Marie-Louise Gay Explained

Marie-Louise Gay
Birth Date:	June 17, 1952
Birth Place:	Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Language:	English, French
Occupation:	Illustrator, writer
Spouse:	David Homel
Genre:	Picture books, children's literature

Marie-Louise Gay (born June 17, 1952) is a Canadian children's writer and illustrator.^[1] She has received numerous awards for her written and illustrated works in both French and English, including the 2005 Vicky Metcalf Award, multiple Governor General's Awards,^[2] and multiple Janet Savage Blachford Prizes, among others.

Biography

Gay was born in Quebec City and lived in Montreal and Vancouver as a child. Gay lives in Montreal.

Gay co-wrote two longer books with her husband, Montreal novelist and translator David Homel, which included her black-and-white illustrations: Travels With My Family (2006) and On the Road Again! (2008). At the time, she said, "For the last twenty-five years, I have mainly been writing, illustrating and creating only for children."

Gay's books received renewed attention after a public school library system in Alabama mistakenly flagged Read Me A Story, Stella as potentially inappropriate for children, because of her surname.^[3]

Awards and honours

In 2013, Canada Post released a series of stamps featuring Gay's character Stella.^[4]

Awards for Gay's writing!Year!Title!Award!Result!Ref.

1984	Lizzy's Lion by Dennis Lee	Canada Council Children's Literature Prize	Winner
1984	Drôle d'école	Canada Council Children's Literature Prize	Winner
1987	Moonbeam On A Cat's Ear	Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award	Winner
1987	Rainy Day Magic	Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration	Winner	^[5] ^[6]
1988	Angel and the Polar Bear	Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration	Shortlist
1988	Rainy Day Magic	Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award	Winner
1995	Berthold et Lucrèce	Governor General's Award for French-language children's illustration	Shortlist
2000	Sur mon île	Governor General's Award for French-language children's illustration	Shortlist
2000	Yuck, A Love Story	Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration	Winner
2001	Stella: Queen of the Snow	Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award	Winner
2002	Stella, Fairy of the Forest	Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration	Shortlist
2005		Vicky Metcalf Award	Winner	^[7] ^[8]
2006	Caramba	Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award for Children's Picture Book	Winner
2006	Caramba	Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award	Winner	^[9]
2007	Houndsley and Catina	ALSC Notable Children's Books	Selection	^[10]
2007	Stella étoile de la mer	Mr. Christie's Book Award for French: 7 and under	Winner
2009	When Stella Was Very, Very Small	Janet Savage Blachford Prize	Shortlist	^[11]
2009		Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award	Longlist	^[12]
2010	When Stella was Very, Very Small	Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award for Children's Picture Book	Winner	^[13]
2010	When Stella Was Very, Very Small	Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards	Shortlist	^[14]
2011	Roslyn Rutabaga and the Biggest Hole on Earth!	Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award	Winner
2011	Roslyn Rutabaga and the Biggest Hole on Earth!	Forest of Reading Blue Spruce Award	Shortlist	^[15]
2014	Any Questions?	Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award	Winner
2014	Any Questions?	Janet Savage Blachford Prize	Shortlist
2014	Any Questions?	Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration	Shortlist	^[16] ^[17]
2014	Read Me a Story, Stella	Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award for Children's Picture Book	Finalist	^[18] ^[19] ^[20]
2015	Any Questions?	Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award	Winner	^[21]
2015	Any Questions?	CBC Fan Choice Award	Winner	^[22]
2015	Any Questions?	TD Canadian Children's Literature Award	Finalist	^[23] ^[24]
2017	Short Stories for Little Monsters	Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration	Shortlist
2018	Mustafa	Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award	Finalist	^[25]
2019	Mustafa	Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award for Children's Picture Book	Finalist	^[26]
2019	Mustafa	TD Canadian Children's Literature Award	Shortlist	^[27] ^[28]
2020	Fern and Horn	Janet Savage Blachford Prize	Shortlist	^[29]
2020	Mustafa	Forest of Reading Award	Shortlist	^[30]
2020	The Three Brothers	Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award	Winner	^[31] ^[32]
2020		Janet Savage Blachford Prize	Winner	^[33] ^[34]
2022	I’m Not Sydney	Janet Savage Blachford Prize	Shortlist	^[35] ^[36] ^[37]

Publications

Stella and Sam series

See main article: Stella and Sam. Gay's Stella and Sam books have been published in more than twelve languages.^[38] They spawned a 52-episode cartoon series in 2013 that aired on Sprout and Family Junior.

Stella series

• Stella, Star of the Sea (1999)
• Stella, Queen of the Snow (2001)
• Stella, Fairy of the Forest (2002)
• Stella, Princess of the Sky (2004)
• When Stella Was Very, Very, Small (2009)
• Read Me A Story, Stella (2013)

Sam series

Sam is Stella's younger brother

• Good Morning, Sam (2003)
• Good Night, Sam (2003)
• What Are You Doing, Sam? (2006)

Travels with My Family series

The Travels with My Family series was co-written with David Homel.

• Travels With My Family (Groundwood, 2006)
• On the Road Again! (Groundwood, 2008)
• Summer in the City (Groundwood, 2012)
• The Traveling Circus (Groundwood, 2015)
• Travels in Cuba (Groundwood, 2021)

Standalone books authored

• Lizzy's Lion (1984)
• The Garden: Little Big Books (1985)
• Moonbeam On A Cat's Ear (1986)
• Rainy Day Magic (1987)
• Angel and the Polar Bear (1988)
• Fat Charlie's Circus (1989)
• Willy Nilly (1990)
• Mademoiselle Moon (1992)
• Rabbit Blue (1993)
• Midnight Mimi (1994)
• Qui a peur de Loulou? (Who's afraid of Loulou?) (Montreal: VLB Editeur, 1994), 111pp, "Theatre for children"
• The Three Little Pigs (Canadian Fairy Tales Series) (1994)
• Rumplestiltskin (1997)
• Sur Mon Ile (1999)
• Caramba (2006)
• Roslyn Rutabaga and the Biggest Hole on Earth! (2010)
• Caramba and Henry (2011)
• Any Questions (2014)
• Short Stories for Little Monsters (2017)
• The Three Brothers (2020)

Books illustrated only

• The Last Piece (1993)
• When Vegetables Go Bad! (1993)
• The Fabulous Song (1996)
• Dreams Are More Real Than Bathtubs (1999)
• Yuck, a Love Story (2000)
• Didi and Daddy on the Promenade (2001)
• Houndsley and Catina (2006)
• Maddie series; Sophie series (1993–2003)

External links

• Archives of Marie-Louise Gay (Fonds Marie-Louise Gay, R11738) are held at Library and Archives Canada
  • Official website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Marie-Louise Gay . 2 April 2010 . WorldCat.
2. Web site: Winners of two or more Governor General's Literary Awards . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110514160309/http://www.canadacouncil.ca/NR/rdonlyres/F0064CA3-2C3C-4B48-ADB4-98AE459121F0/0/MultipleWinners2009.pdf . 14 May 2011 . 2 April 2010 . Canada Council for the Arts (canadacouncil.ca).
3. Web site: Alabama library flagged a children's book because the author’s last name is 'Gay'.
4. Web site: Melnyk . Rebecca . 2013-07-05 . Canada Post introduces Stella stamps honouring children's book author, Marie-Louise Gay . 2023-03-18 . . en-CA.
5. Web site: Cumulative List of Winners of The Governor General's Literary Awards . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110514154438/http://www.canadacouncil.ca/NR/rdonlyres/CCA1B1A6-59E5-4748-BFEE-B64313E92624/0/cumulativewinners20091.pdf . 14 May 2011 . 2 April 2010 . Canada Council.
6. Web site: 2017-12-21 . Marie-Louise Gay's favourite book of 2017 was And So It Goes by Paloma Valdivia, translated by Susan Ouriou . 2023-03-18 . CBC Books.
7. Web site: Marie-Louise Gay . 2023-03-18 . . en.
8. Web site: Hopkins . Amanda . 2014-04-28 . Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature . 2023-03-18 . The Canadian Encyclopedia.
9. Web site: Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award . 2023-03-18 . Canadian Children's Book Centre . en-US.
10. Web site: 2009-09-15 . Houndsley and Catina Awards & Grants . 2023-03-18 . American Library Association.
11. Web site: The Janet Savage Blachford Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221207132753/https://qwf.org/prize/the-qwf-prize-for-childrens-and-young-adult-literature/ . 2022-12-07 . 2023-03-17 . Quebec Writers' Federation.
12. Web site: Woods . Stuart . 2008-09-19 . Canadian kids’ authors on long longlist for rich Swedish prize . 2023-03-18 . . en.
13. Web site: MacDonald . Scott . 2010-05-31 . MacIntyre two-time winner at Libris Awards . 2023-03-18 . . en.
14. Web site: Godfrey . Laura . 2010-04-27 . Eastern Canada sweeps nominations for children’s book awards . 2023-03-18 . . en.
15. Web site: Carter . Sue . 2011-10-17 . Ontario Library Association announces Forest of Reading award shortlists . 2023-03-18 . . en.
16. News: Medley . Mark . 2014-10-07 . Governor-General Literary Awards finalists unveiled . The Globe and Mail.
17. Web site: Carter . Sue . 2014-10-07 . Governor General’s Literary Award shortlists feature Michael Crummey, Thomas King, and more . 2023-03-18 . . en.
18. Web site: 2014-04-22 . Awards: Schwartz Children's Book Shortlists; Lammy Honorees . 2023-03-18 . Shelf Awareness.
19. Web site: Baldassi . Julie . 2014-04-17 . Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards shortlists announced . 2023-03-18 . . en.
20. Web site: 2014-04-16 . Marie-Louise Gay, Kathy Stinson shortlisted for kids' lit prize . 2023-03-18 . CBC News.
21. Web site: Cerny . Dory . 2015-04-22 . Groundwood Books picks up two Canadian Library Association awards . 2023-03-18 . . en.
22. Web site: Cerny . Dory . 2015-11-19 . Jonathan Auxier wins big at CCBC Book Awards . 2023-03-18 . . en.
23. Web site: Godfrey . Laura . 2015-11-19 . Jonathan Auxier Wins Twice at TD Canadian Children's Lit Awards . 2023-03-18 . . en.
24. Web site: Robertson . Becky . 2015-09-10 . Marianne Dubuc, Eric Walters, Cybele Young among 2015 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards finalists . 2023-03-18 . . en.
25. Web site: Porter . Ryan . 2019-01-31 . Groundwood Books nab half of the 10 finalist slots for 2018 Cleaver Award . 2023-03-18 . . en.
26. Web site: Carter . Sue . 2019-05-09 . Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award shortlists announced . 2023-03-18 . . en.
27. Web site: Patrick . Ryan B. . 2019-10-09 . Why Marie-Louise Gay created a picture book about the life of a child refugee . 2023-03-18 . CBC Books.
28. Web site: Deziel . Shanda . 2019-09-05 . Jillian Tamaki, Jonathan Auxier, and Marie-Louise Gay among CCBC Award finalists . 2023-03-18 . . en.
29. Web site: Dunlevy . T'Cha . 2020-10-22 . Quebec Writers' Federation Awards nominees announced . 2023-03-18 . . en-CA.
30. Web site: Deziel . Shanda . 2019-10-16 . The 2020 Forest of Reading nominations shine a light on the best in Canadian kidlit . 2023-03-18 . . en.
31. Web site: 2021-03-24 . Awards: Publishing Triangle; Lukas; Canadian Picture Book . 2023-03-18 . Shelf Awareness.
32. Web site: Deogun . Inderjit . 2021-03-09 . The Three Brothers wins 2020 Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award . 2023-03-18 . . en.
33. Web site: Porter . Ryan . 2020-11-05 . Kaie Kellough wins Quebec Writers’ Federation’s fiction prize . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221005084443/https://quillandquire.com/omni/kaie-kellough-wins-quebec-writers-federations-fiction-prize/ . 2022-10-05 . 2023-03-17 . . en.
34. Web site: Dunlevy . T'Cha . 2020-11-06 . Kaie Kellough wins fiction prize at Quebec Writers' Federation Awards . 2023-03-18 . . en-CA.
35. Web site: The QWF Spoken Word Prize . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221207124635/https://qwf.org/prize/spoken-word-prize/ . 2022-12-07 . 2023-03-17 . . en-CA.
36. Web site: 2022-10-20 . Rawi Hage and Sina Queyras among finalists for Quebec Writers' Federation Literary Awards . 2023-03-17 . CBC Books.
37. Web site: Drudi . Cassandra . 2022-10-19 . Shortlists announced for 2022 QWF awards . 2023-03-18 . . en.
38. Web site: Marie-Louise Gay . 30 July 2015 . CANSCAIP Members . Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers (canscaip.org) . https://web.archive.org/web/20100410224204/http://www.canscaip.org/bios/gaym.html . 2010-04-10 . dead .