Flintridge Bookstore is hosting a storytime for local author and Emmy Award-winning journalist Olivia Smith on Saturday, June 17, from 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Smith will be reading her children’s book “Dog Detectives Jacob and Bricks Mystery at the Lake” and leading a related activity at the event.
Her book delves into the lives of its characters Jacob and Bricks, who both see something fishy happening at their lake. They follow a mysterious creature and uncover a problem in their town. It’s up to these two pooch pals to help save the day once again. The book is appropriate for preschool- and 2nd-grade-aged children. Smith created the book series with her father.
Smith, who is a multiplatform journalist based in Los Angeles, is the executive producer of Next Generation Storytelling at ABC7. She focuses on telling stories for all media platforms in addition to supervising and training others at the company. Prior to ABC7, Smith helped build the digital video teams for ABC News National and Good Morning America.
Smith has also reported from the Oscars, from a marijuana field, from the top of a mountain and from a sleeper bus across the country. She has covered topics like female genital cutting and black-market drugs. Olivia has been to wildfires, chased kidnappers, traveled to political conventions and even become a mermaid for a day.
Smith is a content creator with extensive experience of more than 20 years in print, broadcast, multimedia and digital journalism, as well as with local, national and international reporting. She has worked on stories for several media organizations throughout her career, including CNN, CNN Business, 60 Minutes, Al Jazeera, NY1 News and the Columbia Journalism Review.
She has a number of passion projects outside of her day job. Beyond being a children’s book author, Smith is the founder and creator of Get Savvy with Social, a media and lifestyle company and blog, and she offers media consulting services. She is an adjunct professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and a certified nutrition specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
First published in the June 8 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
