Montreal has so many wonderful things from the best bagels I've ever had to smoked meat sandwiches that could clog 1,000 arteries. Of course there are countless other jewels that don't relate to food - and one of them just completed its 12th year. The BLUE METROPOLIS LITERARY FESTIVAL is a wonderful mix of workshops, panels and speakers; toss in the shmoozing and book signing and I'd say it's a festival that can't be beat.I had the fortunate experience 2 years ago to speak to a group of 250 kids as part of the Blue Met's Children's Festival and this year I was asked to be part of a panel called "Breaking Into the Red Hot Kid-Lit Market". My fellow panel members Jill Murray and Joyce Scharf and I got to speak to a roomful of aspiring writers of all ages and hopefully we didn't bore the pants off of anyone (in either language). We had the pleasure of being guided through the hour by Raquel Rivera, who had her hands full navigating the questions.
It was a wonderful event and I look forward to next year's festival.
