Biography:

Judy Fong Bates came to Canada from China as a young child and grew up in several small Ontario towns. She is a writer, storyteller and teacher. She taught elementary school in the city of Toronto for over twenty years. While teaching she honed her skills as a storyteller and has told folktales and original stories at schools and festivals throughout southern Ontario. Judy has also taught and mentored students in creative writing through the University of Toronto, Trent University and Diaspora Dialogues.

Judy has two adult daughters and two grandchildren. She lives with her husband on a farm outside of Toronto. They are both devoted gardeners and enthusiastic hikers.

Major works include:

• Midnight at the Dragon Café is the 2011 One Book Community Read for the city of Toronto.
• China Dog and Other Stories
• Midnight at the Dragon Café, which was the Everybody Reads selection for Portland, Oregon, and an American Library Association Notable Book for 2006.
• The Year of Finding Memory (2010) by Random House of Canada.

Notable awards

• ALEX Award winner, American Library Association, 2005
• The One Community Reads selection for Portland, Oregon, February 2007