Marie-Louise Gay (born June 17, 1952) is a Canadian children's writer and illustrator. She has received numerous awards for her written and illustrated works in both French and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, including the 2005

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 ...

, multiple

Governor General's Awards The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

, and multiple Janet Savage Blachford Prizes, among others.

Biography

Gay was born in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

and lived in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

as a child. Gay lives in

. Gay co-wrote two longer books with her husband, Montreal novelist and translator

David Homel David Homel (born 1952) is an American-Canadian writer and literary translator.Ian McGillis"Montreal's David Homel counsels self-forgiveness in new memoir" ''Montreal Gazette'', April 23, 2021. He is most noted as a two-time winner of the Governo ...

, which included her black-and-white illustrations: ''Travels With My Family'' (2006) and ''On the Road Again!'' (2008). At the time, she said, "For the last twenty-five years, I have mainly been writing, illustrating and creating only for children."

Awards and honours

In 2013,

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released a series of stamps featuring Gay's character Stella.

Publications

''Stella'' and ''Sam'' series

Gay's ''Stella'' and ''Sam'' books have been published in more than twelve languages. They spawned a 52-episode cartoon series in 2013 that aired on Sprout and Family Junior.

Stella series

*''Stella, Star of the Sea'' (1999) *''Stella, Queen of the Snow'' (2001) *''Stella, Fairy of the Forest'' (2002) *''Stella, Princess of the Sky'' (2004) *''When Stella Was Very, Very, Small'' (2009) *''Read Me A Story, Stella'' (2013)

Sam series

Sam is Stella's younger brother *''Good Morning, Sam'' (2003) *''Good Night, Sam'' (2003) *''What Are You Doing, Sam?'' (2006)

Travels with My Family series

The Travels with My Family series was co-written with

. *''Travels With My Family'' (Groundwood, 2006) *''On the Road Again!'' (Groundwood, 2008) *''Summer in the City'' (Groundwood, 2012) *''The Traveling Circus'' (Groundwood, 2015) *''Travels in Cuba'' (Groundwood, 2021)

Standalone books authored

* ''Lizzy's Lion'' (1984) * ''The Garden: Little Big Books'' (1985) * ''Moonbeam On A Cat's Ear'' (1986) * ''Rainy Day Magic'' (1987) * ''Angel and the Polar Bear'' (1988) * ''Fat Charlie's Circus'' (1989) * ''Willy Nilly'' (1990) * ''Mademoiselle Moon'' (1992) * ''Rabbit Blue'' (1993) * ''Midnight Mimi'' (1994) * ''Qui a peur de Loulou? (Who's afraid of Loulou?)'' (Montreal: VLB Editeur, 1994), 111pp, "Theatre for children" * ''The Three Little Pigs'' (Canadian Fairy Tales Series) (1994) * ''Rumplestiltskin'' (1997) * ''Sur Mon Ile'' (1999) * ''Caramba'' (2006) * ''Roslyn Rutabaga and the Biggest Hole on Earth!'' (2010) * ''Caramba and Henry'' (2011) * ''Any Questions'' (2014) * ''Short Stories for Little Monsters'' (2017) * ''The Three Brothers'' (2020)

Books illustrated only

*''The Last Piece'' (1993) *''When Vegetables Go Bad!'' (1993) *''The Fabulous Song'' (1996) *''Dreams Are More Real Than Bathtubs'' (1999) *''Yuck, a Love Story'' (2000) *''Didi and Daddy on the Promenade'' (2001) *''Houndsley and Catina'' (2006) *Maddie series; Sophie series (1993–2003)

References

External links

* Archives of Marie-Louise Ga
(Fonds Marie-Louise Gay, R11738)
are held at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gay, Marie-Louise 1952 births Living people Anglophone Quebec people Artists from Quebec City Canadian children's book illustrators Canadian children's writers in French Governor General's Award-winning children's illustrators Canadian women artists Canadian women children's writers Writers from Quebec City 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers