Pam Withers
Pam Withers of Vancouver, Canada is founder of YAdudebooks.ca. She’s also an award-winning, best-selling author of young-adult outdoor-sports and adventure books – which are particularly popular with boys. A former journalist, editor and outdoor guide (as well as wife and mother), she is a three-time Ontario Library Association Red Maple Award nominee (for
Stowaway,
Tracker’s Canyon and
First Descent), and a Silver Nautilus Book Awards winner for First Descent and The Parkour Club. She has also co-authored Jump-Starting Boys: Help Your Reluctant Learner Find Success in School and Life. Her most recent novels are Cave-In, Mountain Runaways,
Drone Chase and
The Parkour Club. A popular presenter, she can be booked here. View her book trailers at youtube.
Publishers: Great Plains Press (Cave-In), Dundurn Press (Drone Chase, Stowaway, Trackers’ Canyon), Tundra Books (Andreo’s Race, First Descent), Orca Book (Camp Wild, Breathless, Daredevil Club, Bungee Jump), Whitecap Books/Fitzhenry & Whiteside (10-book Xtreme series), Viva Editions (Jump-Starting Boys) and Menasha Ridge Press (Going Vertical). All her books are available on Amazon, Indigo or at bookstores on request.
Alan Cashman
Alan Cashman is based in Vancouver, BC and maintains YADudeBooks' website. He is currently in the midst of a Master's of Counselling Psychology degree via Yorkville University. When he's not working, he plays music with friends, does photography, and hangs out with his dog, Riker.
Dave Jenkinson
Dave Jenkinson began his career connection with books as a high school English teacher and half-time school librarian before transitioning to teaching library science courses in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba, Canada. There, for some three decades, he had the delightful opportunity to teach courses in children's and young-adult literature. His library science degree is from the University of Alberta while his doctorate was obtained at the University of Minnesota. In addition to having served on several national book award juries, for the past quarter century plus, he was the editor of the online reviewing journal, CM: Canadian Review of Materials.
James Steeves
James Steeves is a middle grade writer and teacher librarian in Mississauga, Ontario. He has participated on steering committees for the Forest of Reading Program for over six years. He has a passion for local history and inquiry-based education, and has written curriculum resources for the Ontario Ministry of Education, the City of Toronto Museums, and Nelson’s History 7 and History 8 textbooks. His current writing projects in children’s fiction are middle grade ghost stories set in local historical places. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario with his wife and three teenage boys, and can usually be found exploring nearby lakes and rivers in his Kevlar canoe, or lurking in cemeteries and haunted places looking for a good ghost story.
Jon and Matt Gill
Brothers Jon and Matt Gill grew up adventuring, exploring and reading. They are leaders, creators, teachers and storytellers. Jon develops confidence, adventure and curiosity in his university students and his children. Matt tells stories to donors, partners and worldwide audiences (including his own children) to inspire action for non-profits and strengthen relationships. Matt and Jon live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Both believe in the transformative power of great stories.
Kevin Velayo
Kevin Velayo, who lives in the Philippines, has been both a book reviewer and an administrative assistant for YAdudebooks.ca almost from the site's start. He is also "one of a million human beings trying to navigate the corporate and entrepreneurial world." He says that besides his cats, reading has kept him sane and helped him think in various perspectives. "I have grown to love books, from their paper and smell to their contents."
Matt Shipley
Matt Shipley of Vancouver, Canada is a fourth-year education student and writer. He has been a senior news editor at the Capilano Courier for over a year, and fills his fleeting moments of spare time with books and outdoor adventures. His current projects include a YA techno-dystopian romance series, an ongoing list of short stories and an endless array of news articles. When he’s not putting pen to paper, you’ll find him singing, biking or exploring tight creek canyons.
Weldon Ngetich
Weldon Ngetich (LGBTQ+) of Nairobi, Kenya is a professional writer, YouTube scriptwriter, educator and book reviewer. He tutors both English and writing classes and has written a travel guide .
Yang Lim
Yang Lim of Alberta, Canada has a degree in Library and Information Studies and has been a long-time contributor to CM: Canadian Review of Materials. He has an avid interest in reading and collecting books from a variety of genres, including contemporary fiction, humor, science fiction, fantasy and nonfiction. He also enjoys reviewing, writing and reading children's and young-adult literature in his spare time. When he is not immersed in stories, he enjoys checking out art exhibitions, watching independent films and travelling.
Illustration by Kristin Baldeschwiler, Pixabay Library