Roberston, Zaidman win book awards

Advertisement

Advertise with us

A pair of Winnipeg writers won awards for their children’s books at the Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards, presented at a ceremony in Toronto on Sept. 29.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/10/2022 (1446 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A pair of Winnipeg writers won awards for their children’s books at the Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards, presented at a ceremony in Toronto on Sept. 29.

David A. Robertson and Vancouver-based illustrator Julie Flett won the $50,000 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award for their picture book On the Trapline, published by Tundra Books. In November 2021, the book won the pair their second Governor General’s Literary Award in the children’s literature — illustration category; their previous picture-book collaboration, When We Were Alone, won the same award in 2017.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
                                David A. Robertson’s On the Trapline won the Governor General’s Award in 2021 and has now won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

David A. Robertson’s On the Trapline won the Governor General’s Award in 2021 and has now won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award.

In late September, Penguin Random House Canada announced Robertson had been appointed editorial director at Tundra Book Group, where he’ll develop a new imprint dedicated to publishing emerging Indigenous writers and illustrators.

Harriet Zaidman’s Second Chances, published by Red Deer Press, was awarded the $5,000 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People. “I hope the lessons of the polio epidemic can influence young people in this era of mis- and disinformation, and that the knowledge of what happened to the residents of Rooster Town can help in the process of reconciliation,” Zaidman said in an email to the Free Press following the win.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

books@freepress.mb.ca

CANSTAR COMMUNITY NEWS FILES
                                Harriet Zaidman’s Second Chances won the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People.

CANSTAR COMMUNITY NEWS FILES

Harriet Zaidman’s Second Chances won the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
                                Harriet Zaidman’s Second Chances won the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Harriet Zaidman’s Second Chances won the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People.

Ben Sigurdson

Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer

Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.

In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.

Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Jets vets weigh in on franchise goalie Hellebuyck not reporting to training camp

Mike McIntyre 7 minute read Preview

Jets vets weigh in on franchise goalie Hellebuyck not reporting to training camp

Mike McIntyre 7 minute read Yesterday at 6:35 PM CDT

Hockey is the ultimate team sport, where it’s supposed to be about the crest on your chest rather than the name on your back.

So how is Connor Hellebuyck’s trade request and subsequent training camp strike playing out inside the Winnipeg Jets locker room — particularly among other core players he’s gone to battle with over the years?

“Obviously the news is heartbreaking,” Jets forward Kyle Connor said Thursday.

“It feels like we had such a special group here and for whatever reason — I can’t speak to the reason until we hear from the man, I’m not going to speculate on what it is but I know that a lot of guys in that room that are heartbroken.”

Read
Yesterday at 6:35 PM CDT

Lauded Manitoba author chronicled life in the Interlake

By Sheldon Birnie 5 minute read Preview

Lauded Manitoba author chronicled life in the Interlake

By Sheldon Birnie 5 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2026

Longtime Manitoba author, editor and professor David Arnason died on Monday at age 86.

Read
Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2026

We used to love a good thunderstorm

Jessica Scott-Reid 5 minute read Preview

We used to love a good thunderstorm

Jessica Scott-Reid 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

Growing up on the prairies, even as a city girl, summertime thunderstorms were always cause for excitement. That first rumble signalled it was time to go search for the sleeping bags.

We’d cuddle under them on the front step, under the awning, as we watched the rain pour. And we’d stay out there until we were soaked.

If the lightning wasn’t bad enough for our parents to call us in, we neighbourhood kids would then throw on our bathing suits and go play in the warm puddles. It was some of the best stuff of summer.

As a mom now, with a little girl of my own, I was excited to watch her growing up loving Winnipeg thunderstorms, too.

Read
2:00 AM CDT

Canada-U.S. trade relationship is broken, but the damage can — and will — be repaired

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Preview

Canada-U.S. trade relationship is broken, but the damage can — and will — be repaired

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Yesterday at 1:35 PM CDT

Canada needs to get serious about diversifying its trade beyond the United States. But at the same time, Canadians should expect relations with the U.S. to normalize after Donald Trump is no longer in the White House.

For generations, Canada-U.S. trade was considered almost a fact of geography. The two countries share the world’s longest undefended border, deeply integrated supply chains and a century of commercial relationships.

Canadian manufacturers depend on American customers. American manufacturers depend on Canadian suppliers. Energy, agriculture, automotive production and countless other industries operate across the border as though it barely exists.

That isn’t going to change dramatically, even in the midst of a bitter trade war unleashed by the U.S. president.

Read
Yesterday at 1:35 PM CDT

‘A new future’: city dentist Cholakis donates $2M to school of dental hygiene

Melissa Martin 3 minute read Preview

‘A new future’: city dentist Cholakis donates $2M to school of dental hygiene

Melissa Martin 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:25 PM CDT

Dental hygienist training in Manitoba is getting a big boost, after a major gift from a local dentist.

On Thursday, the dental hygiene school at the University of Manitoba’s Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry unveiled a new $2-million donation from Dr. Ernest Cholakis. It’s the largest gift the program has ever received, and in honour of the funding, the school will be named the Cholakis School of Dental Hygiene.

The gift was unveiled at a ceremony Thursday morning at the U of M’s Brodie Centre in the Health Sciences Centre complex. The benefactor and other dignitaries, including Premier Wab Kinew, were in attendance, as well as the three-year program’s current students.

Cholakis, who graduated from the U of M’s dentistry school in 1982, had high praise for the dental hygiene profession.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 3:25 PM CDT

Puzzles Palace

1 minute read Monday, Jul. 27, 2026

To solve our puzzles, please subscribe with this special offer: |