Monique Polak Explained

Occupation:	writer
Nationality:	Canadian
Monique Polak
Awards:	Janet Savage Blachford Prize (2009, 2014, 2020)
Spouse:	Chaim Melamed (1979–1985) Michael Shenker (1996–present)
Children:	Alicia

Monique Polak (born May 20, 1960)^[1] is a writer from Montreal, Quebec. She has won the Janet Savage Blachford Prize, formally known as the Quebec Writer's Foundation Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature, three times: What World is Left (2009), Hate Mail (2014), and Room for One More (2020).^[2]

Personal life and education

Polak was born May 20, 1960, in Montreal to Maximilien, a criminal court judge, and Celina, a homemaker, Polak. Celina survived the Holocaust, as did her two brothers and both parents.^[3] ^[4] Maximilien survived the Holocaust because he was a painter in Holland and was forced to do propaganda art for the Nazis. Polak also has a sister named Carolyn.^[5]

She married Chaim Melamed December 16, 1979, and the couple have a daughter named Alicia. They divorced in 1985. She married Michael Shenker, a journalist, on June 2, 1996.

Polak received a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from McGill University in 1981, and a Master of Arts in English literature from Concordia University.

Polak is Jewish.

Career

In 1987, Polak began teaching in English and humanities at Marianopolis College, where she has worked since.^[6]

She is also a freelance journalist. Her articles appear regularly in The Montreal Gazette and other Postmedia newspapers across the country. Several of her feature stories have also been published in Maclean's Magazine.

In 2015, Polak was named the inaugural CBC/QWF Montreal writer-in-residence.^[7]

Awards and honours

**Awards for Polak's writing**!Year!Title!Award!Result!Ref.
2007	All In	Arthur Ellis Award	Winner
2008	What World Is Left	Booklist Editors' Choice Books for Youth	Selection	^[8] ^[9]
2009	What World is Left	QWF Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature	Winner
2010		Janet Savage Blachford Prize	Shortlist
2012	Pyro	Janet Savage Blachford Prize	Shortlist
2014	Hate Mail	Janet Savage Blachford Prize	Winner	^[10]
2014	Straight Punch	Janet Savage Blachford Prize	Shortlist
2019	I Am a Feminist: Claiming the F-Word in Turbulent Times	Janet Savage Blachford Prize	Shortlist
2019	Planet Grief	Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award	Shortlist	^[11]
2020	Room for One More	Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People	Shortlist	^[12]
2020	Room for One More	Janet Savage Blachford Prize	Winner	^[13] ^[14]

Publications

Novels

Flip Turn (James Lorimer, 2004)
No More Pranks (Orca, 2004)
On the Game (James Lorimer, 2005)
Home Invasion (Orca, 2005)
All In (James Lorimer, 2006)
Finding Elmo (Orca, 2007)
Scarred (James Lorimer, 2007)
121 Express (Orca, 2008)
What World Is Left (Orca, 2008)
The Middle of Everywhere (Orca, 2009)
Junkyard Dog (Orca, 2009)
Miracleville (Orca, 2011)
Pyro (Orca, 2012)
So Much It Hurts (Orca, 2013)
Straight Punch (Orca, 2014)
Hate Mail (Orca, 2014)
Learning the Ropes (Orca, 2015)
Forensics Squad Unleashed (Orca, 2016)
Leggings Revolt (Orca 2016)
Bullies Rule Orca, 2017)
Princess Angelica, Camp Catastrophe, illustrated by Jane Heinrichs (Orca, 2018)
Planet Grief (Orca, 2018)
Princess Angelica, Part-Time Lion Trainer, illustrated by Jane Heinrichs (Orca, 2019)
The Taste of Rain (Orca, 2019)
Room for One More (Kar-Ben, 2019)
Princess Angelica, Junior Reporter, illustrated by Jane Heinrich (Orca, 2020)
For the Record (Owlkids, 2022)
Open Science: Knowledge For Everyone (Orca, 2023)

Nonfiction

Passover: Festival of Freedom (Orca, 2016)
I Am a Feminist: Claiming the F-Word in Turbulent Times (Orca, 2019)
Why Humans Work: How Jobs Shape Our Lives and Our World, illustrated by Suharu Ogawa (Orca, 2022)
Passover Family (Orca, 2018)
The Brass Charm, illustrated by Marie Lafrance (Scholastic, 2022)

External links

Monique Polak at Quebec Writers' Federation Literary Database of Quebec English-Language authors
Write On Montreal: Monique Polak, Montreal Gazette, Aug. 20, 2013
Mom's fine, Dad's an absolute mess, Maclean's Magazine, Sept. 3, 2009
Behrens uses evocative details to take readers on a journey by Monique Polak, Vancouver Sun, June 22, 2013
Official website

Notes and References

Web site: Polak, Monique 1960– . 2023-03-18 . . 2022-08-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220819115609/https://www.encyclopedia.com/children/scholarly-magazines/polak-monique-1960 . live .
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.
Web site: 2016-01-16 . Monique Polak talks about inspiration for new role as CBC/QWF Writer-in-Residence . 2023-03-18 . . 2022-05-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220524162759/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/monique-polak-new-writer-residence-introduction-1.3401949 . live .
Web site: Hanes . Allison . 2022-10-08 . The story behind the story of a mother's Holocaust secret . 2023-03-18 . . en-CA . 2022-10-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221008124259/https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/allison-hanes-found-and-lost . live .
Web site: Davis . Emma . 2022-05-31 . Creator Corner: Meet author Monique Polak . 2023-03-18 . Owlkids Books . en-US . 2022-07-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220701141739/https://owlkidsbooks.com/creator-corner-meet-author-monique-polak/ . live .
Web site: Monique Polak . 2023-03-18 . QWF Literary Database of Quebec English-language Authors . 2023-03-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230317181354/http://quebecbooks.qwf.org/authors/view/681 . live .
Web site: 2015-11-18 . Author Monique Polak named CBC/QWF Montreal writer-in-residence . 2023-03-18 . . 2018-01-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180125224048/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/monique-polak-cbc-writer-1.3323218 . live .
Web site: 2009-10-04 . 2008 booklist editors choice youth Awards & Grants . 2023-03-18 . . 2020-06-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200622053752/http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/node/4973 . live .
Web site: 2009-01-01 . Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2008 . 2023-03-18 . . 2022-09-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220901073319/https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=3245317 . live .
Web site: 2014-11-19 . Sean Michaels wins Quebec Writer's Federation fiction award . 2023-03-17 . . 2016-03-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160310133515/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/sean-michaels-wins-quebec-writer-s-federation-fiction-award-1.2839640 . live .
Web site: Carter . Sue . 2019-05-09 . Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award shortlists announced . 2023-03-18 . . en . 2019-05-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190514140607/https://quillandquire.com/omni/ruth-and-sylvia-schwartz-childrens-book-award-shortlists-announced/ . live .
Web site: Deziel . Shanda . 2020-09-16 . Julie Flett, Tom Ryan, and Sydney Smith lead the CCBC Award nominees . 2023-03-18 . . en . 2022-12-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221220193707/https://quillandquire.com/omni/julie-flett-tom-ryan-and-sydney-smith-lead-the-ccbc-award-nominees/ . live .
Web site: Neal . Christopher . 2022-01-16 . Doctor’s study of health care for Indigenous children wins two 2021 Quebec Writers’ Federation literary awards . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220619230131/https://themontrealeronline.com/2022/01/doctors-study-of-health-care-for-indigenous-children-wins-two-2021-quebec-writers-federation-literary-awards/ . 2022-06-19 . 2023-03-17 . The Montrealer.
Web site: Qiao . Vicky . 2021-12-02 . Samir Shaheen-Hussain and Monique Polak among winners for Quebec Writers' Federation Literary Awards . 2023-03-17 . . 2022-12-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221208094739/https://www.cbc.ca/books/samir-shaheen-hussain-and-monique-polak-among-winners-for-quebec-writers-federation-literary-awards-1.6263986 . live .