Congratulations to Kelley Arrmstrong and Tanaz Bhathena

Congratulations to all the authors who are finalists for a Canadian Children’s Book Centre award this year, and a special shout out to Kelley Armstrong and Tanaz Bhathena who are both finalists for the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award – one of Canada’s major prizes for Children’s lit. I hope one of you wins it this year. ~Brian

Aftermath

Written by Kelley Armstrong (Aylmer, ON)
Penguin Teen Canada
for ages 12 and up
“A suspenseful mystery with plenty of sharp twists, this novel provides an insightful examination of the different ways people respond to trauma and grief, school bullying… Aftermath paints a picture of a girl trying to pick up the pieces of a life that has been torn apart by a school shooting — a school shooting committed by her brother.  Smart and engaging, this is a book about finding your way back to yourself.”

Available at bookstores everywhere and online here.

A Girl Like That

Written by Tanaz Bhathena (Mississauga, ON)
Farrar, Straus & Giroux Books for Young Readers
for ages 14 and up
“Intricately woven and breathtakingly beautiful, Bhathena’s A Girl Like That is inspirational, compelling and enriching. With writing that makes the setting feel like its own character, this book introduces a place that may be unfamiliar to some but whose characters are instantly relatable to anyone living under the weight of other’s expectations…Painful and honest, this story will stay with readers long after the book is finished.”

Available at bookstores everywhere and online here.

See the shortlists for all the CCBC awards here.

Many Quick Brown Fox readers will have met Tanaz Bhathena at one of my workshops. At the moment, she’s not a scheduled speaker for any of my upcoming workshops, but Kelley Armstrong will be my guest at How to Write a Bestseller on Saturday, Oct 26, in Waterloo. Details here.

See my complete current schedule here, including writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Cambridge, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.