Living Traditions Writing Group: More About the Authors and Illustrator

As Long as the Rivers Flow wins 2003 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Toronto, September 2, 2003) – The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) and the Fleck Family Foundation are delighted to announce the winner of the 5th annual Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction: As Long as the Rivers Flow by Larry Loyie with Constance Brissenden, illustrated by Heather D. Holmlund and published by Groundwood Books.

The $10,000 Norma Fleck Award is the largest of its kind in Canadian children’s books. Dr. Jim Fleck of the Fleck Family Foundation, and son of Norma Fleck, announced the winner on September 2nd, 2003.

Larry Loyie was born in Slave Lake, Alberta, where he spent his early years living a traditional Cree life. At the age of ten he was placed in St. Bernard’s Mission residential school in Grouard, Alberta. Larry is the author of several plays, short stories and children’s stories dealing with residential schools, native traditions and literacy. He is the recipient of the 2001 Canada Post Literacy Award for Individual Achievement (British Columbia).

Constance Brissenden is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of nine books of travel and history. In 1993, Constance and Larry started Living Traditions Writers Group to encourage First Nations people to write about their traditions and stories. They live in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Heather D. Holmlund’s roots are in Fort Frances, a remote town in northwestern Ontario, where the rugged beauty of the Canadian Shield and the legacy of its people have inspired her throughout her career. Educated at Toronto’s York University in the visual arts program, she now lives with her family in Pickering, Ontario.

In 1944, First Nations children were forcibly taken from their families and educated by various churches in government-sponsored residential schools. As Long as the Rivers Flow is the story of Lawrence (Larry) Loyie’s last summer before entering residential school. It is a time of learning and adventure. He cares for an abandoned baby owl, watches his grandmother make winter moccasins, and helps the family prepare for a hunting and gathering trip. When the family gathers for a feast, Grandfather gives Lawrence his new name: Oskiniko, or Young Man. Not long after, a truck comes to take Lawrence and his siblings away to their new school.

The Norma Fleck Award jury’s calls As Long as the Rivers Flow “… a joyous, heart-breaking memoir that recalls a Cree boy’s last, idyllic summer with his family before he was taken away to attend a residential school… beautiful illustrations… kindles a sense of injustice and loss….”

The other finalists for the 2003 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction were:

Beyond the Dance: A Ballerina’s Life by Chan Hon Goh with Cary Fagan (Tundra Books)

Under the Ice by Kathy Conlan (Kids Can Press)

Wilfrid Laurier: A Pledge for Canada by Roderick Stewart (XYZ Publishing)

Wizards: An Amazing Journey through the Last Great Age of Magic by Candace Savage (Greystone Books)

The jury also gave special recognition to The Toronto Story, written by Claire Mackay and illustrated by Johnny Wales, published in 1990 by Annick Press and reissued in a revised edition in 2002. Although its original publication date made it ineligible for the Award, the jury commended the excellence of the book’s text and illustration, and noted that it is even more enjoyable in the redesigned edition.

Members of the 2003 Norma Fleck Award jury were: Deirdre Baker, Department of English, University of Toronto and children’s book reviewer for The Toronto Star; Mary Anne Cree, librarian at The Bishop Strachan School; Polly Fleck, Governor-General’s Award-nominated poet and member of the Fleck family; Sheila Koffman, owner of Another Story Bookshop; Michele Landsberg, author and Toronto Star columnist; and Susan Perren, children’s book reviewer for The Globe and Mail.

The Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction was established by the Fleck Family Foundation in 1999 in honour of Norma Fleck, who inspired a deep love of reading in her children and grandchildren. The Award recognizes Canada’s exceptional non-fiction books for young people. Norma Fleck was born in 1906 and died in 1998.

The Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction is administered by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. The CCBC is a national, not-for-profit organization that was established in 1976 and is dedicated to promoting the reading, writing, and illustrating of Canadian books for children and young adults.

For more information, please contact:
Charlotte Teeple
Executive Director
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre
(416) 975-0010
charlotte@bookcentre.ca