On Saturday, November 25th at 1pm, join Massy Arts and Massy Books at the Family Holiday Book Pop-Up & Reading, featuring childrens, middle-reader, and young adult fiction and non-fiction with authors Tanya Boteju, Jillian Christmas, Tony Correia, Hasan Namir, Emily Pohl-Weary, Holman Wang, and Andrea Warner. Plus, enjoy arts & crafts, story prompts, shopping, and book signings!

This project has been made possible by the Government of Canada. Ce projet a été rendu possible grâce au gouvernement du Canada.

Venue & Accessibility

The event will be hosted at the Massy Arts Gallery, at 23 East Pender Street in Chinatown, Vancouver.

Registration is free and required for entrance. Register here: https://www.showpass.com/family-holiday-book-pop-up-reading/

The gallery is wheelchair accessible and a gender-neutral washroom is on-site.

Please refrain from wearing scents or heavy perfumes.

For more on accessibility including parking, seating, venue measurements and floor plan, and how to request ASL interpretation please visit: massyarts.com/accessibility

Covid Protocols: Masks keep our community safe and are mandatory (N95 masks are recommended as they offer the best protection). We ask if you are showing symptoms, that you stay home. Thank you kindly.

About the books & their authors

Bruised by Tanya Boteju (Simon & Schuster, 2022)

“A searing portrait of self-discovery; soulful and captivating.” —Kirkus Reviews

Whip It meets We Are Okay in this vibrant coming-of-age story about a teen girl navigating first love, identity, and grief as she immerses herself in the colorful, brutal, beautiful world of roller derby—from the acclaimed author of Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens.

Tanya Boteju is a teacher and writer living on unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations (Vancouver, British Columbia). Part-time, she teaches English to clever and sassy young people. The rest of her time, she writes and procrastinates from writing. Her novel, Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens was named a Top Ten Indie Next Pick by the American Booksellers Association, as well as selected for the American Librarian Association 2020 Rainbow List. Her work appears in the anthology Out Now and her latest young adult novel, Bruised, has been selected as a Gold Standard book by the Junior Library Guild. In both teaching and writing, she is committed to positive, diverse representation. Visit her at TanyaBoteju.com.

The Magic Shell by Jillian Christmas (Flamingo Rampant, 2022)

Have you ever wanted to understand where your family comes from and how you got this way? When Pigeon Pea has a million questions about their family, Auntie gives them the magic key to go back in time and across continents to meet, celebrate, and feast with their ancestors and orisha.

Jillian Christmas is a queer, afro-Caribbean writer living on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam people (Vancouver, BC). Jillian works as an artist, educator, curator and consultant, she is the long-time spoken word curator of the Vancouver Writers Fest, and former artistic director of Verses Festival of Words. She has won numerous Grand Poetry Slam Championship titles and represented both Toronto and Vancouver at eleven national poetry events, notably breaking ground as the first Canadian to perform on the final stage of the Women of the World Poetry Slam. Christmas is the author of The Gospel of Breaking (Arsenal Pulp Press 2020), and the children’s book, The Magic Shell (Flamingo Rampant Press 2021).

Walk This Way by Tony Correia (James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers, 2021)

Drag has never been so popular, and this LGBTQ+ romance takes a look at how a teen embraces the drag queen dream. Sixteen-year-old Joshua does drag on social media but wants to have the full drag performance experience. Trouble is, he’s attracted to guys who don’t like drag and want nothing to do with gay men they think are feminine and have a flamboyant image. With the help of a drag mother, Joshua has the chance to live his dream, but only by keeping it secret from the guy he is dating. Grounded by what Joshua learns about how drag continues to be controversial in the gay community, this essential light-hearted story focuses on facing your emotions and finding your authentic self, even if it’s by pretending to be someone else.

Tony Correia has worked as a waiter, bartender, bouncer, barista, receptionist, and recently, a technical writer for a software company. His newspaper column, Queen’s Logic, ran in Xtra! West for five years. He is the author of the Lorimer Real Love novels Same Love and True to You. His memoir, Foodsluts at Doll & Penny’s Cafe was published in 2012. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Banana Dream by Hasan Namir (Holiday House, 2023)

A young boy in Iraq yearns to taste the bananas that have been made unavailable by warfare.

Growing up in Iraq after the Gulf War, Mooz didn’t always like his name, which means “banana”. But when he learns the story behind it, he’s proud, even when being teased by his classmates. Now all he yearns for is to taste a banana—a lofty dream in a time when few countries are trading with Iraq, where bananas don’t grow.

Inspired by author Hasan Namir’s own childhood, Banana Dream is at once a celebration of a seemingly ordinary fruit and a snapshot of how war can alter a landscape. Artist Daby Zainab Faidhi’s background in architectural illustration is evident as she brings the story’s setting vividly to life.

Hasan Namir is an award-winning Iraqi-Canadian children’s book author. His debut picture book was The Name I Call Myself. He has also published books of poetry and a novel. He lives in Vancouver with his family.

How to be Found by Emily Pohl-Weary (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2023)

A young adult novel about inner-city teens who live on a razor’s edge and understand that chosen family is just as important as blood. 

Michie and her best friend, Trissa, grew up like sisters in a ramshackle duplex owned by their single moms. But now that they’re sixteen, their differences in identity and experience have caused a rift. Michie’s an introvert obsessed with a book called A Girl’s Guide to Murder. Shiny, extroverted Trissa, on the other hand, dances at the hottest nightclub in town.

Emily Pohl-Weary is an award-winning author and creative writing instructor at the University of British Columbia. Her audio play, The Witch’s Circle, was recently produced by Odyssey Theatre. Her books include the YA novel Not Your Ordinary Wolf Girl, Ghost Sick (winner of the Fred Cogswell Award for Excellence in Poetry), and Better to Have Loved: The Life of Judith Merril (winner of a Hugo Award). Originally from Toronto, she now lives in Vancouver.

Great Job, Mom! by Holman Wang (Tundra, 2022)

A contemporary felted creation celebrating Mom’s many jobs from the co-creator of Cozy Classics.

Being a mom is eleven jobs in one!
 
This unique picture book for very young readers celebrates the many jobs being a parent encompasses: A general who rallies the troops (or unruly kids), a curator of modern art (or finger paintings), an archeologist looking for buried treasures (or socks) . . . when Mom gets home from her day job as a carpenter, she never knows which job will be waiting for her, but she knows it’ll be fun!     
 
Each rhyming spread features intimate, familiar, comforting and humorous depictions of family life through a wholly original — and amazing! — needle-felted lens.

Holman Wang is a lawyer who also finds time to make children’s books. He and his brother, Jack, are the twin powers behind the board book series Cozy Classics and Star Wars Epic Yarns, which abridge literary and cinematic classics into just twelve words and twelve needle-felted images. Their unique artwork has been exhibited around the world, including at The Original Art exhibition in New York, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, and the National Museum of Play. Holman lives with his wife and kids in Vancouver, Canada, and is a former board member of the Vancouver Writers Festival.

Rise Up and Sing! by Andrea Warner (Greystone Books, 2023)

This inspiring introduction to activism and social justice for young teens shows the important role music plays in changing the world, featuring:

• Musicians young teens will know and love: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Lil Nas X, and more! 
• Iconic artists from past generations: readers will learn about the extraordinary impact of artists such as Nina Simone, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Neil Young, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman, and more.
• Playlists for each social justice issue: Each chapter includes a playlist with recommended songs about an area of activism, from classic tracks to contemporary hits.

In Rise Up and Sing!, Andrea Warner explores how music has contributed to the fight for social justice. Across eight areas of activism—the climate emergency, Indigenous rights, civil rights, disability rights, 2SLGBTQIA+ rights, gender equality, the peace/anti-war movement, and human rights—Warner introduces some of the artists, past and present, who have made a difference both on stage and off.

Through ground-breaking artists and iconic moments, Rise Up and Sing! shows us that a song is never just a song, and that music really does have the power to change the world.

Andrea Warner (she/her) writes and talks. A lot. She’s the author of Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography and We Oughta Know: How Four Women Ruled the ’90s and Changed Canadian Music. She’s the co-writer and associate producer of the 2022 documentary Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On and co-hosts the the weekly feminist pop culture podcast Pop This!. She lives in Vancouver, BC.