FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
First Nation Communities READ 2023-2024 Children and Young Adult/Adult Shortlists Announced
Toronto, September 18, 2023 – The First Nation Communities READ program is pleased to announce the shortlists for the Children’s and Young Adult/Adult categories. Chosen by a jury of Indigenous librarians from across Ontario, these titles represent the best in Indigenous literature from Canada today.
The title selection announcement and award presentation for FNCR 2023-2024 will take place during First Nations Public Library Week (October 2-6, 2023).
This year, the First Nation Communities READ program celebrates 20 years of showcasing Indigenous literature for the library community and beyond. The Ontario Library Service is delighted to continue to host such an inspiring and successful program in this anniversary year.
Children’s Category Shortlist
Dancing with Our Ancestors by Sara Florence Davidson and Robert Davidson. Published by Highwater Press.
I Can See You by Rosemarie Avrana Meyok. Published by Inhabit Media.
Phoenix Gets Greater by Marty Wilson Trudeau and Phoenix Wilson. Published by Second Story Press.
Runs with the Stars by Darcy Whitecrow and Darcy O’Connor. Published by Second Story Press.
The Day I Became Number 54 by Lorre Gallant. Published by Indigenous Education Press.
Young Adult/Adult Category Shortlist
A Blanket of Butterflies by Richard Van Camp. Published by Highwater Press.
Journeys of the One to Strike the Wetigo by Ken Carriere. Published by University of Regina Press.
My Indian Summer by Joseph Kakwinokanasum. Published by Tidewater Press.
Nii Ndahlohke: Boys’ and Girls’ Work at Mount Elgin Industrial School by Mary Jane Logan McCallum. Published by Friesen Press.
Silence to Strength by Christine Miskonoodinkwe Smith (ed.). Published by Kegedonce Press.
The two selected title authors will be the recipients of the Indigenous Literature Award generously sponsored by our partners of 10 years, the Periodical Marketers of Canada. The selected authors will receive a $5000 cash prize. More information can be found on the FNCR website at www.fncr.ca
First Nation Communities READ Launched in 2003 by the First Nations Public Library Community in Ontario with support from the Ontario Library Service, FNCR promotes a community-based approach to reading as well as the celebration of Indigenous literature, illustration, and publishing.
FNCR celebrates and promotes the importance of Indigenous literature across Canada. The program encourages family literacy, intergenerational storytelling as well and intergenerational knowledge transmission. FNCR also helps to increase awareness of the importance of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit writing, illustration, and publishing.
Ontario Library Service (OLS) is mandated to deliver programs and services on behalf of the Ontario Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport:
- 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 and First Nations public libraries by providing them with services and programs that meet their needs, including consultation, training, and development.
For more information about First Nation Communities READ and the Ontario Library Service, contact:
Nancy Cooper, First Nations Consultant
Telephone 647-264-7342
Ontario Library Service
E-mail: ncooper@olservice.ca
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.
PMC’s ongoing activities have included funding of a non-profit charitable foundation, the Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Letters, which has contributed to individuals and agencies engaged in the encouragement of literacy and reading in Canada.
For more information about Periodical Marketers of Canada, contact:
Barry Francis
Periodical Marketers of Canada
Telephone: 416-447-7908
Cell: 416-876-3204
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for this project.