Karen Bass (writer)
{{short description|Canadian writer of young adult fiction}}
{{Infobox author
| website = {{URL|karenbass.ca}}
| awards = {{plainlist}}
- Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award (2014)
- Geoffrey Bilson Award (2014, 2016)
{{endplainlist}}
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1962}}
| birth_place = High Prairie, Alberta, Canada
| alma_mater = University of Victoria
}}
Karen Bass (born 1962 in High Prairie, Alberta){{Cite web |title=About |url=http://www.karenbass.ca/about.html |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=Karen Bass |language=en}} is a Canadian writer of young adult fiction. Her 2017 novel Graffiti Knight won the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award{{Cite web |title=2014 Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award Recipient: Karen Bass |url=http://bookcentre.ca/book-review/2014_canadian_library_association_young_adult_book_award_recipient_karen_bass |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=Canadian Children's Book Centre |language=en-US}} and Geoffrey Bilson Award.{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Becky |date=2014-11-07 |title=Canadian Children's Literature Award winners announced |url=https://quillandquire.com/childrens-publishing/2014/11/06/canadian-childrens-literature-award-winners-announced-2/ |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=Quill and Quire |language=en}} Her 2015 novel Uncertain Soldier also won the Geoffrey Bilson Award.{{Cite web |last=Cerny |first=Dory |date=2016-11-18 |title=Florence, Thisdale win TD Canadian Children's Literature Award |url=https://quillandquire.com/book-news/2016/11/18/melanie-florence-wins-td-canadian-childrens-literature-award/ |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=Quill and Quire |language=en}}
Biography
Bass was born in 1962 in High Prairie, Alberta and grew up on a farm. After attending the University of Alberta, she received a degree in psychology from the University of Victoria.{{Cite web |title=Karen Bass |url=https://www.writersunion.ca/member/karen-bass |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=The Writers' Union of Canada}} In 2012, she was the writer-in-residence for the Peace region in Alberta.{{Cite journal |date=Spring 2012 |title=Writer-in-Residence: Karen Bass |url=https://peacelibrarysystem.ab.ca/content/download/29233/file/Spring%20Newsletter%202012.pdf?version=2 |journal=Peace Library System News & Notes |volume=24 |issue=1 |page=1 |issn=1190-8890}}
Later, Bass managed a library in northwest Alberta for sixteen years before committing to writing full-time. In 2017, Bass moved to Hamilton, Ontario with her husband. Although she focuses on writing full-time, she also volunteers at the Hamilton Public Library. She is a member of the Canadian Society of Children's Authors Illustrators & Performers, Writers' Union of Canada, and Writers Guild of Alberta.
Awards and honours
Three of Bass's novels are Junior Library Guild books: The Hill (2016),{{Cite web |title=The Hill by Karen Bass |url=https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/book/landing/detailedview?itemcode=9781772780024J&name=Hill |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=Junior Library Guild}} Two Times a Traitor (2017),{{Cite web |title=Two Times a Traitor by Karen Bass |url=https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/book/landing/detailedview?itemcode=9781772780314J&name=Two_Times_a_Traitor |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=Junior Library Guild}} and Blood Donor (2021).{{Cite web |title=Blood Donor by Karen Bass |url=https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/book/landing/detailedview?itemcode=9781459826854J&name=Blood_Donor |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=Junior Library Guild}}
In 2015, Bank Street College of Education included Graffiti Knight on their list of the best books for children ages fourteen and up.{{Cite web |title=Best Children's Books of the Year, Fourteen and Older, 2015 Edition |url=https://d2mguk73h8xisw.cloudfront.net/media/filer_public/filer_public/2015/03/17/2015fourteen-up_97e19226-eeb5-4e5a-a303-3b3a86e322af.pdf |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=Bank Street College of Education}} In 2017, the novel was included on CBC Books' "100 young adult books that make you proud to be Canadian" list in the thirtieth position.{{Cite web |date=2017-12-04 |title=100 young adult books that make you proud to be Canadian |url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/100-young-adult-books-that-make-you-proud-to-be-canadian-1.4197577 |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=CBC Books}}
Publications
- Run Like Jäger (2008)
- Summer of Fire (2009)
- Drummer Girl (2011)
- Graffiti Knight (2013)
- Uncertain Soldier (2015)
- The Hill (2016)
- Two Times a Traitor (2017)
- Blood Donor (2021)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2629410447 CBC interview with Chris dela Torre]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, Karen}}
Category:21st-century Canadian women writers
Category:University of Alberta alumni