Congratulations to the authors of How Can I Help? A Week in My Life as a Psychiatrist and The Spawning Grounds both nominees for the Ontario Library Association’s Evergreen Award. In How Can I Help? authors David Goldbloom and Pier Bryden take the reader behind the scenes at one of Canada’s leading mental health hospitals. And Gail Anderson-Dargatz’s The Spawning Grounds tells the story of a troubled family, a torn nation, and a dying river.

One of eight programs that form the OLA’s Forest of Reading, the Evergreen Award reading program is comprised of the best titles in Canadian fiction and non-fiction for adults of any age. Over 250,000 Canadians participate each year in the Forest of Reading. A committee of library professionals chooses the titles nominated for the Evergreen Award, which are announced every January. This year, votes from readers will be tallied for the award in September and the winner will be announced during Ontario Public Library Week.

Past winner Lynn Crosbie is on the 2016 ReLit shortlist with her highly original and humorous novel, Where Did You Sleep Last Night. At the centre of this post-punk mystery and romance story is Evelyn Gray, a teenage girl who embarks on a relationship with Kurt Cobain.

Founded in 2000 by Newfoundland author Kenneth J. Harvey, the ReLit Awards are given annually to works by Canadian authors living in Canada, in the novel, short-story and poetry categories. There is no money awarded for the prize but since 2003 the recipients have been presented with a gold ring designed by Newfoundland artisan Christopher Kearney.

We are thrilled for Marc Raboy who joins four other finalists on the 2017 RBC Taylor Prize shortlist with his biographical account of the father of wireless communication.  Marconi: The Man Who Networked the World stands as an authoritative work of its subject and proves that we still live in the world Marconi created.

The RBC Taylor Prize recognizes excellence in Canadian non-fiction writing and emphasizes the development of the careers of the authors it celebrates. Established biennially in 1998 by the trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation, 2017 marks the sixteenth awarding of the RBC Taylor Prize, which commemorates Charles Taylor’s pursuit of excellence in the field of literary non-fiction.

This year’s jurors Jurors John English, Ann MacMillan, and Colin read 101 books written by Canadian authors and submitted by 29 Canadian and international publishers.

Congratulations to Romeo Dallaire for making the Canada Reads 2017 longlist. In his piercing memoir Waiting for First Light, the author of bestsellers Shake Hands with the Devil and They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children, reflects on the nature of PTSD and the impact of that deep wound on his life since the Rwandan genocide.

Canada Reads first aired as a radio show in 2002. In 2010, the program shifted to live shows in studio with audiences. Canada Reads seeks to answer the question: What is the one book Canadians need now?

We’re excited for Alexandra Shimo whose book Invisible North: The Search for Answers on a Troubled Reserve has been shortlisted for the British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. The award-winning journalist provides a first person account of the northern Ontario reserve Kashechewan, a place that pushes everyone to their limits.

The BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction was launched in 2005 to honour Canada’s finest writers of non-fiction and to celebrate a genre that stimulates Canada’s national conversation and shares knowledge about the complex world in which we live.

Well done to Ann Y.K. Choi and Lynne Kutsukake on making CBC Book’s 12 Best Canadian Debut Novels of 2016. From Choi, Kay’s Lucky Coin Variety portrays the life of a young Korean Canadian girl who will not give up on her dreams or her family. And Kutsukake’s The Translation of Love, tells the story of Aya Shimamura, a newly repatriated girl, as she helps a classmate find her missing sister in war-devastated Tokyo.

Congratulations to Romeo Dallaire, Alexandra Shimo and Marc Raboy, nominees on the RBC Taylor Prize 2017 Longlist. In his piercing memoir Waiting for First Light, Romeo Dallaire, author of the bestsellers Shake Hands with the Devil and They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children, reflects on the nature of PTSD and the impact of that deep wound on his life since the Rwandan genocide. From award-winning journalist Alexandra Shimo, Invisible North: The Search for Answers on a Troubled Reserve, an intimate portrait of a place that pushes everyone to their limits. And Marc Raboy’s Marconi: The Man Who Networked the World, a biographical account of the father of wireless communication.

The RBC Taylor Prize recognizes excellence in Canadian non-fiction writing and emphasizes the development of the careers of the authors it celebrates. Established biennially in 1998 by the trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation, 2017 marks the sixteenth awarding of the RBC Taylor Prize, which commemorates Charles Taylor’s pursuit of excellence in the field of literary non-fiction.

This year’s jurors Jurors John English, Ann MacMillan, and Colin read 101 books written by Canadian authors and submitted by 29 Canadian and international publishers.

We’re delighted to see books from three WCA authors on 49^th Shelf’s 2016 list of Books of the Year. From Governor General’s Award finalist Kamal Al-Solaylee, Brown: What Being Brown in the World Today Means (to Everyone), takes a global look at the common social, political, economic and personal implications of being a brown-skinned person in the world now. Tricia Dower’s novel Becoming Lin, tells a powerful story of self-discovery and sacrifice set in the socio-political chaos of 1960s rural America. And from Jennifer Manuel, The Heaviness of Things That Float, a compelling debut novel and deft exploration of the delicate dynamic between First Nations communities and non-native outsiders.

Happy reading!

We are pleased to announce that Beth Powning’s novel, A Measure of Light, has been longlisted for the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award.

Books are nominated for the Award by invited  public libraries  in cities throughout the world – making the Award unique in its coverage of international fiction. Titles are nominated on the basis of ‘high literary merit’ as determined by the nominating library.