2013 Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature winner announced

The prestigious Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature, an annual $20,000 prize awarded to an outstanding author of a body of work in children's literature, was presented last night at the
Writers' Trust Awards event at the Glen Gould Studio in Toronto.  Emceed by Jared Bland, books editor at The Globe & Mail, the Writers' Trust Awards honoured writers in six categories:

• Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize
• Writers’ Trust of Canada/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize
• Writers’ Trust Engel/Findley Award
• Matt Cohen Award: In Celebration of a Writing Life
• Writers’ Trust Distinguished Contribution Award, and
• Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People.

Administered by the Writers' Trust of Canada since 2002 and sponsored by the Metcalf Foundation, the Vicky Metcalf Award is the only one of the six that goes to a writer of children's literature.

Now I'm pleased to announce that

the 2013 winner 

of the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People

is  

Barbara Reid

Barbara Reid is known for her amazing plasticene illustrations which have adorned others' books as well as her own text. 

Check out Barbara Reid's website at  www.barbarareid.ca to read more details about her artwork and writing life, and for the full citation with regards to her award at the Writers' Trust of Canada website.

 

2013 Governor General Literature Award winners announced!

Today, the Canada Council for the Arts announced the winners of the prestigious Governor General Literary Awards for 2013 including those in the two (English) Children's categories.

Congratulations to all the award winners and nominees for being recognized for their contributions to enriching our collection of phenomenal youngCanLit.

This year's winners in the two (English) Children's categories are: 

For Children’s Text:

The winner is 

Teresa Toten 

 

for her book  

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B

Doubleday Canada/Random House of Canada

978-0-385678346

255 pp.

Ages 14+

August, 2013

Reviewed here on August 15, 2013.

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten is a transformative, high-energy novel that vibrates with the creativity of both the writer and main character. Adam struggles with OCD (obsessive‑compulsive disorder) and a troubled family life. His group therapy becomes an unlikely source of love and friendship. A powerful story with brilliant language and unexpected moments of humour. 

(Jury comments retrieved from

 http://canadacouncil.ca/en/council/news-room/news/2013/the-ggreat-books-of-2013)

For Children’s Illustration:

The winner is

Matt James 

for his book  

Northwest Passage

Text by Stan Rogers

Illustrated by Matt James
Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-153-3

56 pp.

All ages

September 2013

Reviewed here on July 17, 2013. 

Matt James’s unique illustrations set our imaginations soaring as they steer us through Stan Rogers’ famous ballad, Northwest Passage. The ink and acrylic paintings explode with raw effects and vivid colour, sometimes settling to small ice-blue vignettes. Each page is descriptive of the search that obsessed much of the world for hundreds of years.

(Jury comments retrieved from

 http://canadacouncil.ca/en/council/news-room/news/2013/the-ggreat-books-of-2013)