News from Orca Book Publishers

News From Orca Book Publishers
March 2009

News and notes...
(Click on the covers for more info).

Hackmatack...

Gesundheit. Two recent Orca titles have been nominated for the Hackmatack Reader's Choice Award. The award allows children to choose their favorite Canadian and Atlantic Canadian books.
One Peace - True Stories of Young Activists, by Janet Wilson and Feather Brain, an Orca Young Reader by Maureen Bush, have been nominated.

More info here.

Smithsonian Notable Books...

One Peace - True Stories of Young Activists, written and illustrated by Janet Wilson, has been included on the Smithsonian Notable Books for Children 2008 list. The list is comprised of "Surprising, inspiring and outstanding titles for youngsters and the grownups that read to them."
Booklist magazine said of One Peace: "Each double-page spread in this picture book for older readers is a passionate call for peace, the end of suffering, and the need for change."

Details here.

The whale in the willows...

Seven, yes, seven, books published by Orca Book Publishers have been nominated for the 2009 Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Willow Awards (SYRCA).
In the Shining Willow category (K-3):Ben's Bunny Trouble by Daniel Wakeman and Dirk van Stalen; I, Bruno by Caroline Adderson, illustrated by Helen Flook; and Mechanimals by Chris Tougas are all in contention.
In the Diamond Willow category (grades 4-6): Impossible Things by Robin Stevenson; Klutzhood by Chris McMahen, and Racing for Diamonds, an Orca Young Reader by Anita Daher are fighting it out.
And in the Snow Willow category (grades 6-9): Tweaked by Katherine Holubitsky is nominated.

More info here.

CBC Young Canada Reads...

In the nail-biting finale to the Young Canada Reads contest on CBC Radio (Halifax), Quid Pro Quo by Vicki Grant was voted the winning book!
The panel chose Quid Pro Quo as the book that all young Canadians should read.
The sequel to Quid Pro Quo, Res Judicata, is now available. These hilarious legal thrillers have been well received, and there is a now a flurry of interest from film and television. Who will play Cyril on the big screen?

Info here.

Rainbow List...

Two Orca novels have made the the 2009 Rainbow List, a joint undertaking of the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table and Social Responsibilities Round Table.
Gravity, a teen novel by Leanne Lieberman, and Crossover, an Orca Sports novel by Jeff Rud, have both made the list.

More info here.

CLA Book Awards...

Two recent teen novels have been shortlisted for the Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Book Award.
The Lit Report by Sarah N. Harvey and Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka are in contention for the award.
The 2009 Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award Shortlist has also been announced by CLA. This award recognizes an illustrator of a book that appeals to children up to the age of 12 years. Making the list for Orca was Out of The Deeps, a picturebook illustrated by Nicholas Debon and written by Anne Laurel Carter.
The winners of the awards will be announced at the CLA Conference in Montr�al, May 29th - June 1st.

Official press releases here.

And in other news...

While not strictly book related, we were delighted to hear this week that a new baby orca was spotted near Victoria. The tiny dorsal fin of a new calf has been spotted in a pod of the southern resident orcas, boosting spirits of those rooting for the endangered marine mammals.

Actually, it is book related. Remember Siwiti - A Whale's Story by Alexandra Morton? This story of a whale calf's first year of life is still in print after seventeen years. Nice segue, huh?

Thanks for reading!
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