The Atlantic Book Awards were presented last night at the Halifax Central Library. Hosted by CBC's Portia Clark, six awards—including the Ann Connor Brimer Award for Atlantic Canadian Children's Literature—were celebrated. Oriana Duinker and Linda Hudson from the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia took to the stage to introduce the five Brimer finalists. Gavin Brimer, the son of Ann Connor Brimer, presented the prize to Lauren Soloy for her picture book The Newest Gnome (Tundra Books).
The jury had this to say about The Newest Gnome:
"The real joy of this book is the sheer joy of it! The Newest Gnome is an enchanting mix of fact and fantasy, where a community of odd little beings revel in the natural world and invite readers to do so alongside them. We meet gnomes not quite like any we may have seen before... Soloy has created a world all her own and in introducing readers to the world of The Pocket, she also has much to tell us about our own world."
To watch the awards ceremony, click here.
About the Ann Connor Brimer Award for Atlantic Children's Literature
The Ann Connor Brimer Award was established in 1991 by the Nova Scotia Library Association and supported by the family of Ann Elisabeth Connor Brimer—a teacher, researcher, and program coordinator who served as executive director of the Canadian Learning Materials Centre, founding member of the Nova Scotia Coalition on Arts and Culture, co-founder of Woozles Children’s Bookstore, and Atlantic Officer for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. The award honours outstanding contributions to writing for Atlantic Canadian young people.
For more information about the prize, visit writers.ns.ca.