• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

Key Selling Points

• When Izzy Wong finds out the girls' bathroom was purposely flooded, she knows she's found the perfect subject for her podcast. But her drive to find the culprit and get listeners overtakes her journalistic ethics...and puts her podcast (and investigation) in jeopardy.
• Izzy Wong's Nose for News shows a middle grader learning about ethical journalism from firsthand experience and making missteps along the way; it's a great springboard for readers to think about the difference between news and gossip or truth and supposition.
• Shows how smarts and persistence really do pay off, but also how empathy is key to making the right choices.
• Podcasts are incredibly popular and readers will get some of the inside scoop on how to make one, down to Izzy's choice of audio recorder.
• Marty Chan is a prolific and award-winning author and playwright, whose books include Cosplay Crime, Final Cut, Willpower, Dragon on the Loose and the Ehrich Weisz Chronicles. He frequently tours and presents to schools.

Raised in Morinville—a small town north of Edmonton, Alberta—Marty Chan is a playwright, radio writer, television story editor, and young adult author. Marty graduated from the University of Alberta in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree (English major/drama minor). He fell into improv comedy when he joined Edmonton Theatresports, but his paralyzing stage fright resulted in ”penguin arm“ acting, forcing him to abandon performing and take up writing. His signature play, Mom, Dad, I’m Living With A White Girl, has been produced across Canada, published three times, and broadcast as a radio drama. The stage play won an Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Best New Work and the Adams Chinese Theatre Award at Harvard University. In October 2004, the play had a successful Off Broadway run in New York. Marty was a regular contributor to CBC Radio Edmonton from 1994 to 2000. His weekly commentary series, ”The Dim Sum Diaries,“ recounted his misadventures as the only Chinese kid in a small prairie town. These weekly commentaries were adapted into a half-hour television program (The Orange Seed Myth) which won a Gold Medal for Best Television Pilot at the Charleston World Film and Television Festival, and earned Marty a Gemini nomination for best writing in a children’s program. In 2004, Thistledown Press launched Marty’s first young adult novel, The Mystery of the Frozen Brains, which has become a hit with young readers across Canada. Resource Links magazine rated listed it as one of the Best Books of 2004 for grades 3 to 6. Marty was the first playwright in residence at the Citadel Theatre. He also served as the chair of the Edmonton Arts Council and taught playwriting at the U of A. He received an Arts Achievement Award and a Performance Award from the City of Edmonton. He also earned a Horizon Award from the university for his contributions to theatre. Currently, Marty resides in Edmonton with his wife Michelle and their two cats, Buddy and Max.

Marty Chan's profile page

“With an age-appropriate love triangle, multiple suspects, and discussions about the difference between news and gossip, Izzy’s investigation has much to keep young readers engaged. Careful descriptions of the technical side of podcasting and insights from Izzy’s broadcast journalist mother offer an entry point to anyone curious about following in Izzy’s footsteps…A solid middle-grade mystery laced with leads for aspiring newshounds.”

Kirkus Reviews