Literary forest sprouts plenty of prizes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/06/2021 (1570 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Earlier this spring, Canada’s largest youth reading program, Ontario’s Forest of Reading, saw the crowning of the most popular titles for various age groups.

In participating schools and libraries, thousands of readers vote for their favourite book from lists of nominees in several categories.

This year’s English-language winners were: Hunted by the Sky, an historical fantasy set in medieval India, by Tanaz Bhathena (high school fiction); Bloom, an environmental thriller, by Kenneth Oppel (junior high fiction); Trending: How and Why Stuff Gets Popular, by Kira Vermond, illustrated by Clayton Hanmer (non-fiction for middle years students); The Jigsaw Puzzle King, a story of a boy concerned about acceptance of his brother with Down syndrome, by Gina McMurchy-Barber (fiction for grades 3 to 6); Peter and Ernesto: Sloths in the Night, an illustrated tale about two sloths looking for their missing friend, by Graham Annable (fiction or non-fiction for grades 3 or 4); and Bad Dog, the story of a girl who wants a dog but gets a cat, by Mike Boldt (picture books for kindergarten to Grade 2).

The program also includes a similar series of awards for books in French. This year’s winners were: Lac Adélard by François Blais, illustrated by Iris; Sergent Billy: La vraie histoire du chevreau devenu soldat by Mireille Messier, illustrated by Kass Reich; and Pas Moi by Elise Gravel.

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The Manitoba Historical Society celebrates a bumper crop of locally written history in June with the awarding of the Margaret McWilliams Awards.

The awards are presented in four categories: scholarly history, local history, local history memoirs, and popular history, and will be announced at the society’s AGM on June 24.

Contenders for the scholarly history award are Politics, Personalities and persistence: One Hundred Years of Psychiatric Nursing Education in Manitoba, by Beverley Clare Williams Hicks; Civilian Internment in Canada: Histories and Legacies, edited by Rhonda Hinther and Jim Mochoruk; and Ours by Every Law of Right and Justice: Women and the Vote in the Prairie Provinces, by Sarah Carter.

Local history finalists are The Lesser Known: A History of Oddities from the Heart of the Continent, by Darren Bernhardt; Fire, Folly and Fiasco: Why it took 100 Years to Build the Manitoba Museum, by James A. Burns; and Faces & Places: Trailblazing Women of Manitoba, by Judy Waytiuk.

In the running for local history memoirs are Vignettes From My Life, by Tannis M. Richardson; Serendipity: My Path Through Life and the Law, by Jack R. London; Peculiar Lessons: How Nature and the Material World Shaped a Prairie Childhood, by Lois Braun; and Trailblazer in First Nations Education: Duzahan Mani Win, Doris Dowan-Pratt, by Doris Dowan-Pratt and Leona Devuyst.

Up for the popular history prize are Historic Photographs of Portage la Prairie, by the Portage la Prairie Heritage Advisory Committee; Treasures of Winnipeg’s Historic Exchange, by George Mitchell; and Once Removed, by Andrew Unger.

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The canoe has been used as a symbol of many things in Canada, including Indigenous culture, conservation, citizenship, feminism and multiculturalism.

On Tuesday, contributors to an academic essay collection on the political uses of the canoe will discuss these and other roles the paddle-powered watercraft has played in Canada in the online launch of The Politics of the Canoe (University of Manitoba Press).

Editors Bruce Erickson, from the U of M’s department of environment and geography, and Sarah Wylie Krotz, from the University of Alberta’s English department, will be joined by several contributors. To take part, see wfp.to/canoebook.

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An online science-fiction and fantasy convention launched last year to make up for the lack of in-person gatherings has been carried forward to this June.

TorCon, organized by publisher Tor, runs June 10-13 and features a variety of author panels and conversations on trends in science fiction and fantasy, as well as new and upcoming releases. Featured authors include Gillian Flynn, Charlie Jane Anders and James Rollins.

Details on authors and panel themes can be found at wfp.to/torcon.

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