Monique Polak | |
---|---|
Born | May 20, 1960 64) | (age
Occupation | writer |
Nationality | Canadian |
Notable awards | Janet Savage Blachford Prize (2009, 2014, 2020) |
Spouse |
|
Children | Alicia |
Monique Polak (born May 20, 1960) [1] is a writer from Montreal, Quebec. She has won the Janet Savage Blachford Prize, formally known as the Quebec Writer's Foundation Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature, three times: What World is Left (2009), Hate Mail (2014), and Room for One More (2020). [2]
Polak was born May 20, 1960, in Montreal to Maximilien, a criminal court judge, and Celina, a homemaker, Polak. [1] Celina survived the Holocaust, as did her two brothers and both parents. [3] [4] Maximilien survived the Holocaust because he was a painter in Holland and was forced to do propaganda art for the Nazis. [3] Polak also has a sister named Carolyn. [5]
She married Chaim Melamed December 16, 1979, and the couple have a daughter named Alicia. [1] They divorced in 1985. [1] She married Michael Shenker, a journalist, on June 2, 1996. [1]
Polak received a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from McGill University in 1981, and a Master of Arts in English literature from Concordia University. [1]
Polak is Jewish. [1]
In 1987, Polak began teaching in English and humanities at Marianopolis College, where she has worked since. [6]
She is also a freelance journalist. Her articles appear regularly in The Montreal Gazette and other Postmedia newspapers across the country. Several of her feature stories have also been published in Maclean's Magazine .
In 2015, Polak was named the inaugural CBC/QWF Montreal writer-in-residence. [7] [3]
Year | Title | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | All In | Arthur Ellis Award | Winner | [7] |
2008 | What World Is Left | Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth | Selection | [8] [9] |
2009 | What World is Left | QWF Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature | Winner | [2] |
2010 | The Middle of Everywhere | Janet Savage Blachford Prize | Shortlist | [2] |
2012 | Pyro | Janet Savage Blachford Prize | Shortlist | [2] |
2014 | Hate Mail | Janet Savage Blachford Prize | Winner | [10] |
2014 | Straight Punch | Janet Savage Blachford Prize | Shortlist | [2] |
2019 | I Am a Feminist: Claiming the F-Word in Turbulent Times | Janet Savage Blachford Prize | Shortlist | [2] |
2019 | Planet Grief | Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award | Shortlist | [11] |
2020 | Room for One More | Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People | Shortlist | [12] |
2020 | Room for One More | Janet Savage Blachford Prize | Winner | [13] [14] |
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