2018 New Brunswick Book Awards Shortlist

Award-winning NB novelist, David Adams Richards, keynote speaker, NB Book Awards 2017

The Fiddlehead and the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick have announced the shortlisted titles for the third annual New Brunswick Book Awards. The winners will be announced at a celebration, honouring writing and illustration excellence, on Friday June 8, at the Lily Lake Pavilion in Saint John. The event will begin with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by the awards presentation at 7 p.m.

The program celebrates books published in the 2017 calendar year and in four categories: poetry, fiction, non-fiction and children’s writing (picture books). The competition is open to traditionally published and self-published authors who have lived in the province for three of the last five years, including the award year.

A total of 36 total submissions were received for the awards. The book awards program represents a partnership between Canada’s oldest literary magazine, The Fiddlehead, which has nurtured New Brunswick’s literary culture for 70 years, and the Writers’ Federation, which for 30 years has passionately supported the development of home-grown writers at all stages of development.

The finalists are as follows:

The Mrs. Dunster’s Award for Fiction
Judge: Angie Abdou, author of five books of fiction, most recently In Case I Go

  • Peter J. Clair, Tobique, Taapoategl & Pallet: A Mi’Kmaq Journey of Loss and Survival; Publisher: Chapel Street Editions
  • Wayne Curtis, Fredericton, Homecoming: The Road Less Travelled; Publisher: Pottersfield Press
  • M.T. Dohaney, Fredericton, Caplin Scull: Chronicles from a Newfoundland Outpost; Publisher: Pottersfield Press

 

Alice Kitts Memorial Award for Excellence in Children’s Writing
Judge: Sheree Fitch, one of Canada’s most beloved and celebrated children’s authors

  • Odette Barr, Petit-Cap, Colleen Landry, Moncton, and Beth Weatherbee, Baie Verte, Take off to Tantramar; Publisher: Chocolate River Publishing
  • Paul McAllister, Fredericton, New Song for Herman: Publisher: Herman’s Monster House Publishing
  • Alice Whitney, Fredericton, Henrietta’s Nightlight: Publisher: Chocolate River Publishing

 

The Fiddlehead Poetry Book Prize
Judge: Susan Gillis, author of three collections of poetry, including Swimming Among the Ruins

  • Wayne Clifford, Grand Manan, Flying the Truck; Publisher: New Brunswick Museum
  • Allan Cooper, Riverview, Everything We’ve Loved Comes Back to Find Us; Publisher: Gaspereau Press
  • Kathy Mac, Fredericton, Human Misunderstanding; Publisher: Roseway


Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick Book Award for Non-Fiction
Judge: Award-winning author, journalist and teacher Andrew Westoll

  • Rachel Bryant, Saint John, The Homing Place; Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
  • Tony Robinson-Smith, Fredericton, The Dragon Run: Two Canadians, Ten Bhutanese, One Stray Dog: Publisher: University of Alberta Press
  • Jan Wong, Fredericton, Apron Strings: Navigating Food and Family in France, Italy and China: Publisher: Goose Lane Editions

Last year’s winners were:

  • The Mrs. Dunster’s Award for Fiction – Kerry-Lee Powell, Moncton, Willem De Kooning’s Paintbrush (HarperCollins);
  • Alice Kitts Memorial Award for Excellence in Children’s Writing –  Jennifer McGrath, Moncton, The Snow Knows (Nimbus);
  • The Fiddlehead Poetry Book Prize – M. Travis Lane, Fredericton, The Witch of the Inner Wood (Goose Lane Editions); and,
  • Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick Book Award for Non-Fiction – Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon, Saint John, Shadow of Doubt (Goose Lane Editions).

 

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