2012 Monica Hughes Shortlist

Being presented for the first time this year is the Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy. Sponsored by HarperCollins Canada, the $5,000 prize is awarded annually to a Canadian author of an outstanding work of speculative fiction for young people. The 2012 nominees are:

  • Dreamline by Nicole Luiken
  • Hunted by Cheryl Rainfield
  • Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
  • Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston
  • What Happened to Serenity? by P.J. Sarah Collins

[Thanks to John Mansfield for the story.]

HarperCollins Sponsors Monica Hughes Award

Monica Hughes

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has launched the Monica Hughes Award for Canadian children’s literature. Sponsored by HarperCollins Canada, the new award will honor children’s sf and fantasy fiction and comes with a $5,000 cash prize.

Hughes, who passed away in 2003, wrote over thirty-five books and has been called “Canada’s finest writer of science fiction for children” by critic Sarah Ellis in The Horn Book magazine. Her genre work is listed at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.

She won many major literary awards including the Governor General’s Award (then known as the Canada Council Prize) for Children’s Literature in 1982 and 1983.

To be eligible for the Monica Hughes Award, a book must be an original work in English, aimed at readers ages eight to 16. The first award will be given in October 2012.

[Thanks to John Mansfield for the story.]