Judy Fong Bates (born December 22, 1949) is a

Chinese-Canadian , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = Chinese Canadian population by province.svg , image_caption = Chinese Canadians as percent of population by province / territory , pop = 1,715,7704.63% of the ...

author. She is a 2006 recipient of the

Alex Awards The Alex Awards annually recognize "ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18". Essentially, the award is a listing by the American Library Association parallel to its annual Best Books for Young A ...

Biography

Born in Kaiping, Guangdong, she immigrated to Canada with her mother in 1955 to reunite with her father in Allandale, Ontario. The family subsequently moved to

Acton, Ontario Acton (population 9,377 in 2021) is a community located in the town of Halton Hills, in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. At the northern end of the Region, it is on the outer edge of the Greater Toronto Area and is one of two of the primary popul ...

where she spent most of her adolescence, eventually graduating from

Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute The Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute (GCVI, Guelph C.V.I., GC) is a public high school in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The school is the oldest continuously operating public high school in Guelph, and the third oldest in the province of Ontario ...

. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

, later followed with a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. She was a teacher with the

Toronto Board of Education The Toronto Board of Education (TBE; commonly known as School District 15), officially known as the Board of Education for the City of Toronto, is the former secular school district serving the pre-merged city of Toronto. The board offices were l ...

for twenty years, working at the Garden Avenue and Fern Avenue public schools, and has also taught creative writing at the University of Toronto and

Trent University Trent University is a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Trent is known for its Oxbridge college system and small class sizes.

. She currently resides with her husband on a farm near Toronto.

Works and honours

In 2005, she published ''Midnight at the Dragon Café'', which was recognized in 2006 by the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

as one of the year's notable books, and was subsequently honoured with an Alex Award in 2008, for having special appeal to young adults. In 2011, this book was chosen by the Toronto Public Library as the ''One Book Selection'', as the single work that Torontonians should read within the year. In 2010, ''The Year of Finding Memory'' was selected by ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' as one of the top 100 books of the year.

Bibliography

Fiction

* *

Non-fiction

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fong Bates, Judy Living people 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian women novelists Canadian writers of Asian descent Canadian people of Chinese descent People from Kaiping Canadian writers of young adult literature 1949 births 21st-century Canadian women writers Women writers of young adult literature