Trio of youngCanLit authors appointed to the Order of Canada

On December 30, 2016, the Governor General of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, announced 100 new appointments to the Order of Canada.  I am pleased to recognize and congratulate three youngCanLit authors who were named amongst the honourees.  They are:

Jan Andrews

author of picture books, short stories, fiction and young adult including

The Silent Summer of Kyle McGinley (Great Plains Teen Fiction, 2013)

When Apples Grew Noses and White Horse Flew: The Tales of Ti-Jean (Groundwood, 2011)

Rude Stories (Tundra, 2011)

The Twelve Days of Summer (Orca, 2007)

The Auction (Groundwood, 2007)

Winter of Peril: The Newfoundland Diary of Sophie Loveridge, Mairie's Cove, New-Found-Land 1721 (Scholastic Canada, 2005)

Very Last First Time (Groundwood, 1987)

Deborah Ellis

author of numerous fiction and non-fiction books, including

The Cat at the Wall (Groundwood, 2014)

Moon At Nine (Pajama Press, 2014)

Looks Like Daylight: Voices of Indigenous Kids (Groundwood, 2013)

My Name is Parvana (Groundwood, 2012)

True Blue (Pajama Press, 2011)

No Ordinary Day (Groundwood, 2011)

I am a Taxi (Groundwood, 2006)

The Heaven Shop (Groundwood, 2004)

Parvana's Journey (Groundwood, 2002)

The Breadwinner (Groundwood, 2000)

Jacqueline Guest

author of historical fiction and contemporary fiction including

Fire Fight (Book Publ. Co., 2015)

The Comic Book War (Coteau Books, 2014)

Outcasts of River Falls (Coteau Books, 2012)

Ghost Messages (Coteau Books, 2011)

Hat Trick (Lorimer, 2010)

Secret Signs (Orca, 2006)

Belle of Batoche (Orca, 2004)

Lightning Rider (Lorimer, 2000)

Jacqueline Guest: Indspire 2012 Arts Award Recipient

Yesterday, Indspire (formerly the National Indigenous Achievement Foundation) announced the recipients of its annual awards which recognize outstanding contributions by Indigenous people in Canada.  Ten of the fourteen awards are dedicated to career achievements, and this year, the recipient of the Indspire Award in the field of the Arts is Canadian children's author, Jacqueline Guest.

Jacqueline Guest has penned an impressive collection of seventeen books of historical, young adult and sports fiction.

Her most recent book, Outcast of River Falls (Coteau, 2012) is the sequel to her highly successful historical novel, Belle of Batoche (Orca, 2004).  Both books focus on the Métis and the discrimination and wrongs perpetrated against them within the context of the late 1800's.

Her book, Ghost Messages (Coteau, 2011) won a Moonbeam Gold Medal for Pre-teen Historical Fiction, and was nominated for a Silver Birch award.

Two of Jacqueline Guest's sports novels, Triple Threat (Lorimer, 2011) and Free Throw (Lorimer, 2011) were awarded two of the four 2012 American Indian Youth Literature Awards from the American Indian Library Association of the American Library Association.

The accolades for Jacqueline Guest and her contribution to children's literature and promotion of First Nations, Métis and Inuit history and culture are well warranted. Check out her website at http://www.jacquelineguest.com/ for complete details about her books, presentations, and events.

Congratulations, Jacqueline Guest!

Alberta Literary Awards

The Alberta Literary Awards were created by the Writers Guild of Alberta in 1982 to recognize excellence in writing by Alberta authors.

The Writers Guild of Alberta presents the following nine awards as well as administers two city book awards:


• R. Ross Annett Award for Children's Literature This award alternates yearly between picture and chapter books

• Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction

• Wilfred Eggleston Award for Non-Fiction
 
• Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama
 
• Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry 

• Amber Bowerman Memorial Travel Writing Award

• James H. Gray Award for Short Non-Fiction

• Howard O'Hagan Award for Short Story

• Jon Whyte Memorial Essay Prize


The two city book awards are:
• The City of Calgary W. O. Mitchell Book Prize

• The Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize

*

The 2012 nominees for the  

R. Ross Annett Award for Children's Literature 

 are:

Jacqueline Guest of Bragg Creek

for Ghost Messages

Coteau Books

Barb Howard of Bragg Creek

for The Dewpoint Show

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

Cathy Ostlere of Calgary

for Karma

Razorbill/Penguin Canada

The 2012 shortlist titles for the 

City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize  

were announced at the end of March and include one young adult title:

Karma
Cathy Ostlere

Razorbill/Penguin Canada

The winners of all awards will be announced in June.