The 2013 Sunburst Fantasy Award shortlists announced

The Sunburst Award Society recently announced the shortlists for its two categories of Sunburst Awards for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic.  

These awards, presented annually in the categories of Adult and Young Adult speculative fiction, aim to recognize the novels or book-length collections of Canadian writers (citizens or landed immigrants) of fantasy, with a cash award of $1000 (Can) and a Sunburst medallion. 

 

Phyllis Gotlieb (1926-2009), one of the first published authors of contemporary Canadian science fiction, has been honoured with the naming of this award after her first novel, Sunburst, published in 1964 by Gold Medal.

The winners of the awards will be announced and presented in the fall in Toronto.  While there are only 5 titles nominated on each short-list (only the young adult list is shared here), the Sunburst Award site has lists of speculative fiction from different years.  It's a key website to find your next great CanLit fantasy read.

The Green Man
by Michael Bedard
Tundra Books

Pirate Cinema
by Cory Doctorow
Tor Teen

Seraphina
by Rachel Hartman
Doubleday Canada

Reviewed on April 14, 2013 at CanLit for LittleCanadians.

Bright’s Light
by Susan Juby
HarperCollins

Rebel Heart
by Moira Young
Doubleday Canada

Reviewed November 24, 2012 at CanLit for LittleCanadians.

2013/2014 Red Cedar, B.C.'s Young Readers' Choice, Award: Nominees announced

The Red Cedar Book Award (a.k.a. B.C.'s Young Readers' Choice Award) announced its award winners for 2012/2013 and have already announced the two short-lists of nominated titles for the upcoming year, though not officially launched until November.  Readers in Grades 4 through 7 will have until next spring to read the books to prepare themselves for voting in April.  The winners are announced annually in May.

Here are the 2013/2014 short-lists for the Red Cedar Fiction and Information Book Awards:

My Name is Paravana
by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood








Mr. and Mrs. Bunny – Detectives Extraordinaire!
by Polly Horvath
Groundwood







Summer in the City
by Marie-Louise Gay and David Homel
Groundwood








Torn Apart: The Internment Diary of Mary Kobayashi (Dear Canada)
by Susan M. Aihoshi
Scholastic Canada







Ungifted
by Gordon Korman
Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins








The Encyclopedia of Me
by Karen Rivers
Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic Canada

The Grave Robber’s Apprentice
by Allan Stratton
HarperCollins Canada








The Mighty Miss Malone
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Wendy Lamb Books/Random House

Cat’s Cradle Book 1: The Golden Twine
by Jo Rioux
Kids Can Press








Redwing
by Holly Bennett
Orca

The Gargoyle at the Gates
by Philippa Dowding
Dundurn

Mimi Power and the I-Don’t-Know-What
by Victoria Miles
Tradewind Books

Bodyguards! From Gladiators to the Secret Service
by Ed Butts
Illustrated by Scott Plumbe
Annick Press

The World in Your Lunchbox: The Wacky History and Weird Science Of Everyday Foods
by Claire Eamer
Illustrated by Sa Boothroyd
Annick Press

Earth-friendly Buildings, Bridges and More: The Eco-Journal Of Corry Lapont
by Etta Kaner
Illustrated by Stephen MacEachern
Kids Can Press

The Big Green Book of the Big Blue Sea
by Helaine Becker
Illustrated by Willow Dawson
Kids Can Press

Mimi’s Village and How Basic Health Care Transformed It
by Katie Smith Milway
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Kids Can Press

Cryptic Canada: Unsolved Mysteries From Coast To Coast
by Natalie Hyde
Illustrated by Matt Hammill
Owlkids

The Secret Life Of Money: A Kid’s Guide To Cash
by Kira Vermond
Illustrated by Clayton Hanmer
Owlkids

City Critters: Wildlife in the Urban Jungle
by Nicholas Read
Orca

Rescuing The Children: The Story of the Kindertransport
by Deborah Hodge
Tundra Books

Willie O’Ree: The Story of the First Black Player in the NHL
by Nicole Mortillaro
James Lorimer

2014 Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award Nominees

A new list of reading choices for Manitoba's young readers comes courtesy of the Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Awards (MYRCA) program which presents 15 to 18 Canadian novels written in English for the targeted young readers.  Those young people who have read or heard a minimum of 3 nominated titles vote for their favourite title in April.  The winning title and honour books are announced in May and celebrated at an awards ceremony in October.

This is the shortlist of nominated titles for the 2014 MYRCA.  Congratulations to the authors and publishers of these seventeen nominees for their inclusion on this comprehensive list.

Circle of Cranes 
by Annette LeBox
Penguin Canada

Crush. Candy. Corpse. 
by Sylvia McNicoll
Lorimer

The Graverobber’s Apprentice 
by Allan Stratton
HarperCollins Canada

Guilty 
by Norah McClintock
Orca Book Publishers

The Lynching of Louie Sam 
by Elizabeth Stewart
Annick Press

Making Bombs for Hitler 
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Scholastic Canada

Margaret and the Moth Tree 
by Brit Trogen and Kari Trogen
Kids Can Press

Middle of Nowhere 
by Caroline Adderson
Groundwood Books

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny – Detectives Extraordinaire 
by Polly Hovarth
Random House

My Name is Parvana 
by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood Books

The Prisoner of Snowflake Falls 
by John Lekich
Orca Book Publishers

Redcoats and Renegades 
by Barry McDivitt
Orca Book Publishers

Seraphina 
by Rachel Hartman
Random House

Small Medium at Large 
by Joanne Levy
Penguin Canada

Such Wicked Intent 
by Kenneth Oppel
Simon and Schuster

Ungifted 
by Gordon Korman
Scholastic Canada

Yesterday’s Dead 
by Pat Bourke
Second Story Press