Sylv Chiang
Sylv Chiang grew up in Toronto. As an only child, she had a lot of quiet time to read. Her favorite series was Trixie Belden, but she also loved books by Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary. In Grade One, she wanted to be an author when she grew up. Besides reading, young Sylv loved playing outside, swimming, and doing gymnastics.
As a teenager, she coached gymnastics and worked at a local museum giving tours to school groups. She also did tour guiding for class trips to Montreal and Quebec City.
Sylv studied French at the University of Toronto, and since all her past jobs had involved teaching kids, the obvious path was to become a French teacher. She has taught French Immersion, Extended French, and Core French in the Toronto District School Board.
When her second child was born, Sylv remembered her childhood dream of becoming an author. She enrolled in a Writing for Children class and soon began her middle grade fiction series, Cross Ups, to appeal to the students in her Grade Five class who were more interested in video games than books.
Sylv’s favorite part of being an author is when her characters surprise her by doing something she wasn’t expecting. When she’s not writing, you can find Sylv on her yoga mat or at the local library.