The annual celebration of Atlantic Canada’s authors, scholars and poets, the Atlantic Book Awards, is coming together for a digital event, with virtual author readings and more taking place from May 6 to 12 and concluding with a virtual awards gala on May 13. This year, Nova Scotian author Tyler LeBlanc leads the way with four nominations for a compelling tale of family history, Acadian Driftwood: One Family and the Great Expulsion, published by Goose Lane Editions.
LeBlanc unprecedented stack of nominations are for the Democracy 250 Atlantic Book Award for Historical Writing, Evelyn Richardson Non-Fiction Award, Margaret and John Savage First Book Award – Non-Fiction, and the Robbie Robertson Dartmouth Book Award (Non-Fiction), though not far behind is Morgan Murray’s coming-of-age rom-com, Dirty Birds (Breakwater Boots Ltd.), with three nominations.
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)
The Awards Gala will also include the awarding of the 2021 Pioneer Award to “someone from Nova Scotia who’s made a substantial contribution to the literary life of the region.”
For more information visit the Atlantic Book Festival and Awards at AtlanticBookAwards.ca.