Member news  is a new, regular website feature designed to tell the world about our members' outstanding and wide-ranging skills and talents.

March 2010

A book edited by Toronto branch member Rosemary Shipton was shortlisted for the prestigious 2010 Charles Taylor Award for Literary Non-Fiction. Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968–2000 by John English (published by Knopf Canada) did not win the award, but was one of four finalists chosen from a total of 125 submissions. Rosemary also edited two other books that were shortlisted for the Charles Taylor Award in 2008. Richard Gwyn's John A.: The Man Who Made Us won the prize.

February 2010

Congratulations to Toronto branch member Susan Hughes, who will celebrate the release of her new young adult novel, Virginia, on March 1. Published by Kids Can Press, the book is described as "a gripping story of an ordinary teenage girl drawn into an extraordinary chain of events." Also, this summer Scholastic Canada will publish Susan's book Canada's Birds as part of its "Canada Close Up" children's non-fiction series. Canada's Birds will be Susan's third title in the series.

January 2010

In November 2009, Prairie Provinces branch member Louise Dandeneau won first prize in the Rue Deschambault writing contest in Winnipeg. The contest, which was held by La Maison Gabrielle Roy and La Liberté, challenged entrants to write a short story with a street name as the title about an event that occurred in a childhood home. Louise also contributed a short story to the Sillons – hommage à Gabrielle Roy anthology published by Éditions de Blé in Winnipeg, November 2009. (2009 was the centennial anniversary of Gabrielle Roy's birth.)

In December 2009, QAC branch member Daphne Davey launched her new book Free to Roam: The Story of the Joyriders, 1979–2009. The book covers both the history of the Joyriders Therapeutic Riding Association of PEI, of which Daphne is a co-founder and instructor, as well as how and why the concept of horses as therapists works. Daphne's first print run of 200 books is close to selling out, with copies going across Canada and to the United States.

Also receiving good reviews is Adventures on the Ancient Silk Road, a new book by Toronto branch member Dawn Hunter. Co-written with Priscilla Galloway, the book was published in 2009 by Annick Press. This is Dawn's third book for young people.

December 2009

Congratulations to Nancy Flight, BC branch member and past president of EAC. Nancy was the editor of Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life by Brian Brett, which recently won The Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize. Congratulations also go to Toronto branch member Barbara Czarnecki who was the copy editor for the award-winning book.

Thumbs up to Prairie Provinces branch member Audrey Whitson for winning first prize in Room magazine's 2009 Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Non-Fiction Contest. Audrey took the top fiction prize for her story "The Glorious Mysteries," which will be published in Room's winter 2010 issue.

Kudos to Prairie Provinces branch member Karen Virag and former member Virginia Durksen. These self-described "blonde grammar mavens" are regular guests on CBC Radio's Wild Rose Country and Blue Sky call-in shows. The duo, which appears with host Donna McElligott, strives to bring clarity to the rules and opinions that inform the way we speak and judge the speech of others.

Do you have an achievement you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Send your news to the member news coordinator, Marguerite Watson.