The Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young Readers is a Canadian literary award that goes to the best work of historical fiction written for youth each year. The award is named after
Geoffrey Bilson
Geoffrey Bilson (27 January 1938 – 25 July 1987) was a Welsh Canadian academic and author. Between 1964 and 1987, Bilson worked for the University of Saskatchewan in their history department as a professor. During this time period, Bilson primari ...
, a writer of historical fiction for youth and a history professor at the
University of Saskatchewan
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
who died suddenly in 1987.
The Geoffrey Bilson Award is selected by a jury chosen by the
Canadian Children's Book Centre
Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) is a national non-profit organization that dedicates its resources to promoting quality Canadian children's literature to parents, librarians, teachers, and youth across Canada. Founded in 1976, the CCBC has l ...
*1988 - Carol Matas, ''Lisa''
*1989 - joint winners
** Martyn Godfrey, ''Mystery in the Frozen Lands''
**
Dorothy Perkyns
Dorothy may refer to:
*Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name.
Arts and entertainment
Characters
*Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum
* Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...
Marianne Brandis
Marianne Brandis (born October 5, 1938) is a Dutch-born Canadian writer.
Brandis came to Canada with her family in 1947. Her family lived in British Columbia and Nova Scotia before settling in Ontario. She received a BA and MA from McMaster Univ ...
, ''The Sign of the Scales''
*1992 - no award
*1993 -
Celia Barker Lottridge
Celia Barker Lottridge (born 1936) is a Canadian children's writer.
Lottridge was born in Iowa City, Iowa. She received a BA in modern European history from Stanford University, a MLS from Columbia University and a BEd from the University of Tor ...
, ''Ticket to Curlew''
*1994 - Kit Pearson, ''The Lights Go On Again''
*1995 -
Joan Clark
Joan Clark BA, D.Litt. (hon.) (née MacDonald) (born 12 October 1934) is a Canadian fiction author.
Born in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Clark spent her youth in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. She attended Acadia University for its drama progr ...
, ''The Dream Carvers''
*1996 -
Marianne Brandis
Marianne Brandis (born October 5, 1938) is a Dutch-born Canadian writer.
Brandis came to Canada with her family in 1947. Her family lived in British Columbia and Nova Scotia before settling in Ontario. She received a BA and MA from McMaster Univ ...
, ''Rebellion: A Novel of Upper Canada''
*1997 -
Janet McNaughton
Janet McNaughton (born November 29, 1953) is a Canadian writer from Newfoundland and Labrador. She wrote the coming of age novel, ''An Earthly Knight'', published in 2003.
Life
She was born in Toronto, Ontario and stayed there for 26 years, movi ...
, ''To Dance at the Palais Royale''
*1998 -
Irene N. Watts
Irene Naemi Watts (née Kirstein, May 24, 1931 – November 21, 2023) was a German-born Canadian writer and educator.
Early life and education
Irene Naemi Kirstein was born in Berlin on May 24, 1931, and lived there for seven years. She moved ...
, ''Good-Bye Marianne''
*1999 -
Iain Lawrence
Iain Lawrence (born 1955) is a bestselling Canadian author for children and young adults. In 2007 he won a Governor General’s Literary Award in Children’s Literature for ''Gemini Summer''.
Biography
Lawrence was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontar ...
, ''The Wreckers''
*2000 - deferred to following year
*2001 -
Sharon E. McKay
Sharon E. McKay (born 1954) is a Canadian author of novels and graphic novels for children and young adults, that often focus on children going through hardships throughout the world. She was born in 1954 in Montreal, Quebec, and earned a B.A. f ...
Virginia Frances Schwartz
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are s ...
, ''If I Just Had Two Wings''
*2003 -
Joan Clark
Joan Clark BA, D.Litt. (hon.) (née MacDonald) (born 12 October 1934) is a Canadian fiction author.
Born in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Clark spent her youth in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. She attended Acadia University for its drama progr ...
The Crazy Man
''The Crazy Man'' is a 2005 Canadian children's novel written by Pamela Porter. This realistic family novel told in free verse has received many awards and was selected for the Governor General's Literary Award. The story is about a girl named Em ...
''
*2007 -
Eva Wiseman
Eva or EVA may refer to:
* Eva (name), a feminine given name
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment
* Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in ...
, ''Kanada''
*2008 -
Christopher Paul Curtis
Christopher Paul Curtis (born May 10, 1953)Judy Levin, Allison Stark Draper, ''Christopher Paul Curtis'' (The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005), , p. 84. Excerptsat Google Books. Retrieved 2015-07-25. is an American children's book author. His f ...
, ''
Elijah of Buxton
''Elijah of Buxton'' is a children's novel written by Christopher Paul Curtis and published in 2007. The book won critical praise and was a Newbery Honor book and the winner of the Coretta Scott King Award. It also was a children's book bestselle ...
Shane Peacock Shane Peacock may refer to:
* Shane Peacock (writer) (born 1957), Canadian novelist
* Shane Peacock (ice hockey) (born 1973), Canadian ice hockey player
* Shane Peacock (fashion designer), Indian fashion designer and judge of the Femina Miss India ...
, ''Vanishing Girl''
*2011 -
Valerie Sherrard
Valerie Anne Sherrard (née Russell: born May 16, 1957) is a Canadian author of books for children and young adults including the novels ''The Glory Wind'', ''Kate'', ''Speechless'' and the Shelby Belgarden mystery series.
Early life
Sherrard w ...
, ''The Glory Wind''
*2012 -
Kate Cayley
Kate Cayley is a Canadian writer and theatre director. She was the artistic director of Stranger TheatreMarsha Forchuk Skrypuch, ''Dance of the Banished''
*2016 - Karen Bass, ''Uncertain Soldier''
*2017 - Kevin Sands, ''The Mark of the Plague''
*2018 - Kevin Sands, ''The Assassin’s Curse''
*2019 -
Christopher Paul Curtis
Christopher Paul Curtis (born May 10, 1953)Judy Levin, Allison Stark Draper, ''Christopher Paul Curtis'' (The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005), , p. 84. Excerptsat Google Books. Retrieved 2015-07-25. is an American children's book author. His f ...
, ''The Journey of Little Charlie''
*2020 - Tina Athaide, ''Orange for the Sunsets''