Moccasin Square Gardens, by Richard Van Camp (Douglas & McIntyre), has been shortlisted for the 2019 CODE Burt Award

Moccasin Square Gardens by Richard Van Camp (Douglas & McIntyre) has been shortlisted for the 2019 CODE Burt Award for First Nations, Inuit, and Metis Young Adult Literature. The winning books will be announced in 2020.

The CODE Burt Award is a Canadian literary award and readership initiative that recognizes excellence in Indigenous-authored literature for young adults. The objective of the prize is to champion literacy, build language skills and foster the love and habit of reading by ensuring that young people across Canada have access to high quality, culturally relevant and engaging reading materials. The winning book will be distributed to schools, libraries, community and friendship centres across Canada.

Moccasin Square Gardens is a collection of short stories from master Tłı̨chǫ storyteller and bestselling author Richard Van Camp that captures the shifting and magical nature of the North. The characters of Moccasin Square Gardens inhabit Denendeh, the land of the people north of the sixtieth parallel. These stories are filled with in-laws, outlaws and common-laws. Get ready for illegal wrestling moves (“The Camel Clutch”), pinky promises, a doctored casino, extraterrestrials or “Sky People,” love, lust and prayers for peace.

Eden Robinson calls Moccasin Square Gardens “his boldest, most compelling collection yet.”

Richard Van Camp is an internationally renowned and award-winning author. He was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, and is a member of the Dogrib (Tłı̨chǫ) Dene Nation. A graduate of the En’owkin School of Writing in Penticton, he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Writing at the University of Victoria and completed his Master’s of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. Richard was awarded Storyteller of the Year for both Canada and the US by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. He is the author of twenty-two books, including the novel, The Lesser Blessed, which was made into a film in 2012.