Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children’s Literature

Congratulations are in order for K.V. Johansen!

Nightwalker: The Warlocks of Talverdin has been shortlisted for the 18th annual Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children’s Literature.

For more information, click here.

Best Bets

A number of Orca Book Publishers’ titles were selected for the Ontario Library Association’s Canadian Materials Committee Best Bets list for children and for teens. Each year the committee selects the top ten Canadian novels, picturebooks and non-fiction titles for children and top ten novels for young adults.

Three titles made the Top Ten Children’s Fiction list: Just J by Colin Frizzell, Shadows on the Train (a Dinah Galloway mystery) by Melanie Jackson and Nightwalker by K.V. Johansen. When the Curtain Rises by Rachel Dunstan Muller was an Honourable Mention.

The Warrior’s Daughter by Holly Bennett was selected for the Top Ten Novels for Young Adults list. Rebel’s Tag by K.L Denman and Out of Order by Robin Stevenson both received Honourable Mentions.

Jeffrey and Sloth by Kari-Lynn Winters and Ben Hodson was selected for the Children’s Picture Books Top Ten.

Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award Shortlist

The Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award is presented by the Canadian Association of Children’s Librarians, a section of the Canadian Association of Public Libraries (CAPL). This medal award was established in 1971 and is presented annually to the illustrator of an outstanding children’s book published during the previous calendar year. To merit consideration the book must be suitable for children up to age 14 and have been published in Canada. The winner of the award will be announced prior to the CLA/ACB National Conference & Tradeshow to be held May 21-24 in Vancouver, BC. The award will be presented at the conference on May 22, 2008.

Ben’s Bunny Trouble, illustrated by Daniel Wakeman and Dirk van Stralen was shortlisted, and Mechanimals, by Chris Tougas, received an honourable mention.

Hackmatack Nominations

The nominations are in for the 2008/2009 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award. The Hackmatack is an Atlantic Canadian award; children choose from forty books chosen for literary, cultural, and enjoyment factors.

Three Orca books have been nominated:

Racing for Diamonds by Anita Daher

TJ and the Quiz Kids by Hazel Hutchins

Wild Ride by Liam O’Donnell

Willow Awards

Four books published by Orca have been nominated for a Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice (SYRCA) Willow Award.

Alphabetter (by Dan Bar-el and illustrated by Graham Ross), and A Sack Full of Feathers (by Debbie Waldman and illustrated by Cindy Revell), have both been nominated for the Shining Willow Award. The Big Snapper, an Orca Young Reader by Katherine Holubitsky, has been nominated for the Diamond Willow Award and Nightwalker, by K.V. Johansen, has been nominated for the Snow Willow Award.