John Kenneth Galbraith
Literary Award

Jean Rae Baxter

1st

After a career in education, Jean Rae Baxter started writing seriously ten years ago. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies, literary journals and magazines. A Twist of Malice, her debut collection, was published in 2005. She is also the author of two novels, The Way Lies North (2007) and Looking for Cardenio (2008). In the spring of 2011 her third novel will be released. She is currently completing a new collection of short stories, to be titled Scattered Light and beginning another novel. Jean lives in Hamilton, where she is one of the organizers of the LiT LiVe Reading Series and serves as co-chair of Arts Hamilton’s Literary Advisory Committee.
Website: www.jeanraebaxter

Jocelyn Shipley

Runner Up

Born and raised in London, Ontario, Jocelyn graduated from York University and has attended the Humber School for Writers. She writes for both children and adults. Her award-winning stories have appeared in anthologies, newspapers and magazines. Her books for teens include Getting a Life, Cross My Heart and Seraphina’s Circle. She's also co-editor of Cleavage: Breakaway Fiction for Real Girls. Jocelyn now divides her time between Toronto and Vancouver Island. For more information, please visit her website at: www.jocelynshipley.com

Arthur C. Hill

Born and raised in Toronto, I discovered my passion for writing as a teenager, and I was encouraged by a high school teacher to develop my creative writing skills. Although I chose a different path for my career, the desire to write has always been a part of me. Now retired and living in London, Ontario, I write full time for my own pleasure.

Chuck Lovatt

Chuck loves living in the wilds of southwestern Manitoba with two cats, a guitar with a broken ‘G’ string, and a deranged laptop – it suits his tempo. A number of his short stories have been recognized and/or published both nationally and internationally. You could check him out at his blog, except that he’s a product of the last century, and doesn’t have a clue as to how to go about getting one.

Urve Tamberg

After years of writing business and marketing plans, Urve has overcome her tendency to use passive voice and enjoys writing fiction for both adults and children. Her first young adult historical novel, set in Estonia in 1941, is approaching completion. She is a member of CANSCAIP. Her short fiction has been published on-line and in print. Website is www.utamberg.com

Ken McBeath

Honourable Mention

Born in India, brought up in Cullen, Banffshire, Scotland. Oil driller in the Middle East. Gold geologist in the deep gold mines in South Africa, the bush of Rhodesia, and the rain forest of Suriname. Married 45 years so far, two sons, two magic daughters-in-law, two grandsons. A few stories have placed in contests, and a couple have been published. Retired near Perth, Ontario, writing stories and building a 24' boat.

Karla Ivany

I grew up in Chatham, Ontario close to the Thames River where I find inspiration for many of my stories. I moved to Toronto at the age of eighteen to attend college where, I wrote while continuing my education. I possess a diploma as a Child and Youth Work and was employed by various agencies in and around the Toronto area working with emotionally disturbed children and their families. I met my husband while working in such an agency and we were married in 1991. We now reside in St. John’s, Newfoundland with our three children. We have remained mainly in the Eastern Region, living in New Brunswick as well as various towns in Newfoundland. I continue to write in my time off from my job as a Resource Facilitator at the College of the North Atlantic where I assist students with disabilities. I enjoy the challenge of creating new and exciting characters or simply telling a story about a boy and his love of a river. I currently am working on my second novel, have contributed many short stories to various contests and continue to write in my blog at www.kayjai.wordpress.com

Alyssa Foulkes

Alyssa Foulkes grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, before moving to Guelph to attend university. She received her M.Sc. in nutrition and opened a consulting company called Backpack Nutrition. Alyssa was a semi-finalist in the John Kenneth Galbraith Literary Award Competition in 2008 and won the postcard fiction contest at The Bookshelf in 2006. She is currently working on a novel for young adults.

Roy Innes

Since retirement from the medical profession, Roy Innes has spent most of his writing hours turning out crime fiction novels published by NeWest Press (Murder in the Monashees, 2005, West End Murders, 2008 and Murder in the Chilcotin to be released October, 2010). Recently, he discovered that composing short stories served a welcome relief from the tedium that is often part of putting together a 300 plus page novel and has enjoyed the neatness of the short story format. A brief foray into poetry lays hidden in his computer, and in respect to poets everywhere, will never see the printed page. He was born in Saskatchewan, his family roots dating back to the earliest Canadian Prairie settlers, and spent his boyhood there. Although his works are fiction, seventy years of life experience play a major role in everything he writes. Equally at home in the wilds or the city, Innes is an avid hunter, a lover of classical music and a gourmand. He lives on B.C.'s idyllic Gabriola Island with his wife and his daughter's cat.

Janice Agnew

At age 21, I packed my car and drove to Edmonton where I tried my hand at being a career driven banker.When the bank folded, I jumped at the opportunity to move overseas to Australia. The life style was easy to embrace. It put me in contact with many Aussie larekins and brought some amazing friendships into my life.
I returned to London to raise my son, McKenzie. This had the added advantage of bringing me closer to my family.
In terms of writing, my grade 2 teacher gave the class a writing assignment for which I developed severe writer's block. She became frustrated and broke a ruler over my desk. I shied away from the task of writing until 4 years ago. In that time, I've completed a creative non-fiction manuscript and several short stories. I'm absolutely ecstatic about this nomination.