Jacqueline Halsey

The Magic of story

what's up...

My latest writing adventure is journalism. I am thoroughly enjoying writing a monthly article for The Beacon. It's a very different way of writing which involves talking to people and hearing their stories.

I'm over the moon that Joe and the Wreck of the Tribune, the story of local hero Joe Cracker, is a finalist for the Atlantic Book Award's - Ann Connor Brimer award for Children's Literature.

The judges comments are as follows.

"Halsey infuses Joe's story with a high level of historical detail, and not shying away historical detail, giving us a readable and vivid picture of life in an 18th Century fishing community and not shying away from the harsh realities of living by the sea that can claim lives quickly and without mercy."

I've been joining with other member of the Arts community in writing letters to MLAs and taking part in the 2,000 strong protests outside Province House. The budget cuts to the art community are devastating. I'm particularly concerned about the cuts to the writing community. Local publishers like Nimbus and Formac, the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia, and the Writers in the Schools (WITS) program will all suffer.

Unfortunately, Tim Housten's huge majority meant the bill passed. Grants to the arts will be discontinued and museums closed. This is a devastating blow to the culture of the Province.

I am part of the Save Dartmouth Cove group fighting to stop the in filling of this beautiful Downtown waterfront area. We have been writing letters to politicians of all levels of Government and holding peaceful but noisy rallies. A builder/developer says the cove is toxic and dead and dumping vast quantities of pyrite slate in it will be good for the environment!!! Recently volunteer divers took some amazing underwater pictures proving that Dartmouth Cove is very much alive.

DFO agreed that marine life should not be destroyed for private profit. "Yeah!!!" Infilling permission denied.

If you go to Herring Cove look for Tribune Head lane where you will find the start of a single-file over-grown path that will take you up the rocky headland. You'll reach a clearing with a breathtaking view of the mouth of Halifax Harbour. Here, overlooking the site where HMS Tribune ran aground is a small, monument honouring the bravery of Joe Cracker. On November 24, 1797, this Herring Cove teen rowed his small boat through mountainous seas to rescue the survivors of the tragic Tribune shipwreck. Joe Cracker is the hero and inspiration of my book Joe and the Wreck of the Tribune.

This trail is very hard to find and I'm currently writing to the various levels of government to ask for more signage to this historic site.

Afterwords Kids Day.

Lots of kids, and lots of fun as visitors to my table wrote their favorite book on a paper bottle and posted it my ocean. I discovered that everyone liked my Joe Cracker book-earrings, and had read The Terrible Horrible Smelly Pirate!! I enjoyed telling Joe Cracker's story to visitors. A huge thank you to the organizers, sponsors and participants of this great event.

Booktoberfest

Everyone agreed that this year's WFNS Booktoberfest held at Central Library was a great success. Crowds of book lovers wandered the aisles the whole time. There was no slack period. The pic is of my table the fish contained "dad" jokes which you turned over to groan at the answers. I loved telling everyone the story of Joe Cracker and selling books too. I ran out of "Smelly Beach"

These really simple really fun origami yachts were my activity at the Nimbus Word On The Hill event. A big "thank you" to my lovely listeners and to Jorja, the Digitally Lit volunteer who did a brilliant job of hosting me. I am taking part in the WFNS's Booktoberfest on October 13th and the AfterWords Literary Festival on November 1st. Both events take place in the Central Library. I will have more fun activities at my table on both events so come and say Hi.

The Writers in the Schools (WITS)

Registration for the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia's WITS program is open now. If you'd like me to visit your school contact Linda Hudson at: wits@writers.ns.ca

Book launch for Joe and the Wreck of the Tribune

Forty five people joined me in Alderney Gate library for Joe Cracker's book launch. There was a slide show, a reading, and Cindy Campbell presented an action packed interpretation of sea shanties. The audience sang along as volunteers heaved on a rope in time to the music. Everyone had a great time. Thank you Carrie for introducing me, Cindy Cambell for the interesting presentation, Alderney Gate library for hosting me and Nimbus for the tea and cookies.

photo is of Cindy showing how singing Shanties helps everyone to pull together. We should all sing more.

Joe and the Wreck of the Tribune

My latest book, published by Nimbus, was released in May 2025. It is based on the true story of Joe Cracker, the Herring Cove teen who rowed through a storm to rescue survivors of a ship, wrecked at the mouth of Halifax Harbour. His bravery shamed other fishermen into making a rescue attempt. The amazing cover was designed by Bee Stanton.

"Vivid descriptions, true to life characters, and an engaging young hero,make for a riveting tale of courage, grit and heart." Julie Lawson

"It is the story of a young man's courage and determination. It shows how one person can make a difference."

Writers Federation of New Brunswick: 2025 Sheree Fitch Award for Teen Writers.

I really enjoyed reading the entries for this years competition. The standard was extremely high, making choosing winners a very hard decision.

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