Rukhsana Khan is an award winning author and storyteller. She was born in Lahore, Pakistan and immigrated to Canada with her family at the age of three. She grew up in the small town of Dundas, Ontario.

Rukhsana has a down-to-earth, humourous style of presentation.

Some of her presentations tackle serious subject matter such as child refugees, but she does so with a light touch that engages listeners without trivializing the situation. With her years of storytelling experience and wide repertoire of stories, her presentations work well for various age groups and audience types.

A New Life/Coming to Canada - Rukhsana Khan from ArtsSmarts on Vimeo.

This presentation combines Rukhsana’s picture books: Silly Chicken and Ruler of the Courtyard with humorous personal stories and folktales to give children a vivid image of South Asian and Islamic culture. Students also learn how a story is written and edited while participating in action refrains.

Writing books, like any art form, involves a constantly changing process from inspiration to revision, submission, editing and production. This presentation is a dynamic look at the book Rukhsana is currently working on, paying special attention to the importance of editing and the steps towards book production.

This presentation focuses on literacy and the immigrant experience, highlighting the importance of overcoming obstacles and taking advantage of all learning opportunities available. This presentation focuses on her book Coming to Canada.

This presentation is an author visit and features Rukhsana’s new book Wanting Mor. The presentation deals with issues of loss, abandonment, addiction and blended families. Rukhsana relates the inspiration behind this powerful story and gives students insights into the creative process and life in another culture.

This presentation features her book The Roses in My Carpet, based on the story of her Afghan refugee foster child. The story illustrates the life of a young boy living with loss and terror-filled memories, where time is measured by the next bucket of water, the next portion of bread and the next call to prayer. Despite overwhelming obstacles, the young boy still longs for freedom, independence and safety. It’s when life is at its most fragile that the strength to endure grows out of need. But the strength to dream comes from within. Rukhsana uses humour to deal with such serious subjects as child sponsorship and poverty. The presentation includes a visual tour of the refugee camp she visited in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Rukhsana relates her experiences of growing up as an immigrant in Canada and how she coped with discrimination. While focusing on peer pressure, she reveals how an incident in her youth became the climatic scene of her award winning novel Dahling, If You Luv Me Would You Please Smile.

As an award-winning author, Rukhsana shares the creative process of story writing, focusing on the universal elements of powerful stories. This workshop includes writing tips and writing exercises.