2009 Aqua Books Lansdowne Prize for Poetry/prix Lansdowne de poésie

On Saturday, April 25/09 at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, The Association of Manitoba Book Publishers presented the Manitoba Book Awards gala, hosted by CBC Radio’s Shelagh Rogers. The most important award, of course, was the Aqua Books Lansdowne Prize for Poetry/prix Lansdowne de poésie.

This year's winner:

- this is a small northern town by Rosanna Deerchild, published by The Muses’ Company, an imprint of J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing

Rosanna Deerchild is Cree from South Indian Lake, Manitoba. Her poetry has appeared in a number of literary magazines including Prairie Fire and CV2. She is the co-founder and remains a member of the Aboriginal Writers Collective, established in 1999. Rosanna currently works a broadcaster with NCI-FM and is a regular columnist with CBC. This is a small northern town, Deerchild's long-awaited full-length collection of poems, was published by The Muses' Company in fall 2008. Rosanna has also been nominated for the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer.

The other nominees were:
- Fear Not by Maurice Mierau, published by Turnstone Press
- La Métisse filante de Laurent Poliquin, publié par L’Harmattan
- The Sleeping Life by Kerry Ryan, published by The Muses’ Company, an imprint of J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing

Maurice Mierau was born in Indiana and grew up in Nigeria, Manitoba, Jamaica, Kansas, and Saskatchewan. His first book of poems, Ending with Music, was a finalist for the Eileen McTavish Sykes Award, and his second, a non-fiction book called Memoir of a Living Disease, won the Margaret McWilliams Award from the Manitoba Historical Society. His new book, a poetry collection called Fear Not, is just out from Turnstone Press. Also a busy teacher and editor of both poetry and fiction, and the past president of the League of Canadian Poets, Maurice Mierau lives with his family in Winnipeg. Fear Not has also been nominated for the McNally Robinson Book of the Year.

Laurent Poliquin poursuit des études doctorales à l’Université du Manitoba portant la littérature pour la jeunesse au Canada français. Il est l’auteur de quatre recueils de poésie, dont le plus récent, La Métisse filante, est paru l’an dernier aux Éditions de l’Harmattan, à Paris. Ses poèmes ont aussi été publiés dans plusieurs revues et anthologies au Canada, au Québec, en France et en Italie. Il est membre du comité de rédaction de la revue de poésie Contemporary Verse 2. Depuis 2003, il est aussi éditeur aux Éditions des Plaines.

Kerry Ryan lives and writes in a blue house in Winnipeg. Her poems have appeared in a number of journals and in the anthology Exposed, published by The Muses’ Company in 2003. The Sleeping Life is her first collection of poetry. She is an avid sleeper and a birdwatcher by association.

For the rest of the 2009 winners, click here.

For the 2008 Aqua Lansdowne results, click here.

For more information on the Aqua Books Lansdowne Prize for Poetry/prix Lansdowne de poésie, click here.

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