John Francis Hayes (August 5, 1904 – November 1980) was a Canadian writer. He is known best for ten children's historical novels. Among them, ''A Land Divided'' and ''Rebels Ride at Night'' won the

Governor General's Award for Juvenile Fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language children's writing is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a children's book written in English. It is one of four children's book awards among the Governor Gen ...

as the year's best Canadian works of 1951 and 1953. Another, ''The Dangerous Cove'' (1957), won the

Canada Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award The Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award is a literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian children's book. The book must be written in English and published in Canada during the preceding year (and nominated by ...

in 1959. For his body of work he was named the second recipient of the

Vicky Metcalf Award The Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, colloquially called the Vicky, is given annually at the Writers' Trust Awards to a writer or illustrator whose body of work has been "inspirational to Canadian youth". It is a top honour for ...

, in 1964.

Life

Hayes was educated in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. He took courses in advertising and writing and in 1930 entered the publishing business. By the mid-1950s he was Vice-President and General Manager of Southam Press Montreal, and Director of the Southam Company Limited. In 1954 he was elected secretary of the

Canadian Authors' Association The Canadian Authors Association is Canada's oldest association for writers and authors. The organization has published several periodicals, organized local chapters and events for Canadian writers, and sponsors writing awards, including the Gover ...

.''Ottawa Citizen'', June 11, 1954, p. 11.

Published books

Novels

All ten novels are historical fiction originally published by Copp Clark Publishing Company. The first nine were illustrated by Fred J. Finley, the last by J. Merle Smith. *''Buckskin Colonist: A Story of the Selkirk Settlers'' (1947) *''Treason at York'' (1949) *''A Land Divided'' (1951) –

*''Rebels Ride at Night'' (1953) – Governor General's Award *''Bugles in the Hills: A Story of the Mounties' First Days'' (1955) *''The Dangerous Cove: A Story of the Early Days in Newfoundland'' (1957) *''Quest in the Cariboo'' (1960) *''Flaming Prairie'' (1965) *''The Steel Ribbon'' (1967) *''On Loyalist Trails'' (1971)

Shorter fiction

*''Canadian Christmas'' (1962) *''The Atlas Christmas Anthology of Canadian Stories 1963'' (1963) *''The Atlas Christmas Anthology of Canadian Stories 1964'' (1964) *''The Atlas Christmas Anthology of Canadian Stories 1965'' (1965) *''The Atlas Christmas Anthology of Canadian Stories 1966'' (1966) *''The Atlas Christmas Anthology of Canadian Stories 1968'' (1968) *''The Atlas Christmas Anthology of Canadian Stories 1969'' (1969)

Non-fiction

*''The Challenge of Change: 50 years, 1912–1962'' (1963) *''Rosedale United Church: 1914–1964'' (1964) *''The Mapping of Early Canada'' (1967) *''The Nation Builders'' (1968) *''Wilderness Mission: The Story of Sainte-Marie-among-the-Hurons'' (1969)

References

External links

* (mainly under 'Hayes, John F.' without '1904–', previous page of browse report) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, John F. Canadian children's writers Canadian male non-fiction writers Governor General's Award-winning children's writers 1904 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Canadian historians Date of death missing Place of birth missing Place of death missing