Yesterday, the shortlist for this year’s Saskatchewan Book Awards was announced, and I’m pleased to say that my young adult science fiction novel Star Song, previously shortlisted for the Aurora Award for Best Young Adult Novel, is a finalist in the Young Adult Literature Award.
This is my eleventh book to be nominated for a Saskatchewan Book Award; since a couple of books were nominated in two categories, it’s my thirteenth nomination overall. I’ve only won once, for my young adult fantasy novel Spirit Singer in 2002.
The other nominees in the category:
- Finders Keepers (Orca Book Publishers) by Melanie McFarlane
- Guardians of Porthaven (Orca Book Publishers) by Shane Arbuthnott
- Mr. Universe (Orca Book Publishers) by Arthur Slade
- Sisters of the Wolf (Dundurn Press) by Patricia Miller-Schroeder
The awards will be presented on May 4 in Saskatoon.
Another Shadowpaw Press title shortlisted
I was also thrilled that Thickwood by Gayle M. Smith, published (like Star Song) by my own Shadowpaw Press, was a finalist for the First Book Award
It’s a terrific historical novel that combines the world of horse ranching with women’s professional baseball in the guise of the main character, Willow, who wants to raise horses in her beloved Thickwood Hills in Saskatchewan but has also just come back from playing in the All American Girls’ Professional Baseball League. One reviewer said it’s like a love child between Yellowstone and A League of Their Own, which is a pretty good elevator pitch for the movie version (anyone know a producer?)
Best of luck to Gayle!
