News

(Halifax, NS) Atlantic Canadian Books Nominated for 2021 Atlantic Book Awards

Representing the best in Atlantic writing, illustration and publishing, the Atlantic Book Awards Society is pleased to announce the shortlists for the fourteen different book prizes that make up the 2021 Atlantic Book Awards. The nominated titles represent a wide range of books from Atlantic Canada—everything from hard-hitting non-fiction to illustrated children’s books to adult fiction, and a new poetry award created in 2020 by the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia in honour of the late celebrated African-Nova Scotian poet and teacher, Maxine Tynes. 

The full shortlist of nominated titles is printed below and is available at www.atlanticbookawards.ca. 

Nova Scotia author Tyler LeBlanc leads the way, with an unprecedented four nominations for a compelling account of his family history, Acadian Driftwood: One Family and the Great Expulsion, published by Goose Lane Editions. Dirty Birds (Breakwater Books Ltd.), a coming-of-age rom-com thriller by Newfoundland author Morgan Murray, has three nominations.  

There are four double award nominees on this year’s shortlist, including the late Silver Donald Cameron for his non-fiction work about the 2013 murder of Cape Breton fisher Phillip Boudreau, Blood in the Water: A True Story of Revenge in the Maritimes (Viking Canada); shalan joudry for her collection of poetry, Waking Ground (Gaspereau Press); Julie Curwin for her novel The Appendage Formerly Known as Your Left Arm (Boularaderie Island Press); and Halifax’s former Poet Laureate Afua Cooper, for her book of poems and photographs focused on everyday Black experiences, Black Matters (Roseway Publishing), with photography by Wilfried Raussert. 

The 2021 Atlantic Book Awards includes one of Canada’s biggest book prizes, the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award, valued at $25,000 and celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year. This year’s Raddall Award nominees are St. John’s author Bridget Canning for her darkly comedic coming-of-age novel, Some People’s Children, (Breakwater Books); Morgan Murray for Dirty Birds (Breakwater Books); and Nova Scotia author Anne Simpson for her powerful novel about justice, witness and courage, Speechless (Freehand Books). Established in 1991 with an endowment by celebrated author Thomas Head Raddall, it provides “the gift of time and peace of mind” so essential to the creation of new work.

Twenty-nine of the forty-two nominations are for books published by Atlantic publishers. Nova Scotia’s Nimbus Publishing leads with six shortlisted titles, followed by Goose Lane Editions with five, while Newfoundland’s Breakwater Books has four. Other regional publishers are: Boulder Press and ISER Books (NL), and Boularderie Island Press, Gaspereau Press, Nevermore Press, New World Publishing, Roseway Publishing and Pottersfield Press (NS).  

The 2021 Atlantic Book Festival and Awards takes place online, with the announcement of the shortlist made in partnership with New Brunswick’s Frye Festival. The winners will be announced on May 13.   Please visit  www.atlanticbookawards.ca for details on the virtual author readings and events taking place May 6 to12.

The 2021 Pioneer Award, going to someone from Nova Scotia who’s made a substantial contribution to the literary life of the region, will be announced when it’s awarded at the virtual Gala on May 13.

The board of the non-profit Atlantic Book Awards Society is made up of representatives of the Atlantic Canadian book and writing community. The 2021 Atlantic Book Awards and Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Canada Book Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage, CTV, Halifax Public Libraries and the sponsorship of Alliance Française Halifax and Chapters/Indigo/Coles. 

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Media contact:  Peggy Walt – peggy@culturalaffairs.ca (902) 422-5403
Cell: (902) 476-1096
Web Site: www.atlanticbookawards.ca
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AtlanticBookAwards
Twitter:     http://twitter.com/atlbookawards
 
2021 ATLANTIC BOOK AWARDS SHORTLIST
 
Alistair MacLeod Prize for Short Fiction
Boy with a Problem by Chris Benjamin (Pottersfield Press)
Winter Road by Wayne Curtis (Pottersfield Press)
The Appendage Formerly Known as Your Left Arm by Julie Curwin (Boularderie Island Press)

Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children’s Literature
Annaka by Andre Fenton (Nimbus Publishing)
Keep This to Yourself  by Tom Ryan (Albert Whitman & Company)
The Grey Sisters by Jo Treggiari (Penguin Teen)
 
Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association Best Atlantic-Published Book Award, Sponsored by Friesens Corporation
The Forager’s Dinner:  Finding, harvesting and preparing Newfoundland and   Labrador’s edible plants by Shawn Dawson (Boulder Books)
Dirty Birds by Morgan (Breakwater Books Ltd.)
Black Matters by Afua Cooper, with photographs by Wilfried Raussert (Roseway Publishing)
 
Atlantic Book Award for Scholarly Writing, Sponsored by Marquis Book Printing
At the Ocean’s Edge:  A History of Nova Scotia to Confederation by Margaret Conrad
(University of Toronto Press) 
The Miramichi Fire: A History by Alan MacEachern (McGill-Queen’s University Press)
A Long Journey:  Residential Schools in Labrador and Newfoundland
by Andrea Procter (ISER Books)
 
Democracy 250 Atlantic Book Award for Historical Writing
Silver Hair and Golden Voice: Austin Willis, From Halifax to Hollywood by 
Ernest J. Dick (Nimbus Publishing)
Acadian Driftwood:  One Family and the Great Expulsion 
by Tyler LeBlanc (Goose Lane Editions)
Cod Collapse:  The Rise and Fall of Newfoundland’s Saltwater Cowboys
by Jennifer Thornhill-Verma (Nimbus Publishing) 
 
Evelyn Richardson Non-Fiction Award
Blood in the Water:  A True Story of Revenge in the Maritimes by Silver Donald Cameron (Viking Canada)
Acadian Driftwood:  One Family and the Great Expulsion by Tyler LeBlanc (Goose Lane Editions)
Before the Parade: A History of Halifax’s Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Communities,  1972-1984 by Rebecca Rose(Nimbus Publishing)
 
Jim Connors Dartmouth Book Award (Fiction), presented by Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission and Cluett Insurance
Good Mothers Don’t by Laura Best (Nimbus Publishing)
The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe (Nimbus Publishing)
The Silence of the Vessel:  A Novel by Brenda MacLennan-Dunphy (Pottersfield Press) 
 
J. M. Abraham Poetry Award
Black Matters by Afua Cooper, with photographs by Wilfried Raussert (Roseway Publishing)
Humanimus by David Huebert (Palimpsest Press)
Waking Ground by shalan joudry (Gaspereau Press)
 
Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration
Byron Eggenschwiler, illustrator for The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt,
written by Riel Nason (Tundra Books)
Sydney Smith, illustrator for I Talk Like a River, written by Jordan Scott (Neal Porter Books)
Lauren Soloy, illustrator, for When Emily Was Small, written by Lauren Soloy (Tundra Books)
 
Margaret and John Savage First Book Award – Non-Fiction, sponsored by Weed Man Maritimes, Heritage House Law Office and I Love Renovations 
Acadian Driftwood:  One Family and the Great Expulsion by Tyler LeBlanc (Goose Lane Editions)
The Dome Chronicles by Garry Leeson (Nevermore Press)
Capturing Crime by Carol Taylor (New World Publishing)
 
Margaret and John Savage First Book Award – Fiction, sponsored by the family of John and Margaret Savage and Royden Trainor
The Appendage Formerly known as Your Left Arm by Julie Curwin (Boularderie Island Press)
Dirty Birds by Morgan Murray (Breakwater Books Ltd.)
Aftershock:  A Novel by Alison Taylor (HarperCollins)
 
Maxine Tynes Nova Scotia Poetry Award
Year of the Metal Rabbit by Tammy Armstrong (Gaspereau  Press)
Burden by Douglas Burnet Smith (University of Regina Press)
Waking Ground by shalan joudry (Gaspereau Press)
 
Robbie Robertson Dartmouth Book Award (Non-Fiction), sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Dartmouth
Blood in the Water:  A True Story of Revenge in the Maritimes by Silver Donald Cameron (Viking Canada)
Acadian Driftwood:  One Family and the Great Expulsion by Tyler LeBlanc (Goose Lane Editions)
Peace by Chocolate: The Hadhad Family’s Remarkable Journey from Syria to Canada by Jon Tattrie (Goose Lane Editions)
 
Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award
Some People’s Children by Bridget Canning (Breakwater Books Ltd.)
Dirty Birds by Morgan Murray (Breakwater Books Ltd.)
Speechless by Anne Simpson (Freehand Books)

March 17, 2021- Saint John, NB- On behalf of the ArtsLink NB membership, we wish to express our disappointment in the inadequate level of recovery funds allocated to the arts and culture sector in the 2020-21 budget, presented on March 16, 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic has destroyed the arts and culture sector and meaningful investment is drastically needed to stave off further decline. This can be illustrated in the province’s budget revision of tourism revenues, from $6.1 M to $1.8 M in 2020.1 Additionally, between January 2020 and January 2021, 17% of jobs in the information, culture and recreation sector were lost in New Brunswick. The Canadian arts, entertainment, and recreation sector suffered a 50% loss in generated revenues between December 2019 and December 2020.2

New Brunswick’s arts sector is a huge economic driver. In 2018, the NB cultural sector contributed $572 million to the GDP, making culture the province’s second-largest economic driver, generating a higher GDP than agriculture, pulp and paper, manufacturing, IT, seafood manufacturing, or mining. This sector also represents 7,525 workers, who boast higher than average education but low incomes.3

Though this week’s budget designates $7.2 M in relief funding to the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture, that funding will be divided between the branches of arts, culture, heritage, tourism, archaeology, sports, parks and attractions. This amount is far from enough for the needs of the sector. 

In the past decade, the only substantial investment by New Brunswick’s provincial government in the arts and culture sector was the initial investment in the province’s cultural policy in 2014, despite the clear data that illustrates the importance of this sector to the economic and social health of New Brunswick.

In the presentation of this budget to the legislature, there was not a single mention of arts and culture even when speaking about “vibrant and sustainable communities,”4 which is concerning for passionate and professional workers who have struggled to continue their work during untenable conditions. The arts and culture sector contributes so greatly to the health and fabric of our communities; it is vital that the budget allocations reflect their contribution.

About ArtsLink NB:

ArtsLink NB is a member-based arts service organization, founded in 2009 to advance the arts in New Brunswick by linking and unifying artists and arts organizations and promoting their value. We represent New Brunswick artists of all disciplines from across the province.

Press Contact

Julie Whitenect, Executive Director, ArtsLink NB

(506) 608 9914, julie@artslinknb.com

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1 https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/fin/pdf/Budget/2021-2022/main-estimates-2021-2022-budget-principal.pdf

2  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FdkYwe_uye2Mi3Fkks1XQHWFPA-g1GHj/view

3 Heritage, Canadian. “Culture Satellite Account – Canada.Ca.” Culture Satellite Account. 2021.

canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/corporate/publications/general-publications/culture-satellite-account.html.

4 https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/fin/pdf/Budget/2021-2022/speech-2021-2022.pdf

March 9, 2021 – ArtsLink NB and the Association acadienne des artistes profesionnel.le.s du Nouveau-Brunswick (AAAPNB) are publishing today the English version of the report entitled ACT NOW! For the Survival of the Arts and Culture Sector (MAINTENANT AGISSONS pour la survie du milieu des arts et de la culture). This report is the result of two rounds of consultations with 250 artists, arts and cultural organizations and businesses in New Brunswick to outline a plan to revive the sector.
“Between January 2020 and January 2021, 17% of jobs in the information, culture and recreation sector were lost in New Brunswick. The Canadian Arts, entertainment, and recreation sector suffered a 50% loss in generated revenues between December 2019 and December 2020. Help is needed more than ever in the sector. We would expect measures in the next budget to help the industry.” Carmen Gibbs, Executive Director of AAAPNB.
Upon reading of the report MAINTENANT AGISSONS, ArtsLink joined forces with the AAAPNB to translate the report as they recognized the issues, needs, and solution propositions were alike in the Acadian and Anglophone communities.
“ACT NOW! For the Survival of the Arts and Culture Sector will be a key guiding document for the recovery of New Brunswick’s arts and culture sector, and reflects tireless hours of consultation and research. ArtsLink NB recognizes the importance of disseminating the recommendations broadly to strengthen and protect the arts sector. We look forward to working
alongside our partners on the action items identified in the report.” Julie Whitenect, Executive Director of ArtsLink.
The consultations were carried out, in June and October 2020, through the round tables of the Renewed Global Strategy for the Integration of Arts and Culture into Acadian Society in New Brunswick. This structure enabled the AAAPNB to quickly consult artists from all disciplines, festival and event organizers, presenters and other artistic, cultural and heritage organizations, as well as cultural businesses in the music, music and entertainment sectors, media arts and publishers.

This report proposes six main courses of action for the sector to come back to life, ensuring that all elements of the artistic ecosystem can survive the crisis. For the sector to succeed in the short, medium and long term, the following recommendations should be followed:
• Ensure a solid foundation for the arts and culture sector, in particular thanks to the adoption by the Government of New Brunswick of a law on the status of the artist, and provide for the alignment of the procedures implemented with those federal government, and urging the federal
government to complete the review of the Copyright Act.
• Allocate a stimulus fund and new investments for the arts and culture sector, and tax foreign web companies to finance these funds and investments.
• Strengthen artistic and cultural organizations and industries, in particular by providing more funding for the basic operations of artistic and cultural organizations.
• Foster creation, distribution and professional development by increasing funds for the creation and production of new works, by increasing funding for creative residencies, by granting an additional amount to all presenters to ensure the maintenance of their activities and by creating a fund to help artists and cultural workers to enable them to take the necessary training or have access to professional resources to promote themselves on the Web.
• Stimulate demand for cultural products by putting in place a series of measures to restore public confidence, encourage local purchasing and provide transport assistance.
To read the report: aaapnb.ca or artslinknb.com
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For interviews
Julie Whitenect
Executive Director
ArtsLink NB
506-608-9914
julie@artslinknb.com

Jean-Pierre Caissie
Directeur adjoint
AAAPNB
506-852-3313 ext 224
jeanpierre.caissie@aaapnb.ca

ARTwork is a free webinar series by Jones Gallery about digital professionalization and online strategies for Atlantic Canadian visual artists – a guide to help artists work, connect, and adapt in a digital environment.

WHERE TO WATCH THE VIDEOS

Right here on this page, or via our ARTwork playlist on YouTube.

DOWNLOAD THE ACCOMPANYING GUIDEBOOK

A thirty-page pdf guide that corresponds to the webinar video series and includes extra information and documentation.

ARTwork is a professional development program about living and working in the visual arts in Atlantic Canada, created
and developed by Jones Gallery of Saint John, New Brunswick. This iteration works to enhance digital professionalization and online strategies for Atlantic Canadian visual artists.

This guide is produced in conjunction with the ARTwork: Digital Professionialization and Online Strategies for Visual Artists webinar series and is intended as a supplemental resource. The full webinar is available for everyone, free of charge, at jonesgallery.ca/ artwork.