First Nation Communities READ (FNCR)

Toronto, September 21, 2022 – First Nation Communities READ announces the shortlists for the combined Children’s and Young Adult/Adult categories. Chosen by a jury of Indigenous librarians from across Ontario, these titles represent the best of Indigenous literature from Canada today.  The title selection announcement and award presentation for FNCR 2022-2023 will take place during First Nations Public Library Week (October 3-7, 2022).

 https://resources.olservice.ca/fnplw/home

The two selected title authors will be the recipients of the Periodical Marketers of Canada (PMC) Indigenous Literature Award and will each receive a $5000 cash prize.  More information can be found on the FNCR website at www.fncr.ca

Children’s Category Shortlist

• Buffalo Wild! by Deirdre Havrelock. Published by Annick Press.
• Little Bear in Foster Care by S.P. Joseph Lyons.  Published by Indigenous Education Press.
• This is What I’ve Been Told by Juliana Armstrong.  Published by Medicine Wheel Education.
• The Dancing Trees by Masiana Kelly.  Published by Inhabit Media.
• The Wolf Mother by Brett Huson.  Published by Highwater Press.
• We Dream Medicine Dreams by Lisa Boivin.  Published by Highwater Press. 

Young Adult/Adult Category Shortlist

• Aggie and Mudgy: The Journey of Two Kaska Dena Children by Wendy Proverbs. Published by Heritage House.
• Christi Belcourt by Sherry Farrell Racette, Nadia Kurd, and Dylan Miner. Published by Goose Lane Editions.
• Go Down Odawa Way by Daniel Lockhart. Published by Kegedonce Press.
• Indigenomics: Taking a Seat at the Economic Table by Carol Anne Hilton.  Published by New Society Publishers.
• Permanent Astonishment by Thompson Highway.  Published by Penguin Random House.
• The Strangers by Katherena Vermette. Published by Doubleday Canada.

Periodical Marketers of Canada (PMC) Indigenous Literature Award

PMC sponsors their Indigenous Literature Award for FNCR.  Thanks to the PMC’s generosity and commitment to the spirit of reconciliation, each of the two selected title authors receives a $5000 cash award.

First Nation Communities READ is the Ontario First Nation Public Library Community’s contribution to the popular reading movement. Launched in 2003 by the First Nations Public Library Community in Ontario with support from the Ontario Library Service, it promotes a community-based approach to reading.

FNCR celebrates the very best of Indigenous literature across Canada.  The program encourages family literacy, intergenerational storytelling as well as 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:

• assisting Public Library boards and First Nation 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

Nancy Cooper, First Nations Consultant

Ontario Library Service
Telephone   647-264-7342
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.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for this project.