Mohawk College celebrates faculty and staff who have published books for National Authors Day on November 1.

For the first time, Mohawk College is  recognizing the authors in its midst.  Dr. Lisa Funnell, Associate Dean of Creative Industries, figures it is long overdue.

She got the idea when Graphic Design professor and professional illustrator Leif Peng showed her his just-published book The Art of the REAL Tom Sawyer.

“I had no idea that he had published a book and it got me wondering how many others at Mohawk had written books,” she says. She reached out to fellow associate deans to compile a list of authors among faculty and staff. “I was excited and impressed by the number of names that came back. We need to recognize the talent at Mohawk College and they deserve to be celebrated.”

The result was a celebration honouring about 20 Mohawk College authors in conjunction with National Authors Day on November 1. They have written everything from course textbooks to adult fiction to children’s stories.

Funnell hopes that the creativity and thought leadership of Mohawk College faculty and staff become better known in the community, alongside its leadership in education and 
applied research.

Funnell knows first-hand what it takes to put a book out into the world. She has seven in print, two more under contract, and another in progress. Her work centres on representation and identity in the film industry and she is an expert in gender and feminism in the James Bond series.

“It’s so different from other forms of writing to write and publish a book. It’s a painful and arduous process. It requires deep contemplation, organization and a long period of edits and revisions.”

Peng’s book documents the impact of Thomas B. Sawyer, whose high-energy images of “happy people with happy problems” appeared in newspapers, magazines and on billboards, fridge magnets and TV. He worked for 30 years in obscurity before abandoning illustration to become an award-winning filmmaker and TV showrunner/screenwriter.

“Leif is so respected in his field,” says Funnell. “I am inspired by the success of these authors and I think others will be, too.”

Dr. Anne-Marie DePape

Title: Charlotte’s Shadow, 2022

Role at Mohawk: Coordinator and Professor in Brain Disorders Management and Mental Health & Disability Management 

I wrote this children’s book alongside Christine Quaglia, a Social Worker at the University of Windsor. We had the idea for almost 20 years to write this book and when COVID hit and others were baking and watching Netflix, we decided it was time.

The book is about a young girl named Charlotte and her dog Shadow. It is told from the perspective of Shadow, who sees Charlotte as larger than life. The book takes children on an adventure as Charlotte goes through her day: mailing a letter, returning a book to the library, and going to her grandmother’s house. It is not revealed until the end that Charlotte uses a wheelchair and that Shadow is her service dog.

I have a background in working with children with disabilities as part of my training as a Developmental Psychologist. Christine has lived experience with a physical disability in addition to her work of supporting students registered with Student Accessibility Services. We met in university and I noticed early on the way that children interacted with her. They had great curiosity about her wheelchair and just asked questions. Christine is so open and loves to show them how her wheelchair works and how she can elevate herself. It creates a teachable moment, and for some kids this might be the first contact they have with someone with a disability.

I had a couple full circle moments where graduates of our programs, now working in elementary schools, tell me how they have incorporated Charlotte’s Shadow into their curriculum. It was the first time that some children saw themselves represented in the books that they read. Disability is not often talked about in children’s literature. When it is discussed, characters with a disability are not always portrayed in a positive way or as primary characters of children’s stories. I think it is really neat that Mohawk College brought us together in a celebration of authors. There is so much talent here. This takes us out of our silos to form a community together.

There may be people thinking about writing a book and I hope this community inspires them to do so.

Carla LaBella

Title: The WOW Book – Ways of Optimizing Well-Being (to be published Fall 2023)

Role at Mohawk: Coordinator of General Arts and Science, Professor of Psychology

This will be an optional book in our Positive Psychology course. I co-created this course in 2018 with my colleague, Tulsie Raghubir-Mamouzellos. At the time, we wanted something to support our course but 
we weren’t happy with the books that were out there.

So I took the materials and my approach to Positive Psychology as I teach it, and turned it into a book. These are tools that I’ve applied in my own life and shared widely with my students and colleagues.

I started writing this book during COVID. That was really the motivation for the book because so many students and others, with and without a mental health issue, struggled during the pandemic.

The book includes a foundational introduction to Positive Psychology and the mind-body connection and explores the many ways we can enhance our wellbeing. Anxiety, sadness and anger are all part of being human. The goal is to help readers build a toolbox so they can better navigate these experiences.

This is my first book, so it’s been a challenging, vulnerable experience. It’s putting yourself out there and there is no way to know what the reception will be. But I’m excited about how it will be used and the impact it may have on others.

I am happy that Mohawk College hosted this authors event. It’s valuable because we have so many talented professors and staff members. It’s nice to have that recognition that people are doing great work. This might inspire people to take on some writing.

John Corr

Title: Eight Times Up, 2019

Role at Mohawk: Professor of Communication and Global Studies

Eight Times Up is my first novel. It’s children’s fiction, written about a boy who trains in the martial art aikido.

I trained in aikido for about 20 years. It’s given me so much. Aikido teaches students how to handle conflict assertively, but without aggression. It’s as much mindful as physical. You learn to defend against your own fear, doubt, hesitation, and surprise.

In Eight Times Up, the main character is a boy named Riley who struggles with anxiety. His father offers him the chance to try aikido, hoping it will help him build resilience and cope with the feeling of being overwhelmed.

The intended audience is readers aged 9-12, but adults enjoy it too. I showed the first draft to a writer-in-residence who encouraged me to send it out. The second publisher I sent it to picked it up. Even though the story is about resilience, I don’t think I could have persevered through 100 rejection letters before getting published.

Writing can be either the best feeling in the world or the worst. It’s so immersive. To me, writing feels like getting lost in a novel that only ends when you want it to. The best part of the two-year-long editing process was arguing with my editor about my characters’ feelings and actions. It meant so much that she cared about the characters as much as I did.

When it came out, I was afraid of two things: that nobody would read it and that anybody would read it. It’s such a personal book. But it’s opened up so many connections and relationships that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

The book was short-listed for the Hamilton Literary Awards in 2020; was named a TD Summer Reading Club “Top Ten” selection (2020) and a CANSCAIP/Ontario Library Association “Best Bets” Book (2020); and was listed in the Bank Street College of Education “The Best Children’s Books of the Year” (2020).

This recognition for Mohawk College’s authors is vital. It reveals a whole layer of culture that can percolate through and inspire students. If you can’t see it, you can’t be it!

Dr. Sharon Kamassah

Title: Yielding: Life Unraveled, 2021

Role at Mohawk: Manager, Workplace Equity and Inclusion

I’ve always been a writer but I’ve always written in my closet. I’m an introvert. I teach and I have a business but I’m just as happy in my room with the door closed surrounded by books. During the time of COVID, I experimented with writing a book that isn’t fixed in time, that isn’t fixed in location and speaks in different voices. It also explores what it means to have aging parents.

The way my character deals with loss is totally different than how it came about for me. I thought her reaction would be how I would react in a similar situation but I was so wrong.

I self-published the book and dedicated it to my mother. It hurt me that she never knew me as a writer. When she passed in 2021, I just felt that I had to get it out there before 
the year ended.

During the editing stage, I gave it to my daughter to read. She was my first reader and she hated it completely. I felt totally decimated and was tempted to keep the manuscript in my closet. After losing my mother though, I decided that regardless of whether it’s everybody’s cup of tea or not, to just get it out there! Even if it reaches only one person, I’ve reached one person it resonates with and that’s success enough.

My mother had her first stroke at 58. It seemed like she never enjoyed a life beyond hard work up until that point. She is my template so I have to be careful and mindful of the decisions I make based on the lessons I’ve learnt from her. I don’t want any regrets.

I’ve done a lot in my life but I’ve never taken the time to reflect on it. Writing, however, is very reflective. It’s in your mind, heart and spirit. To have my words out there is to be exposed. Some of what I’ve written is me, but some of it is not and the reader doesn’t know which is which. I see continuing to write, doing this vulnerable work, as a step in the right direction. I know it’s part of my growth.

Knowing that there is this community of writers among my colleagues here at Mohawk College is affirming and a huge resource for our college community.

Stephen Metelsky

Title: Undercover: Stories from the Underworld of Law Enforcement, 2021

Role at Mohawk: Professor of Criminology

I had a 21-year career in policing and spent much of that in undercover work where I primarily worked as a handler. A handler is a supervisor who writes an operational plan, oversees safety and coordinates the investigative and surveillance teams.

Undercover really came about by accident. I was working with a collaborator on another project and we interviewed 30 to 40 people. As we kept editing down, I realized that five or six interviews would have to be cut. They were all undercover operatives and the stuff was incredible, but it didn’t fit in the project. So, I asked my partner if I could use the interviews. I was originally going to write a column, but then I decided it was a book.

I reached out to some friends in the undercover world and they came on board, too. My own connections and experience opened doors. There are about a dozen people in the book. It’s a nice mix of stories, timelines and geography.

This book puts readers in the front seat of some incredible stories. When you are infiltrating organized crime networks, gangs and drug dealing organizations, anything can happen in a millisecond. I think for some people in the book it was cathartic to talk about their experience. I want the public to know that the men and women who do this don’t get extra pay and they don’t get on the front page or the six o’clock news. They risk their lives to put really bad people in jail.

With this book, it was such an honour and privilege to tell these stories and such a responsibility to tell them right.

I’ve been writing crime stories for magazines and newspapers for years. Every aspect of my life has been true crime. I’ve lived it from the inside, I went to school for it and now I teach and write about it. I don’t glorify crime or criminals. I’m most interested in bringing cold cases back to the public domain. I’m a proponent of victim rights. I’ve seen the pain and suffering of families.

I am extremely humbled to be among the authors being recognized. It’s an honour to teach at Mohawk College.

This story originally appeared in Momentum Magazine.