Winner Karen Bass, and I. 

The CCBC/TD Bank Gala was fabulous and fun as always. We started to celebrate on the train ride to Toronto.

The winner of The Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical fiction was the talented and gracious Karen Bass. Congratulations, Karen. I felt disappointed for me, but am still honored to have been shortlisted.

Someone said I should post my acceptance speech anyway, so here, wistfully, it is.

Thank you for this wonderful honor!!!

Thank you to the judges, to the TD Bank, the CCBC and CBC for this fabulous evening that we all enjoy so much.

Thank you to my talented editors Kathryn Cole and Kelly Jones, and to Margie Wolfe and the staff at Second Story Press for their faith in my book.

Thank you Sonya Dunn for first mentioning farmerettes. As soon as you said farmerettes, I knew I had to write about them.

And thank you to my husband Frank for his unwavering love and support.

I’m honored to be on this short list along with such talented writers – Karen Bass, Kelly Armstrong, Frieda Wishinsky and Sara Henstra.

When I began this book it was going to be a nice story about girls working on a farm. As I did my research, I realized it was so much more – the tragedy of war that affects not only those living through it, but the generations following it too. And the awakening of women and girls to learn that they were capable of so much more than housework.

I am so proud to belong to this amazing community of the children’s book industry. You are the most interesting, curious, fun-loving, imaginative and supportive group there is.