Jack Wong won the Ann Connor Brimer Award for Atlantic Canadian Children's Literature for his book, The Words We Share, published by Annick Press. The award was presented by Gavin Brimer, son of the late Ann Connor Brimer, who was an educator and Atlantic Officer for the Canadian Children's Book Centre.
Jack Wong was born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver. In 2010, he left behind a life as a bridge engineer to pursue his Bachelor of Fine Arts at NSCAD University; he continues to live and work in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. As a children’s author/illustrator, Jack seeks to share his winding journey with young readers so that they may embrace the unique amalgams of experiences that make up their own lives.
Of the book, the Brimer jury said, “Told (and illustrated) with humour in both English and Cantonese, this is a warm, entertaining story with universal appeal. Pronounced ‘Yee Yu Tong Sum,’ the title in Cantonese means ‘the same heart in different languages.’ How beautifully this captures the theme.”
Fawn Parker won the J. M. Abraham Atlantic Poetry Award for her book, Soft Inheritance, published by Palimpsest Press.
Fawn Parker is a PhD student at the University of New Brunswick and a Giller-nominated author of five books, including the forthcoming auto-novel Hi, It's Me (McClelland & Stewart 2024).
Of Soft Inheritance, the J. M. Abraham jury said, “In poems that navigate a mother’s death from breast cancer, Fawn Parker’s Soft Inheritance boldly refuses sentimentality, mother-daughter cliches, and easy divisions between health and illness…. Parker shows us that grief is both brutal and utterly ordinary, and that the poet’s unflinching observation can be a powerful act of devotion.”
The inaugural Readers’ Choice Award invited readers to vote for their top pick—and wow did they vote! After two rounds of voting and more than 3,000 votes, Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail and Fred Carmichael won for Freddie the Flyer, published by Tundra Books
A feature of the evening was the presentation of the 2024 Atlantic Legacy Award to Gloria Ann Wesley, a retired teacher who is the award-winning author of several books of poetry, children’s literature, and young adult fiction. Wesley has dedicated herself to sharing the little-told stories of African Nova Scotians; her first book was published in 1975.
“I know that this Legacy Award is awarding my previous body of work, but… guess what? I’m not through writing!” she told the audience. “Even though I’m ssshh years old, I have lots of ideas. Trust me, they come at two in the morning, at three in the morning, at four in the morning, and I have endless notes beside my bed. So God willing, I’ll be around for a while to create more books.”
Her advice: “To all who enjoy the wonder and the power of books, don’t be shy or humiliated or intimidated to tip your hand at writing, as this award demonstrates you never know what you’re going to get.”
Publisher Goose Lane Editions won the APMA Best Atlantic-Published Book for Mary Pratt: A Love Affair with Vision, written by Anne Koval. Of the book, the jury said, “Anne Koval does a masterful job of presenting Mary Pratt’s wonderful art and seamlessly weaving together biography and thoughtful art criticism. This is an extraordinarily beautiful book that combines a striking visual look with a text that is rich in both scholarship and insight.”
This year's recipient of the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award is Newfoundland author Michelle Porter for her first novel, A Grandmother Begins the Story (Viking Canada).
Michelle Porter, whose trip to Halifax from St. John’s, NL, was waylaid by fog—twice—is the descendent of Métis musicians from the prairies. She is the author of two nonfiction books, Approaching Fire and Scratching River, and one book of poetry, Inquiries. Currently, she teaches creative writing at Memorial University.
Of the book, the Raddall jury said, “In A Grandmother Begins the Story, Michelle Porter produces a singularly sweet harmony from a polyphonic chorus of distinct narrative voices—land, spirit, animal, human, object—who join together to tell a tale of loss, grit, tenderness, and renewal. Love flows through these pages like a river overspilling its banks, bringing healing and homecomings to five generations of Métis women in the same family who are each grappling with the daily and cumulative violences of settler colonialism in their own ways.”
The Alistair MacLeod Short Story Award will return to the 2025 gala with prize money donated by Bookmark and support provided by the Cabot Trail Writers’ Festival and the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia.
The 2024 Atlantic Book Awards were presented by last year’s award winners, including K.R. Byggdin (Wonder World), Nicola Davison (Decoding Dot Grey), and Nanci Lee (Hsin). Attendees enjoyed listening to excerpts of each of the winning titles, read by Cecile Kung: co-founder of the Cantonese opera group FAI@STUDIO; Garry Williams: an award-winning theatre artist, musician, and an avid reader; and Colleen Arcturus MacIsaac, multidisciplinary artist and artistic producer of The Villains Theatre.
The board of the non-profit Atlantic Book Awards Society is made up of representatives of the Atlantic Canadian book and writing community. The 2024 Atlantic Book Awards and Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Book Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage, Support4Culture, Friesens, Atlantic Books Today, and the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia.
