Kamloops Public Library, Lighthouse slide show and talk by Caroline. Books will be for sale. Free to the public.
• Saturday, May 21st, 11 AM-1 PM - Bookingham Palace Bookstore, Piccadilly Mall, Salmon Arm. Come out to meet the author and get your copies of Light Years signed as well as other books by Caroline.
• Thursday, May 26th, 7 PM - Hutcheson Maritime Museum, Port Alberni- Lighthouse Slide Show and Talk. Come out to kick off another busy summer season at the Maritime Museum. Entry by donation. Books will be sold at this event by Curious Coho Books and Caroline will happily sign them for you.
• Friday, May 27th, 6 PM - Captain Meares Elementary Secondary School, Tahsis, for a potluck dinner
7 PM - Senior's Center for Lighthouse Slide Show & Talk- in the elementary wing of the School. Street address 299 Alpine View, Tahsis.
•Saturday, August 13th, 9 AM - Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts in lovely Sechelt. Lighthouse Slide Show and talk. Books will be for sale as well. Check out the full schedule at: www.writersfestival.ca/
• Closing out 2015 Caroline's book Light Years was a BC Bestselling Book for 15 weeks in a row!
Past Events 2015
• September 17th, Thursday, CBC Radio On The Island with Gregor Craigie at 8:20 a.m.
• September 17th, Mulberry Bush Bookstore in Parksville, book signing from 2:30-3:30 pm
• September 17th, Courtenay Public Library, slide show and author presentation, 6:30 pm with Laughing Oyster Bookshop on site
• September 20th, Bard & Banker Pub in Victoria, short talk and celebration of Light Years with Munro's Books on site
• September 23rd, Wednesday, 10 a.m.-11 a.m. at Mosaic Books, Kelowna, book signing with shout-out to Peace River ex-pats!
• September 23rd, Nakusp Public Library, 7 pm-slide show presentation and author talk-win exciting prizes by donating to your great community library! Book sales on site. Co-sponsored by the Writers Union of Canada
• September 24th, Nelson Public Library, 7 pm slide show and author talk with book sales on site with Otter Books. Sponsored by the Writers Union of Canada.
• September 25th, Bosun Hall, New Denver, 7 pm slide show and author talk with book sales on site by Raven's Nest and refreshments for sale by the New Denver Library - zany door prizes expected!
• September 27th, 2:30-3:00 pm - WORD on the Street, Vancouver in the Peter Mackay Room of Vancouver Public Library, slide show and author talk, rain or shine indoors!
• September 28, Monday, 7 pm, Book Warehouse on Main, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver-slide show presentation.
• September 30th, Wednesday, 7 pm, Thulin Room of Campbell River's Maritime Heritage Centre - slide show & author talk with lots of time for Q&A afterwards. Book sales by Coho Books
• October 1st, 9:30 a.m., Campbell River Save-On Books Department book signing
• October 1st, Thursday, 12:30-1pm Volume I Bookstore, Duncan, BC - book signing
• October 22nd, Thursday, 1-2 pm, Curious Coho Books, 5039 Johnston Street, Port Alberni- book signing
• October 22nd, Thursday, 7 pm, Char's Landing Library Lounge, Port Alberni with slide show and author talk. Book sales on site.
• October 23rd, 7:30 pm, Tofino Community Theatre, Tofino, slide show and author talk with book sales by Mermaid Tales Bookshop
• October 24th, 7:30 pm, George Fraser Room of Ucluelet Community Centre, slide show and author talk with book sales by Blackberry Cove Marketplace
• October 25th, Sunday, 10 a.m.-12 noon Main Street Gallery and Espresso Bar in the Kayak Shop, Tofino
• November 11, 2015 - Interview with Radio Europe from Spain for the Dave Hodgson Drive Show on the living and writing of Light Years.
• November 13 - interview with Sheila Peters for In The Shadow of the Mountain at Smithers Radio, 93.9. Listen to the interview here.
• November 15, 2015-Caroline is interviewed by Sheryl MacKay of CBC Radio's NXNW about her life as a writer and lighthouse keeper. Listen to the interview here.
Penny Loves Wade E-book is now available at Amazon, Kobo, and iTunes!
Rocking the Page - Virtual Writers Festival
Caroline worked with student writers in School District #10 recently for Rocking the Page, a Virtual Writers Festival. Her Fear & Imagination workshop, a short film and slide show were conveyed via Blackboard Collaborate to six classrooms in Edgewood, Nakusp and New Denver. She also wrote critiques of poems and stories by student writers from Grade 3 to Grade 10.
Reviews by the People That Really Matter: Grade 3 Kids!
Emailie: I liked the story Singing Away the Dark because it was a true story. I like how she explained about her book.
Sean: I liked Singing Away The Dark because it had a ton of detail.
Emmett: I liked how she showed us the stories she wrote.
Olivier: I liked that she had so many hats.
Sam: I liked the books. I liked all the titles
Hunter: I Like how she made the books; they were really epic
Alyssa: I like how Singing Away The Dark was a true story and it had nice pictures.
Grace: My favorite part was that Caroline was enthusiastic and nice. She wasn't grumpy; she was happy
Past Events 2014
From April 30th to May 2nd, 2014, Caroline presented her Fear & Imagination workshops to children from K-Grade 3 in the following schools and at the 28th annual Vancouver Island Children's Bookfest:
April 30th - Ecole Hammond Bay and
Ecole Pauline Harrar en Nanaimo
May 1st - Woodbank School, Cedar - K-Gr3 classes
May 2nd - Errington School, Errington - K-Gr3 classes
Aspengrove School, Lantzville - K-Gr3 classes
May 3 - Nanaimo Art Gallery - as part of BookFest.
Go to www.BookFest.ca for complete information. Caroline autographed copies of Chanter Dans Le Noir, Singing Away The Dark & The Village of Many Hats.
Penny Loves Wade novel now part of University English course
Penny Loves Wade, Wade Loves Penny is now part of Professor Katharina Rout's Vancouver Island University English 273 class: Ancients and Moderns, or The Odyssey Today. Read more about the course description here.
A Lighthouse Memoir-in-Progress
Read the BCBookLook excerpt from Caroline Woodward's work-in-progress here.
Caroline on CBC Radio's December 21st DNTO Show
December 21st, 2013 Caroline Woodward was a guest of CBC Radio host Sook-Yin Lee on her show Definitely Not the Opera (DNTO). Where Did Your "Pilgrimage" Take You? was the theme of this show. Here is the audio clip of that session where Caroline describes her journey to a special place of spiritual significance.
Caroline on CBC Radio's DNTO Episode Discoveries Made in the Darkness
October 26th, 2013 CBC Radio host Sook-Yin Lee welcomed Caroline Woodward to her show Definitely Not the Opera (DNTO) where Caroline did a spoken piece from her picture book Singing Away the Dark. Here is the audio clip of that session.
Korean and Bulgarian language versions of Singing Away the Dark released!
The Korean language version of Caroline's picture book Singing Away the Dark has been released by Noran Usan/ Tsai Fong Books. The translator is Kim Hyeon Jwa. The book's ISBN is: 978-8963055190. Info about the Bulgarian language edition will be posted when available.
French language version of Singing Away the Dark now released!
The French language version of Caroline's picture book Singing Away the Dark has been released by Les Éditions De La Courte Échelle and is called: Chanter Dans Le Noir. The translator is Fanny Britt and the illustrations are by Julie Morstad, as they were for the English version. The book's ISBN is: 978-2-89695-196-4. Please contact www.courteechelle.com for information and to purchase copies.
Spring 2013:
Caroline was a writer in residence at Lucerne Elementary-Secondary School in New Denver, B.C. for a week, working with K-12 student writers and also did one day programs at Nakusp Senior Secondary School and at Kanaka Creek Elementary School with Grade 3 classes in Maple Ridge, B.C. She also presented her books to Grade Two students visiting the Emily Carr branch of Victoria Public Library.
At the Mayworks Literary Cabaret in Courtenay, Caroline's story 'Echolalia' received second prize in the People's Choice awards and is now published in WOW: Writing On Work, a chapbook published by the Vancouver Island Mayworks Project Society. 'Echolalia' is one story destined for a future short fiction collection which Caroline has been writing, joining other stories previously published in event magazine, Room of One's Own, and in The FED Anthology published by Anvil Press.
Meet the Author- An Interview with Toni Buzzeo of Library Sparks Magazine
Read the December 2012 interview conducted by Toni Buzzeo,
career media specialist and author
(visit www.tonibuzzeo.com for more about Toni).
Word On The Street 2012
Caroline appeared in the Children's Tent at WOTS in September 2012 and gave away two copies of The Village of Many Hats to several fashionable children in the audience!
Caroline Woodward - December 2011 Long Beach Radio
Caroline read from her book "Singing Away The Dark" during the 4th Annual Hospice Radiothon. Listen here
Winter Story Warms the Heart
By Fran Ashdown, North Shore News, November 30, 2011
Singing Away the Dark resonated deeply with me as it brought back memories of my school days in Prince Rupert.
Instead of trudging down a plank road in the dark to catch a water taxi to school as I did, the girl in this story leaves her home in the winter dark and walks through the fields and woods to meet the school bus. She is young and alone and clearly apprehensive about having to venture forth. The minimalist-style illustrations reveal her anxiety and aptly depict the spooky aspect of the woods and the empty and vast landscape. We are told she is just six years old and, like most children, she is equipped with a very active imagination... Read more: www.nsnews.com/entertainment/
Caroline Woodward - October 2011 CBC Radio Interview
Listen to the October 2nd interview on CBC Radio's North by Northwest program with host Sheryl Mackay and featured guest Caroline Woodward discussing her children's book, Singing Away the Dark.
Singing Away the Dark nominated for the B.C. Chocolate Lily Award, in the Picture Book category.
Singing Away the Dark named as a finalist for the 2011 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Prize by the Canadian Children's Book Centre!
The award honours excellence in the illustrated picture book format for children ages 3 - 8 years.
Caroline Woodward - 2011 CKUA Radio Network Interview
Listen to the June 5th interview with Caroline Woodward discussing her novel Penny Loves Wade, Wade Loves Penny for Alberta radio network CKUA and their Bookmark Show.
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