David Starr

David is a prize-winning writer and the author of multiple books including “From Bombs to Books", "The Nor'Wester", "Golden Goal", “Golden Game”, “The King’s Shilling” and “Empty Net”. David is also a co-author on "Insider's Guide to K-12 Education in BC".


Several of David's books have been recognized as "Best Books for Kids" by the Canadian Children's Book Centre has been recognized by the Vancouver Canucks as a Community MVP and was named as one of the UBC Faculty of Education's Top 100 Grads in 2015.

 David is proud to announce that his most recent publication, School Statue Showdown, will be released by Lorimer Publishing in September.   School Statue Showdown, along with all of David's books can be purchased through the publishers, Amazon, Chapters Indigo and most  independent booksellers. Links are below.



This mystery/adventure set in a small BC lumber town is a fictional account of an event that is similar to many across the country – a sudden conflict over a school name and the historic figure it recognizes. 

Educator and childrens’ novelist David Starr builds a compelling fictional narrative using elements drawn from the history of resource exploitation at the expense of First Nations’ communities.


Last Pick shows how determination can help overcome obstacles ― even bullying. Growing up with a developmental condition that left her clumsy in both movement and speech, Jazz was teased and never had the chance to play team sports. Now rid of her symptoms, Jazz is ready to play basketball at her Vancouver junior high, but the reappearance of an old bully makes her question herself and tempts her to let down the team that is counting on her.  

Fourteen-year-old Madeline Snow is the star goalie and captain of her girls rep hockey team in Burnaby, British Columbia. So when her RCMP sergeant father moves the family to his new posting in Fort St. James, a remote town in northern BC, she feels like she is losing a lot.

In her new town Maddie is more unhappy than ever. Things begin to turn around when she discovers she has made the town's only Bantam team, a boys team called the Stars, but since they have a skilled goalie in Connor Spencer, Maddie wonders if she will ever get to play.



In Like Joyful Tears, readers see first-hand the trauma and havoc wreaked by civil war. Victoria Deng of southern Sudan is sixteen when her school is attacked by northern soldiers and everyone but herself and her sister Mary are massacred. The girls are soon rescued by southern rebel soldiers, who are escorting hundreds of children on the harrowing and dangerous cross-desert journey to a refugee camp.    

This book chronicles how schools in Canada play a positive role in the day-to-day lives of refugee families. Written by a principal who has worked at of two of the most diverse schools in Canada, David Starr shares the deeply moving stories of his students, their parents and the staff and documents the central role of schools in the process of integrating refugee families into Canadian society.

Abbas is a Syrian refugee and a striker on a junior high soccer team of refugee and immigrant players. He is excited when his team is sponsored to play a big tournament, where he can reconnect with a friend from Syria. But a traffic accident triggers Abbas to experience anxiety and flashbacks to the violence in Syria. He finds ways to conquer his flashbacks and anxiety before the big tournament and also helps his whole team deal with the pressure of the competition.

When Dylan doesn't get off to a good start at his new school and gets in trouble for fighting, he has to join the soccer team with a group of immigrant and refugee students who play on a rough, gravel field. Mocked by his old team, Dylan becomes determined to bring his new team to the championship finals. Getting to know his teammates opens Dylans eyes about hardship, and shows him the value of a goal that wins in sudden-death play ― a golden goal.

This comprehensive guide offers real-life answers to real-life questions about British Columbia’s school system.

Insider’s Guide to K–12 Education in BC


This gripping novel for young readers begins in 1805, when fifteen-year-old Duncan Scott and his sister Libby lose their parents in a Glasgow cotton mill fire. Their tragedy is compounded when, through one reckless act of grief, the Scott children become fugitives as well as orphans, and must flee Scotland. Across the border in England, Duncan and Libby are betrayed by their travelling companion. In a desperate attempt to save Duncan from the gallows, Libby sacrifices her freedom for her brother's - a selfless act of courage on the Liverpool docks that sends her to prison and propels Duncan over the storm-swept waters of the Atlantic to Canada. After a year in Montreal, Duncan is enlisted to travel by canoe across the continent to New Caledonia, carrying secret orders for the trader, Simon Fraser. Before he can go home and find Libby, Duncan must join Fraser on a dangerous voyage of discovery to the Pacific Ocean, a journey down what Fraser assumes is the Columbia River but which turns out to be what later will be called the Fraser. Along the way, Duncan faces death, danger and treason, and must somehow find the courage to save his companions, the expedition, and himself.

In this thrilling sequel to The Nor'Wester, Duncan Scott returns to England from Canada to search for his long-lost sister, Libby. Arriving on the Liverpool docks, Duncan learns that his sister's fate has captivated the entire country. He also learns a name: Elizabeth Fry, a prison reformer who helped Libby and who holds the key to her location. But before he can meet Fry and find his sister once and for all, Duncan is kidnapped by a Press Gang in a dockside inn. Forced to take the "King's Shilling," Duncan must serve in the Royal Navy where he once again becomes an unwilling player in the game of Empire. Now on board His Majesty's Ship Cerberus, Duncan meets old friends and makes dangerous enemies. Before Duncan's service ends, he will face deadly cannon fire on the Baltic, and will go on to fight an epic battle with Napoleon's fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, a battle that could very well seal his own destiny, that of his sister Libby, and of the British Empire itself.

In this young reader novel set at the beginning of the 19th century, Libby is placed in chains and transported to London’s notorious Newgate Prison after which, in a show trial, she is found guilty of helping her brother escape justice for attacking a Peer of the Realm after he beat her. Her punishment? Death by hanging. But while living in the horrific conditions of Newgate Prison, she is befriended by Elizabeth Fry, a woman who is famous for her work with prisoners. For reasons Libby doesn’t understand, she is spared the noose and is imprisoned in a rotting prison ship on the River Thames, where she waits to be transported to Australia. With the help of a new friend, Libby escapes the ship and makes her way to Elizabeth Fry. It is then Libby must make the hardest decision of her life. Does she escape from England or does she risk her life to testify in court about the horrific conditions that women endure in England’s prisons? Will Libby choose to flee to safety, or will she find the courage to seek justice for herself and the unfortunate victims locked in England’s grim prisons?

The Colour of Glass: Historical Fiction

The Armour of God: Historical Fiction

The Sound Made By Stars Rushing Through the Sky: Historical Fiction

The Saint of Stolen Children:

Thriller

If you are a literary agent interested in representing these upcoming titles please feel free to contact.




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