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Meet the Bookclub-in-a-Box Writers

Every Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide offers insight into the characters, themes, symbols, writing style, and historical background of the novel, and is a collaboration of research and writing shared by founder Marilyn Herbert and our team of freelance writers.

Rona Arato (guide to Kathryn Stockett's The Help)

Rona Arato is the award-winning author of 11 children’s books, as well as a teacher and a freelance writer. Her articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines in Canada, the United States, and England. Rona has also interviewed Holocaust survivors for the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, a non-profit organization founded by Steven Spielberg after he completed Schindler's List. She was born in New York, grew up in Los Angeles, and lives in Toronto with her husband. They have three children and three grandchildren. Visit her online at www.ronaarato.com.

Samantha Bailey (guide to Paula McLain's The Paris Wife and Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question)

Samantha Bailey, a published author, has more than 15 years of experience writing, editing, and teaching English. She has a Masters in Education, and runs her own freelance writing and editing business called Perfect Pen Communications. 

 

Allison Cannon (guide to Emma Donoghue's Room)

Allison Cannon has a B.A. in English from Dalhousie University, and after nearly a decade on Canada’s east coast, she has returned to Toronto. She is now a student in Ryerson University’s publishing program and a writer for Bookclub-in-a-Box.

 

Risa Drimmer and Adina Levin (co-writers for guide to Philip Roth's Indignation)

Risa Drimmer has an Honours B.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Western Ontario, and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Toronto. She lives in Toronto with her husband and three kids, and is happy to be putting her love of reading and writing to use.

Adina Levin is an avid reader of contemporary fiction and non-fiction. She has a Ph.D. in Ancient Near Eastern Literature and the Hebrew Bible, and enjoys drawing on her experience in literary analysis of ancient texts and applying it to modern works. Adina lives in Toronto with her husband and two children.

Jo-Ann Zoon (guide to Camilla Gibb's The Beauty of Humanity Movement and Michael Ondaatje's The Cat's Table)

With a background in freelance writing and broadcast communications, and as a founding member of two long-standing book clubs, Jo-Ann Zoon has always had a passion for books. "Bookclub-in-a-Box is a dream assignment,” she says.  “I no longer have to limit my reading to outside of business hours — reading is now my job, and I get to ply my skills as a writer/editor at the same time. It doesn’t get any better!" Jo-Ann spent many years working at the CBC in publicity, account management, media buying, and on-air promotion.

 

More Bookclub-in-a-Box writers: