Children's Award Announcements by Alexandra K - Thursday, Oct 13, 2011 at 6:01pm

'Tis the season for awards announcements in the book world! Here is a solid roundup of shortlists and winners thus far.

First of all, the shortlists have been announced for the Governor General's Literary Awards, as well as for the National Book Awards 2011. Congrats to McNally favourites Deborah Ellis and Kenneth Oppel, shortlisted for the GGs for No Ordinary Day and This Dark Endeavor respectively. As for the National Book Awards shortlist, I have to say that I am really excited for Franny Billingsley's Chime - I quite enjoyed it.

Some award winners:

• Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-fiction ($10,000): Case Closed: Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science, written by Susan Hughes of Toronto and illustrated by Michael Wandelmaier of Toronto.
• Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction ($5,000): The Glory Wind by Valerie Sherrard of Miramichi, N.B.
• John Spray Mystery Award ($5,000): A Spy in the House, written by Y.S. Lee of Kingston, Ont.

Finally, congratulations to Erin Bow, who won the $25,000 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award for her fantastic debut novel, Plain Kate.

Categories: Awards, buzz

Winnipeg Author Duncan Thornton wins $15,000 Award by Alexandra Kroeger - Friday, Jul 08, 2011 at 9:49am

Local children's author Duncan Thornton is one of seven lucky recipients of the 2011 Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Awards from the Canada Council for the Arts. These awards, worth $15,000 each, recognize outstanding artistic achievement by mid-career artists in Dance, Inter-Arts, Media Arts, Music, Theater, Visual Arts and Writing and Publishing.

We have carried Thornton's novels since his debut, Kalifax, was published in 1999, and we are terribly excited for him. Congratulations!

Categories: Awards

Sunburst Award Shortlists Announced by Chadwick Ginther - Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 3:18pm

The Sunburst Award, named for author Phyllis Gotlieb's first novel, is a juried prize celebrating Canadian literature of the fantastic. It has both an adult and young adult category. The winners of the Sunburst Award will be announced September 14, 2011 as part of Authors at Harbourfront Centre's weekly reading series. Jurors for 2011 are Julie Czerneda, Kate Freiman, Mark Leslie, Christopher Roden, and Alison Sinclair.

In the Adult category:

• Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay
• Watch, Robert J. Sawyer
• Chimerascope, Douglas Smith
• A Taint in the Blood, S.M. Stirling
• Stealing Home, Hayden Trenholm

In the Young Adult category:

• Shapeshifter, Holly Bennett
• Plain Kate, Erin Bow
• The Painted Boy, Charles de Lint
• Bookweirder, Paul Glennon
• Dust City, Robert Paul Weston

Categories: Awards, SciFi & Fantasy

2011-2012 On the Same Page Finalists Announced by Chadwick Ginther - Monday, Jun 27, 2011 at 7:33pm

Vote! Help select the next chapter for On the Same Page. Which Manitoba book, by a Manitoba author, do you think should get the On the Same Page this year? From the short list below, select the title you'd like for Manitoba's biggest book club. The poll closes Saturday, September 10, 2011.

• Baldur's Song, by David Arnason
• Winnipeg 1912 by Jim Blanchard
• Le Soleil du Lac Qui Se Couche / The Setting Lake Sun by J. R. Léveillé
• Black Bottle Man by Craig Russell

You may vote by clicking here. In October, 2008, The Winnipeg Foundation launched On The Same Page. The Literacy for Life Fund supports family literacy programming across Manitoba. Gifts to the fund are permanently endowed and the income generated supports inter-generational literacy projects at community organizations and library branches throughout the province.

Categories: Awards, Authors, SciFi & Fantasy, Winnipeg