MacGregor Wins 2018 Ottawa Book Award

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Macgregor highwaysRoy MacGregor’s Original Highways: Travelling the Great Rivers of Canada is the winner of the 2018 Ottawa Book Award for English Non-Fiction.

Here’s what the jury had to say:

“Whether they be glamorous, powerful or recovering from a fetid past, Roy MacGregor masterfully conveys the beauty and fragility of the 16 rivers whose characters he portrays in Original Highways. This unique history of place and people from the geological past to the present day offers a heart-felt call to cherish the precious resource of these waterways. By turns fascinating, funny and poignant, this book is a vivid and compelling read.”

Jury members: Pius Adesanmi, Sylvia Barrett, Suzanne Evans

WCA Deal Report for October 17, 2018

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Vietnamese rights to Medcan Chair and CEO Shaun Francis’, EAT, MOVE, THINK: The Path to a Healthier, Stronger, Happier You have been acquired by Huy Huang. The deal was arranged by Santo Manurung at Maxima Creative Agency and Carolyn Forde at Westwood Creative Artists, on behalf of Michael A. Levine.

World French rights to Kim Fu’s acclaimed debut FOR TODAY I AM A BOY about an transgender only son who is expected to fulfil his father’s dreams of masculinity but knows in his heart that he is a girl, to Heliotrope. The deal was arranged by Deborah Druba of Anna Jarota Agency and Carolyn Forde at Westwood Creative Artists, on behalf of Jackie Kaiser.

Estonian rights to the third volume of Jay Ingram’s bestselling pop science series, SCIENCE OF WHY to Rahva Raamat. The deal was arranged by Andrew Nurnberg Baltic and Carolyn Forde at Westwood Creative Artists, on behalf of Jackie Kaiser.

Governor-General’s award-winning author Susin Nielsen (No Fixed Address) has sold a new picture book, PRINCESS PUFFYBOTTOM… AND DARRYL, about a pampered cat who is not amused when her “subjects” allow an unwanted intruder into her “kingdom,” to Tara Walker at Tundra Books/Penguin Random Canada, in an exclusive submission for world rights. Olivia Chin Mueller will illustrate; publication is scheduled for spring 2019. Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists negotiated the deal for Nielsen, and Nicole Tugeau at Tugeau 2, Inc. represented Mueller.

Chariandy Wins Toronto Book Award

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chariandy brotherDavid Chariandy’s celebrated novel Brother won the 2018 Toronto Book Awards. Since publication in 2017 the novel, set in Scarborough, has won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and was longlisted for the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

What the Jury said:

“In a near flawless piece of writing, David Chariandy brings readers to a story that may very well feel both foreign and familiar. Brother, his second novel, is a lean masterwork driven by spare, painstakingly-crafted prose. No word is wasted in this book, and every word leaves a mark. In this world-building, or perhaps world-revealing novel, Chariandy casts off tropes that readers may expect from a story about family, violence, loss, and survival, and lets the heart of the novel, and its fully-drawn characters, dictate the course of the narrative. This book has already become part of the Toronto literary canon, and should reside there for ages.”

Congrats to the 2018 GG Finalists!

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GGCongratulations to all of the 2018 Governor General’s Literary Awards finalists! We’re especially thrilled to see books from so many WCA authors make it this far.

Botticelli in the Fire & Sunday in Sodom by Jordan Tannahill in the category of Drama.

Mamaskatch by Darrel J. McLeod in the category of Non-Fiction.

Winnie’s Great War by Lindsay Mattick and Josh Greenhut, illustrated by Sophie Blackall in the category of Young People’s Literature.

Go Show the World by Wab Kinew, illustrated by Joe Morse in the category of Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books.

WCA Deal Report for September 21, 2018

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Brad Wilson, Editorial Director of HarperCollins Canada has acquired World rights to internationally bestselling novelist Karma Brown’s first work of non-fiction. In the vein of The Happiness Project, GET UP EARLY, CHANGE YOUR LIFE is about uncovering the “magic” hours each day that allow you to accomplish a passion project you never imagined you’d have time for. Publication is set for Winter 2021. The deal was arranged by Carolyn Forde of Westwood Creative Artists.

Hay is 2018 Weston Prize Finalist

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Hay consoledAll Things Consoled, Elizabeth Hay’s startling and beautiful memoir about the drama of her parents’ end, is a finalist for the 2018 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

Jury Citation:

“Elizabeth Hay’s loving, exacting memoir, All Things Consoled, details the decline of her elderly parents with unflinching tenderness. The path she and her family travel is crooked and long, filled with hospital beds and doctors’ visits, foggy minds, and shuffling confusion. But Hay’s prose elevates this ordinary rite of passage — the death of one’s parents — to something rare and poetic.”

WCA Deal Report for September 14, 2018

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In a two-book deal, Samantha Swenson at Tundra Books has acquired world rights to debut author and illustrator Lauren Soloy’s picture book, WHEN EMILY WAS SMALL, which follows iconic Canadian painter Emily Carr as a young child as she celebrates the magic and wonder of a childhood spent immersed in nature, and a second untitled picture book. Publication is scheduled for Summer 2020 and Summer 2021, respectively. Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists negotiated the deal.

Acclaimed BC poet Jordan Scott has sold world rights to his debut picture book, I TALK LIKE A RIVER, about a boy who stutters and the father who empowers him to endure it, to Neal Porter at Holiday House. Greenaway medalist Sydney Smith will illustrate, with publication planned for fall 2020. Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists represents the author and Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management represents the illustrator.

WCA Deal Report for September 7, 2018

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Susanne Alexander and Matthew Halliday at Goose Lane Editions have acquired Canadian Rights (English and French) to ocean journalist Laura Trethewey’s IMPERILED OCEAN: Human Stories from a Changing Sea; a deeply-reported work of narrative journalism that follows people as they head out to sea, showing that what they discover holds both inspiring and dire implications for the life of the ocean and for all of us back on land. The deal was arranged by John Pearce at Westwood Creative Artists in association with Chris Casuccio on behalf of Suzy Evans at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.