First Nation Communities READ announces the shortlists for the combined Children’s and Young Adult/Adult categories. Chosen by a jury of Indigenous librarians from across Ontario, these titles represent the best of Indigenous literature from throughout Turtle Island today. The title selection announcement for FNCR 2018-2019 will take place in Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto on June 27 as part of National Indigenous History Month celebrations. The authors of the selected titles will be the recipients of the Periodical Marketers of Canada Indigenous Literature Award and will each receive a $3000 cash prize.
Children’s Category Shortlist
- When We Were Alone by David Robertson and illustrated by Julie Flett (Highwater Press)
- Akalik’s Adventure by Deborah Kigjugalik Webster (Inhabit Media)
- My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith and illustrated by Julie Flett (Orca Book Publishers)
- The Water Walker by Joanne Robertson (Second Story Press)
- The Cloud Artist by Sherri Maret (The Roadrunner Press)
Young Adult/Adult Category Shortlist
- #NotYourPrincess edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale (Annick Press)
- My Conversations with Canadians by Lee Maracle (Book*hug)
- The Marrow Thieves by Cheri Dimaline (Dancing Cat Books)
- Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga (House of Anansi)
- He Who Dreams by Melanie Florence (Orca Book Publishers)
Periodical Marketers of Canada Indigenous Literature Award
The Periodical Marketers of Canada’s Indigenous Literature Award is inspired by the goals of the First Nation Communities READ program. It will provide each of the authors of the First Nation Communities READ 2018-2019 title selections with a $3,000 prize. This is the fifth year the Periodical Marketers of Canada will present the Indigenous Literature Award.
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First Nation Communities READ is the Ontario First Nation Public Library Community’s contribution to the popular reading movement. Launched in 2003 by the First Nations Public Library Community in Ontario with support from Southern Ontario Library Service, it promotes a community-based approach to reading, FNCR:
- encourages family literacy, intergenerational storytelling, and intergenerational information sharing;
- increases awareness of the relevance and importance of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit writing, illustration, and publishing;
- promotes the publication, sharing, and understanding of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit voices and experiences;
- increases awareness and sales of the titles it honours.
Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) is mandated to deliver programs and services on behalf of the Ontario Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport by:
- increasing cooperation and coordination among public library boards and other information providers to promote the provision of library service to the public;
- assisting public library boards by providing them with services and programs that reflect their needs, including consultation, training and development.
Periodical Marketers of Canada is the national association of magazine and book wholesalers serving thousands of retail newsstands across Canada. Periodical Marketers of Canada was established under federal charter in 1942 for the purpose of furthering the wholesale periodical distribution industry and contributing to the encouragement of reading in Canada. Current members of the association are: Monahan Agency, Vernon, BC; Metro360, Toronto, ON; TNG, Burlington, ON.
PMC’s ongoing activities include funding of a nonprofit charitable foundation, the Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Letters, which makes contributions to individuals and agencies engaged in the encouragement of literacy and reading in Canada.
