Meet Jared & Crystal
Crystal Stranaghan
Crystal is the author of seven published picture books for children, one poetry journal, several early reader chapter books and several non-fiction titles for adults. She has worked as a publisher, editor, book designer, publishing consultant and creative writing mentor on more than 50 book projects.
As the Publisher of Gumboot Books (2006-2011) a Vancouver publisher that specializes in books for children and youth, she helped dozens of projects come to life and worked with over seventy-five different authors and illustrators. She is also a creative writing mentor with the Creative Writing for Children society, and works with teens from around the world to write and produce their own books, which are then published through CWC.
As an experienced workshop facilitator and a trained Health Psychologist, Crystal has taught groups ranging in age from pre-school students to adults on topics including: writing, web-marketing, publishing, wellness, goal setting, leadership and the business of making books.
With a passion for technology, she has taken her love of stories and education online, and is now creating iPhone/iPad apps and building websites. Crystal loves helping other people conquer their fears of technology, and discovering all the opportunities available to them!
More information about Crystal is available on her website at www.crystalstranaghan.com.
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Jared Hunt
With experience in a wide variety of areas within the book creation world, Jared’s passion is storytelling in all its forms.
As a writer, Jared has worked on both novels and screenplays, and is also a passionate game designer. This year will see the release of Jared’s first young adult novel and an early reader chapter book, as well as several non-fiction books for adults.
As the senior editor at Gumboot Books (2006-2011) Jared worked primarily with the young adult manuscripts, as well as doing manuscript evaluations and story editing on a freelance basis for consulting clients on How-to books, memoirs and fiction for adults.
In a teaching capacity, Jared has been a creative writing mentor for the Creative Writing for Children Society, as well as teaching workshops on writing, publishing and website building through SCBWI Western Canada and at various community colleges. He also enjoys speaking at conferences and events and is particularly passionate about technology and the new opportunities it offers the publishing world.
Jared is currently working on his own iPhone game, as well as helping authors build websites and learn how to promote their books online. He loves harnessing the power of technology to increase productivity and facilitate creative project planning.
If you’d like to learn more about Jared, you can visit him online at www.jaredhunt.ca.
