The Atlantic Book Awards were celebrated and applauded Thursday night (May 17, 2012) in a ceremony held at the LSPU Hall in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Amy House hosted the sold-out event, which featured a performance by Andy Jones and fine words from City of St. John’s Poet Laureate Tom Dawe. This is the first time the annual event took place outside of Nova Scotia. This is also the first time that two of the Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards — Ches Crosbie Barristers Fiction Award and The Bruneau Family Children’s/Young Adult Literature Award — were presented as part of the Atlantic Book Awards. The nine award-winning books represent the wide range of literary works being produced in Atlantic Canada and by Atlantic Canadian authors and publishers. The winners of the Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children’s Literature, the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration and the Bruneau Family Children’s/Young Adult Literature Award are listed below.

Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children’s Literature

The Year Mrs. Montague Cried
Written by Susan White
Published by Acorn Press

Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration

There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen
Illustrated by Sydney Smith
Written by Sheree Fitch
Published by Nimbus Publishing

Bruneau Family Children’s/Young Adult Literature Award

Jack and the Manger
Written by Andy Jones
Illustrated by Darka Erdelji
Published by Running the Goat Books & Broadsides