Edward Kay

If there was a real Superior Thinking and Advanced Research Academy, I would invite Asil Abu Lil, Asil Shaar, and Nour Al-Arda to attend on full scholarships! Even though they are researching in what must be – to say the least – “challenging” circumstances in the Nablus, in the West Bank, the three Palestinian girls managed to develop an obstacle-detecting walking cane to help blind people get around on their own. As a result of their achievement, they will be travelling to San Jose, California, to attend Intel Corp.’s international youth science fair. Students from around the world will be competing for a grand prize of $75,000. I don’t think there will be any Stephen Chapman or Lisa Crumpkin types in attendance. It’s really inspiring to see kids not only rising above difficult situations, but using their creativity and intelligence to help others.

You can read more about them and their invention by clicking here.

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Have begun working this week on the pilot episode of my new animated comedy series. It has been optioned by Nerd Corps Entertainment, which, as their name suggests, is a group of very talented, dedicated geeks who love animation and do it very, very well. They’re based in Vancouver, and among other things, produce League Of Super Evil, a clever and twisted series that I have had the pleasure of writing for this season.

As for my new series, I am contractually bound not to discuss the deets of it, including the title, but if you like Jimmy Two Shoes, I think you’ll enjoy this too. It’s a heady form of mental stimulation to have a completely new project to work on – new characters, new worlds, new situations and new humour. It’s sort of like the first day of class in a new school. Because even though I created these characters – and so far they’re being nice to me – I’m finding out more and more about them as I work through the details of the stories, and see how they react to the different situations I put them in… or that they put themselves in. That’s part of the process of developing characters; not being puppet master (always a mistake) but rather creating fully dimensional personalites who are true to themselves, no matter how whacked they are, and then ensuring that in the stories, they make the choices that are consistent with their natures. That means choices they would really make, not choices that you have to force them to make to pound a square plot peg through a round hole (something you can only do if you have them inhaling spores that alter their personalities, an effective if cheesy deus ex machina device that goes back at least as far as the original Star Trek, if not the God Machine-loving Ancient Greek playwrights).

So, off I go on this new venture, with both excitement and trepidation, looking forward to getting to know all my new imaginary friends better, and hoping that they make it through safely from the realm of private imagination to public reality. Or at least as close to reality as television gets. More to come…

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I will be performing two readings of STAR Academy live and in colour (most of it dark, admittedly) at the Chapters Indigo store at Kennedy Commons at 2 pm, March 15th and 16th. If you have kids who are bouncing off the walls with nothing to do over the March Break – or if you’re someone bouncing off the walls yourself – come on out! Apparently there are games too, but none of them involve me…at least that I’m aware of — yet.
Chapters Indigo book store located at Kennedy Commons. Click here for map and address.

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Had the pleasure of reading to a very receptive audience at the Rivoli the night before last. It was my first public reading of STAR Academy, so wasn’t sure what to expect. But any concerns I had about how well a kids’ book would fare amidst a lineup that included rappers, performance artists, and experimental films were quickly laid to rest by the warm and attentive response. Always gratifying when you can make people both laugh and gasp with horror in the same reading – especially when it’s in all the right places, and not because your fly is down and you’ve got visible flop sweat. Amongst the other performers, I particularly enjoyed discovering a singer/songwriter who goes by the professional moniker of Jenny Omnichord (the surname inspired by her instrument, which calls to mind an autoharp redesigned for a Japanese sci-fi flick minus anything anatomically inspired). Anyone who can pull off writing a love song between a living human being and a skeleton and make it Tim Burton-esquely charming instead of creepy has my vote. Also had an enjoyable chat with Peter Lynch, who directed Project Grizzly, the documentary about Troy Hurtubuise and his quest to build a suit that would allow him to survive an encounter with Grizzly bears. They should make that an official sport at the next winter Olympics. Speaking of which, my only regret is that performing that night meant missing the Canadian men’s Olympic hockey team wallop the Russians 7-3. Dang! But such are the sacrifices we make for art…

Am working on dates for readings at Chapters Indigo during the March break. Deets to come.

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I was very charmed this week to see that STAR Academy has received its first “peer review”; that is to say a review by someone of the same age as the characters in the book and its target audience.

The review comes from Victoria, age 12, who shares her thoughts about it in “KidsWWrite – The e-zine for young authors and readers”. Victoria writes that the science-based adventures of Amanda and her friends Derek, Evelyn and Sanjay “made me want to conduct my own experiments and become a brainiac…It is highly entertaining, so do yourself a favour and read it.”

Thanks for the review, Victoria! I’m really thrilled that you enjoyed my novel. I am finishing the sequel now, and plan lots more adventures for Amanda, Derek, Evelyn and Sanjay, so stay tuned. For anyone who would like to read Victoria’s review in full, here’s the link: http://www.kalwriters.com/kidswwwrite/86/star.html

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Have spent most of this week working on animation projects. Am writing a series for an Australian production company but must keep it on the QT, since it’s a new series and they’d like to wait and announce the details in the fullness of time. But it has been an interesting cultural adjustment. Certain types of humour that would never be allowed in a North American series for tweens are perfectly fine in Oz. That means a chance to indulge in some of that classic Looney Tunes physical humour that we all love and miss! THWACK! Conversely, there are certain things we wouldn’t think twice about putting in a show in Canada or the U.S. that are unacceptable there. But come to think about it, face licking is pretty disgusting even if you’re a dog. Make that especially if you’re a dog. Meanwhile, I have started writing for the second season of Jimmy Two Shoes. It’s been only two years since I wrote for the first season, but so much has happened in between. I wrote my first novel, STAR Academy, and most of the sequel, and created a new animated comedy series that’s in development with Nerd Corps, which I also spent time on this week. I’m also in the early stages of co-developing a live-action science series – a natural outgrowth for me after the copious amounts of research I did to arm Amanda Forsythe with that formidably scientific intellect for STAR Academy. But it feels great to get back in to Jimmy and that uniquely warped/funny world! I spent much of my time between 2003 and 2006 developing it with Sean Scott, so it’s incredibly satisfying to see that it has kind of taken on a life of its own. I’m always pleasantly impressed by how much people enjoy the show and how Jimmy’s whacked-but-positive way of dealing with adversity is so cathartic to so many people, judging by the emails I receive. Heloise, for her part, seems to stimulate ambiguous feelings in viewers who seem to find her both attractive and repellant at the same time; creating that sort of complex relationship between a character and his or her audience is a little bit twisted – but very gratifying!

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One of my all-time favourite Toronto haunts, The Rivoli, will be the location for the first live reading of my novel, STAR Academy. I will be performing it as part of the the Box Salon, an eclectic arts and culture night put on four times a year by my sultry voiced and staggeringly articulate pal, poet and performance artist Louise Bak. It will take place the evening of Feb. 24th, 2010. I’ll post a more specific time closer to the day. Meanwhile, hope you’ll plan on coming out and hearing what Principal Murkly, Mrs. Wheedlbum, and all those other voices in my head sound like!

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I’m very pleased to learn that Today’s Parent magazine has given two thumbs up to STAR Academy by placing it in its “Bookshelf – Our Favourite Books This Month” section. You’ll find it on page 34 of the December issue. It’s a special honour because one of the other books that also made the cut is “The World Needs Your Kid”. Written by Marc and Craig Kielburger of Free the Children, it offers advice on how to raise socially aware, activist children. I haven’t read it yet, but as the creator of Amanda Forsythe, Derek Murphy, and a gaggle of other fictitious kids, as well as the father of two very real ones, I’m putting “The World Needs Your Kid” at the top of my must-read list.

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STAR Academy is now on Facebook! You can stay up to date with the latest news about Amanda Forsythe and her friends Derek, Evelyn and Sanjay by becoming a friend. Click here to join the gang and stay in touch!

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STAR Academy has just been reviewed in Canadian Children’s Book News, published by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Here’s a link to the online version of the review by Trevor Froates. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/STAR+Academy.-a0213032588

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