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Writers in the Schools Program (2011-2012)
 Don is currently taking part in Nova Scotia's WITS program, which makes
it possible for schools across the province to host authors. To date during the 2011-2012 academic year, Don has visited
six schools, most recently St. Mary's Bay Academy in Weymouth, where students and staff made him feel right at home. Below are some of the comments that SMBA students made following Don's presentation: "Hilarious!" "Definitely not lacking in swagg." "His presentation was awesome." "It was the first presentation where I didn't want to fall asleep." "He wasn’t what I thought he would be. A teacher, in his fifties, he writes books—but he was funny!"
Book Tour, November 20-25, 2011  Promotion of Don's novel The Fifth Rule included a tour of southern Ontario during the week of November 20-25, 2011. Organized
by Authors' Booking Service, Don's tour included visits to schools and libraries in Toronto as well as in Mississauga,
Oshawa, Brampton, and Ajax. Don was very impressed not only by the tremendous effort each host made in preparing for his visit
but also by the teenagers whom he had the opportunity to meet. Besides expressing keen interest in what Don
had to share, many of the teenagers he spoke to made insightful observations about his craft and asked a variety of excellent
questions, making this tour one of the most enjoyable of Don's career.
White Pine Nomination, October 17, 2011
The Ontario Library Association has nominated Don's novel The Fifth Rule for the 2012 White Pine Award, one segment of the OLA’s Forest of Reading program. Don’s previous novel, The Space Between, was nominated for the 2008 White Pine, and his novel The First Stone won the award in 2004. This year’s winner will be announced at the Festival of Trees ceremony in Toronto on May 15, 2012. Read more about The Fifth Rule here. Check out all of the 2012 White Pine fiction nominees.
Word on the Street, Sept. 25, 2011, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Don took part in the panel "Bad Boys in Young Adult Literature," which included Jill MacLean, author of Home Truths, and Sheree Fitch, author of Pluto's Ghost. Don read from his novel The Fifth Rule and, along with Jill and Sheree, answered questions from moderator James Leck and the audience about their "dark" characters.
Don enjoyed listening to Vicki Grant read from her novel Betsy
Wickwire's Dirty Secret, after which the two authors responded to questions from the audience and each other.
Most intriguing comment during the session? Vicki's revelation about where she got the name for
the community in her novel The Puppet Wrangler. Hilarious!
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