← Back to Alberta Writers Directory
Maureen Bush
http://www.maureenbush.com
http://www.howweirdcanyouget.com
Maureen Bush may be contacted at http://www.maureenbush.com or at http://www.howweirdcanyouget.com or by e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
I loved writing as a child but had nothing to say, so I went on to other things, first a Bachelor’s Degree in History, and then a Masters Degree in Environmental Design (Environmental Science), both from the University of Calgary. I worked as a public involvement consultant and trained as a mediator; then discovered that I liked writing even better. I have a Post-graduate Certificate of Creative Writing from Humber College.
I’ve published three children’s novels., The Nexus Ring, Feather Brain, and Crow Boy. The Nexus Ring and Feather Brain are both CCBC Best Books, and between them have been nominated for five readers choice awards. Feather Brain is also an OLA Best Bets for 2008 and received an Honourable Mention for the YA Sunburst Award. Cursed is coming out in the fall of 2010.
When I was a kid, I read all the time ( I still do). I’d read ahead in my school books, hide a novel inside whatever I was supposed to be reading in class but had probably already finished, and read walking home from school.
My favourite books as a child:
Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne
Swallows and Amazons, Arthur Ransome
The Hobbit, J. R.R. Tolkein
My greatest claim to fame prior to writing was making two thirds of a sock for the Jackie Chan movie, Shanghai Noon. (To admire the sock, check out the grey-haired lady knitting on the train).
Awards
Best Bets for Children’s Fiction, Ontario Library Association, 2008
Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children’s Book Council, 2008, 2009, short-listed
Silver Birch Express Honour Book, Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading, 2009
YA Sunburst Award, Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, 2009, Honourable Mention
Diamond Willow Award, Saskatchewan Readers’ Choice Award, 2010, nominated
Rocky Mountain Book Award, Alberta Reader’s Choice, 2010, nominated
Hackmatack Award, Atlantic Canada Reader’s Choice Award, 2010, nominated
Golden Eagle Award, southern Alberta Reader’s Choice Award, 2010, nominated
Red Cedar Award, BC Reader’s Choice Award, 2010-2011, short-listed
