Jan Thornhill

Last updated
Jan Thornhill
Born1955
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
OccupationWriter
Genrescience, children's literature
Notable worksI Found a Dead Bird, The Wildlife ABC

Jan Thornhill (born 1955 in Sudbury, Ontario) is a Canadian writer and illustrator of educational books on science and nature for children. [1] She was the 2015 winner of the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, a lifetime achievement award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada, [2] and won the Norma Fleck Award in 2007 for her book I Found a Dead Bird: The Kids’ Guide to the Cycle of Life & Death. [3]

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A graduate of the Ontario College of Art, [4] Thornhill has illustrated many but not all of her own works. She won UNICEF's Ezra Jack Yeats International Award for illustration in 1990 for The Wildlife 123, [5] and has been a three-time nominee for the Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration at the 1988 Governor General's Awards for The Wildlife ABC, [6] the 1989 Governor General's Awards for The Wildlife 123 [7] and the 2017 Governor General's Awards for The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk.

She has also published the adult short story collection Drought, which was a shortlisted nominee for the ReLit Awards in 2001, [8] and has drawn illustrations for general interest magazines including The Idler.

Works

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References

  1. "Nature calls author". Victoria Times-Colonist , November 16, 1995.
  2. "André Alexis wins Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize". The Globe and Mail , November 3, 2015.
  3. "Hampstead writer wins children's book award". Montreal Gazette , October 17, 2007.
  4. "Dreams of riches are unfulfilled". Calgary Herald , February 27, 1993.
  5. "Top illustrator". Ottawa Citizen , November 3, 1990.
  6. "Short lists for literary awards cause a stir". The Globe and Mail , February 2, 1989.
  7. "Who will get to shake Ray Hnatyshyn's hand?". Montreal Gazette , February 10, 1990.
  8. "Diary of an accidental judge". Vancouver Sun , May 12, 2001.
  9. "Jan Thornhill wins $30K award for best Canadian children's book". CBC News. November 22, 2017.