Susan Hughes facts for kids

Susan Hughes (born in 1960) is a Canadian author who writes books for children and young adults. She works for herself as an editor and writer. She also helps other writers improve their stories and books.

Early Life and Learning

Susan Hughes went to Glenview Senior Public School for junior high. Then she attended Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute for high school. She studied English literature at Queen's University for one year. After that, she finished her studies at the University of Toronto.

During a summer, Susan got a job at Crabtree Publishing, a company that makes children's books. There, she learned many important skills. She learned about writing, doing research, editing, and checking for mistakes. She also learned how to work well with a team. After working at Crabtree for a year, Susan started her own business as an editor and writer. At the same time, she began writing her own books.

Writing Career and Awards

Susan Hughes is a very successful author. She has written over 30 children's books. These include many different types of books, like board books for toddlers, picture books, chapter books, and novels for middle schoolers and teens. She has written both fiction (made-up stories) and non-fiction (true stories).

Two of Susan's non-fiction books have won a special award called the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-fiction. This award celebrates the best non-fiction books for kids in Canada.

• Her book, CASE CLOSED? NINE MYSTERIES UNLOCKED BY MODERN SCIENCE, won the award in 2011. This book helps kids explore mysteries solved by science.
• Her book, OFF TO CLASS: INCREDIBLE AND UNUSUAL SCHOOLS AROUND THE WORLD, won the award in 2012. This book shows readers many unique schools from all over the world.

Susan is proud that her books have been translated into more than seven different languages. This means children in many countries can read her stories.

Helping Other Writers

Susan Hughes has also helped judge many writing contests for children. These include contests organized by groups like CANSCAIP and the Writers Union of Canada. She has judged stories and poems for the Hamilton Literary Awards.

She also volunteered for fun in the KidLitQuiz, a competition about children's books. Susan was an adjudicator for the CNIB Library Braille Creative Writing Contest in 2014. She also judged speech contests for students in the Toronto District School Board. Susan has been a mentor for projects like Read Liberia and Read Sierra Leone, which help promote reading in other countries. She was also one of four writers who worked with the Toronto District School Board as a Writer-in-Residence. This means she helped students with their writing.