Laura Kaminker

Writing professionally since 1985, Ms. Kaminker has written fiction and nonfiction for children, young adults, and general audiences. She’s the author of several self-help books and videos for young people. Her personal essays have been published in the Globe and Mail, The New York Times, Newsweek, and elsewhere; and she has written feature stories for many national publications.

She has been a contributing editor, columnist, and features writer for New Mobility, an award-winning lifestyle magazine for people with disabilities, and the sports and recreation editor of Spinal Network, a resource guide for wheelchair-users. She helped develop, write, and edit Kids On Wheels, the first resource guide and magazine for young wheelers.

As a volunteer and grassroots activist, she has focused on: sexual assault and domestic violence, reproductive rights, youth and girls’ issues, a labour union for freelance writers, and the peace movement. Since coming to Canada, she has worked with the War Resisters Support Campaign, a coalition that assists former U.S. soldiers who refused to participate in the Iraq War, and campaigns to persuade the government to allow them to stay in Canada.

She and her partner, Allan Wood, who is also a writer, applied to emigrate to Canada in 2003, relocated from New York City in 2005, and became Canadian citizens in June of 2010. Laura currently attends the iSchool at the University of Toronto, and will receive a Master's degree in Library and Information Science. She writes the blog “we move to canada.”