Vancouver Sun: 2008 October 1
Three prizes that bring money and prestige to Canadian creators of children’s books have B.C. authors and illustrators on this year’s short lists.
Nominated for the $10,000 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction is Saltspring Island wildlife painter Robert Bateman, who illustrated and co-wrote Birds of Prey: An Introduction with Nancy Kovacs.
Vancouver’s Sue Ann Alderson, author of The Eco-Diary of Kiran Singer, has also been nominated for that award.
The short list for the $10,000 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award includes Lickety-Split, written by Vancouver’s Robert Heidbreder and illustrated by Dusan Petriaic, and Pink, written by the city’s Nan Gregory and illustrated by Luc Melanson.
Vancouver Island’s John Wilson is a finalist for the $5,000 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People with The Alchemist’s Dream. Also a finalist is Errington’s Shannon Cowan, for Tin Angel.
The three awards, whose winners will be announced Nov. 6, are administered by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.
From Toronto, Children’s Book Centre head Charlotte Teeple said: “I’m not sure the general public knows this, but Canadian children’s books are sold all around the world. They’re well known for the quality of their production and the great writing and wonderful illustrations. Every year, when I go to Bologna, [Italy], for the International Children’s Book Fair, I’m always even more impressed with Canadian children’s books.”
