Monique Gray Smith

Monique Gray Smith
Born1968 (age 55–56)
OccupationWriter
GenreChildren's literature, young adult fiction
Notable worksTilly, a Story of Hope and Resilience
Notable awardsBurt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature

Monique Gray Smith is a Canadian writer of children's and young adult literature.[1][2] She is also an international speaker and consultant. Of Cree, Lakota and Scottish descent, Smith is based in Victoria, British Columbia.[2][3]

Career

She is most noted for her young adult novel Tilly, a Story of Hope and Resilience, which won the Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature in 2014,[4] and her children's picture book My Heart Fills With Happiness, which won the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize in 2017. In 2018 she was named as a finalist for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award for Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation,[5] and for the Burt Award for The Journey Forward, a compilation of two novellas co-written with Richard Van Camp.[6] In the same year she published Tilly and the Crazy Eights, a sequel to her first novel.[7]

In addition to her work as a writer, Smith has worked as a psychiatric nurse in Indigenous communities for over 25 years, having completed formal nurses training at Douglas College.[8] She also spent 5 years working as Instructor for Curriculum Design at the Justice Institute of BC and has been an Inspirational Speaker for Little Drum Consulting for more than 20 years.[9]

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Monique Gray Smith's new book for young readers charts a path to reconciliation". The Next Chapter, August 17, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Victoria writer Monique Gray Smith earns B.C. Book Prize". Victoria Times-Colonist, May 2, 2017.
  3. ^ "About Monique Gray Smith", 2019.
  4. ^ "Monique Gray Smith wins Burt Award for First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Literature". Quill & Quire, September 9, 2014.
  5. ^ "Victoria author Monique Gray Smith nominated for award". Victoria Times-Colonist, September 7, 2018.
  6. ^ "Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves among finalists for $10K CODE Burt Award for Indigenous YA literature". CBC Books, September 20, 2018.
  7. ^ "Tilly and the Crazy Eights". Quill & Quire, September 2018.
  8. ^ Alison Gerlach, PhD; Smith, Monique Gray. "'Walking side by side': Being an occupational therapy change agent in partnership with Indigenous clients and communities". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ^ Smith, Monique Gray (2019). "Monique Gray Smith". LinkedIn.
  10. ^ a b c "Writing". moniquegraysmith.com. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  11. ^ "Winners & Finalists | Victoria Book Prize Society". www.victoriabookprizes.ca. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  12. ^ "The Largest Award of Its Kind Celebrates the Best in Canadian Children's Literature". Canadian Children's Book Centre. 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2019-03-04.