"Once Upon a Northern Night" has been shortlisted for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award! What a thrill it is to have the work Isabelle Arsenault and I co-created recognized. The award itself will be announced in November, but I've been enjoying the spin-off the nomination has inspired -- a trip to Toronto to do a reading at Word on the Street, an invitation from CBC Books to go to Calgary and spend a day at a school talking about books and writing with kids, and a book signing with fellow nominees at INSPIRE, the Toronto International Book Fair, in November.
During a conversation with an interviewer the other day, I was asked the question "How would winning this award change you as a writer?"
Interesting thought.
Awards always come with exposure. Great for the book, for sales, and ultimately, me. They also often come with a cash prize. To an artist, money is time. Time to ponder. Time to experiment. Time to create. Time to listen to the stirrings of the soul, without being burdened by the realities of existence. Would that change me as a writer? To have more time? Perhaps.
But ultimately, I don't write to win awards. I write because there is a story, insistently tapping me on my shoulder, asking to be told. I write because there is an image I want to capture and form into words, layering them onto the page where they can make their way into the imaginings of the reader. I write because there is something I want to say, a feeling or emotion I want to evoke. I write because I want to create and connect.
And I don't think that will ever change.
During a conversation with an interviewer the other day, I was asked the question "How would winning this award change you as a writer?"
Interesting thought.
Awards always come with exposure. Great for the book, for sales, and ultimately, me. They also often come with a cash prize. To an artist, money is time. Time to ponder. Time to experiment. Time to create. Time to listen to the stirrings of the soul, without being burdened by the realities of existence. Would that change me as a writer? To have more time? Perhaps.
But ultimately, I don't write to win awards. I write because there is a story, insistently tapping me on my shoulder, asking to be told. I write because there is an image I want to capture and form into words, layering them onto the page where they can make their way into the imaginings of the reader. I write because there is something I want to say, a feeling or emotion I want to evoke. I write because I want to create and connect.
And I don't think that will ever change.
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