Kyo Maclear

{{short description|Canadian novelist and children's author (born 1970)}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Kyo Maclear

| birth_name = Kyo Iona Maclear

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1970}}

| nationality = Canadian

| website = {{URL|kyomaclear.com}}

| alma_mater = {{plainlist}}

{{endplainlist}}

| notable_works = Unearthing, Birds Art Life, Virginia Wolf, The Liszts, It Began with a Page

}}

Kyo Maclear (born 1970){{Cite web |title=Maclear, Kyo |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/maclear-kyo |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Encyclopedia.com |archive-date=2021-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214152117/https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/maclear-kyo |url-status=live }} is a Canadian novelist and children's author.

Maclear was born in London, England and moved to Toronto, Canada at a young age.{{cite web |title=Kyo Maclear, Author |url=https://www.kidscanpress.com/Creators/kyo-maclear/ |access-date=22 February 2023 |publisher=Kids Can Press |archive-date=22 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222202005/https://www.kidscanpress.com/Creators/kyo-maclear/ |url-status=live }} Her father is journalist and documentary filmmaker Michael Maclear and her mother is Japanese artist and gallerist Yoko Maclear (nee Koide). She studied fine art and art history at the University of Toronto, completed a Master of Arts in cultural studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in 1996, and obtained a doctorate in environmental humanities and education at York University in 2018.

Awards and honors

Three of Maclear's books are Junior Library Guild selections: Bloom (2018),{{Cite web |title=Bloom: A Story of Fashion Designer Elsa Schiaparelli by Kyo Maclear |url=https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/book/landing/detailedview?itemcode=9780062447616J&name=Bloom |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Junior Library Guild}} Operatic (2019),{{Cite web |title=Operatic by Kyo Maclear |url=https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/book/landing/detailedview?itemcode=9781554989720J&name=Operatic |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Junior Library Guild}} and It Began with a Page (2020).{{Cite web |title=It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way by Kyo Maclear |url=https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/book/landing/detailedview?itemcode=9780062447623J&name=It_Began_with_a_Page |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Junior Library Guild}}

Four of her books have been included on lists of the best books of the year. In 2016, Shelf Awareness included The Liszts on their list of the best picture books of the year.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2016-12-13 |title=Our Best Children's & Teen Books of the Year |url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=2899 |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Shelf Awareness |archive-date=2023-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123021907/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=2899 |url-status=live }} In 2019, Kirkus Reviews and the Chicago Public Library named It Began with a Page one of the best books of the year. Booklist included it on their 2020 "Top 10 Biographies for Youth"{{Cite web |last=Khuri |first=Ronny |date=2020-06-01 |title=Top 10 Biographies for Youth: 2020 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9736621 |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Booklist |archive-date=2022-02-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203064650/https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9736621 |url-status=live }} and "Top 10 Arts Books for Youth"{{Cite web |last=Khuri |first=Ronny |date=2020-10-15 |title=Top 10 Arts Books for Youth: 2020 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9740579 |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Booklist |archive-date=2022-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122153404/https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9740579 |url-status=live }} lists. In 2019, Booklist included Operatic on their "Top 10 Graphic Novels for Youth"{{Cite web |last=Hunter |first=Sarah |date=July 2019 |title=Top 10 Graphic Novels for Youth: 2019 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9722320 |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Booklist |archive-date=2022-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202012817/https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9722320 |url-status=live }} and "Top 10 Arts Books for Youth"{{Cite web |last=Hunter |first=Sarah |date=2019-10-15 |title=Top 10 Arts Books for Youth: 2019 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9726633 |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Booklist |archive-date=2022-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126103909/https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9726633 |url-status=live }} lists. In 2021, The Horn Book Magazine and Publishers Weekly{{Cite web |title=Best Books 2021 |url=https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2021/picture-books |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Publishers Weekly |archive-date=2023-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327212927/https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2021/picture-books |url-status=live }} named The Big Bath House one of the best picture books of the year.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2012-12-05 |title=Horn Book Fanfare 1938 to present |url=https://www.hbook.com/story/horn-book-fanfare-1938-to-present |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=The Horn Book |archive-date=2021-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030013103/https://www.hbook.com/story/horn-book-fanfare-1938-to-present |url-status=live }}

Kumo the Bashful Cloud, illustrated by Nathalie Dion, won the 2023 Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-03-01 |title=Awards: SCWI Golden Kite Winners |url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=4426 |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Shelf Awareness |archive-date=2023-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314200100/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=4426 |url-status=live }}

In 2023, she was the winner of the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, a career achievement award for her body of work.Nicole Thompson, [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/kai-thomas-wins-atwood-gibson-writers-trust-fiction-prize-for-debut-novel/article_efce4016-ff9f-58cb-937c-af5cc65850e8.html "Kai Thomas wins Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for debut novel"]. Toronto Star, November 21, 2023.

class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"

|+Awards for Maclear's writing

!Year

!Title

!Award

!Result

!Ref.

2018

|Birds Art Life

|Trillium Book Award

|Winner

|{{cite web |last1=Cole |first1=Susan G. |date=22 June 2018 |title=Kyo Maclear wins Trillium Book Award for Birds Art Life |url=https://nowtoronto.com/culture/books/kyo-maclear-trillium-book-award/ |website=NOW Magazine |language=en-us |access-date=11 April 2023 |archive-date=27 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627144726/https://nowtoronto.com/culture/books/kyo-maclear-trillium-book-award/ |url-status=live }}

2008

|{{Sort|Letter Opener|The Letter Opener}}

|Amazon.ca First Novel Award

|Finalist

|

2017

|Birds Art Life

|Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction

|Shortlist

|{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2017-10-02 |title=Awards: Hilary Weston Shortlist; Aurora Winners |url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3098 |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Shelf Awareness |archive-date=2022-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123053714/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3098 |url-status=live }}

rowspan="3" |2019

|Bloom

|Amelia Bloomer Book List

|Selection

|{{Cite web |date=2019-02-28 |title=Bloom: A Story of Fashion Designer Elsa Schiaparelli {{!}} Awards & Grants |url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/bloom-story-fashion-designer-elsa-schiaparelli |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=American Library Association |archive-date=2021-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028101304/https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/bloom-story-fashion-designer-elsa-schiaparelli |url-status=live }}

It Began With a Page

|Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth

|Selection

|{{Cite web |date=2020-01-01 |title=Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2019 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Booklist-Editors-Choice/pid=9730083 |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Booklist |archive-date=2023-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407140358/https://www.booklistonline.com/Booklist-Editors-Choice/pid=9730083 |url-status=live }}

Operatic

|Cybils Award for Elementary and Middle Grade Graphic Novel

|Finalist

|{{Cite web |title=2019 Cybils Finalists |url=https://www.cybils.com/cybils-books/2019-cybils-finalists |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105105246/https://www.cybils.com/cybils-books/2019-cybils-finalists |archive-date=2022-11-05 |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=Children's and Young Adult Book Lover's Literary Awards |language=en-US}}

rowspan="3" |2020

|It Began With a Page

|ALSC Notable Children's Books

|Selection

|{{Cite web |date=2020-03-15 |title=Notable Children's Books: 2020 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Notable-Children-s-Books/pid=9732930 |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Booklist |archive-date=2022-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606073423/https://www.booklistonline.com/Notable-Children-s-Books/pid=9732930 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Schulte-Cooper |first=Laura |date=2020-02-25 |title=ALSC names 2020 Notable Children's Books |url=https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2020/02/alsc-names-2020-notable-childrens-books |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=American Library Association |language=en |archive-date=2020-06-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617111948/http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2020/02/alsc-names-2020-notable-childrens-books |url-status=live }}

It Began With a Page

|Boston Globe–Horn Book Award

|Honor

|{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2020-05-28 |title=Awards: 2020 Boston Globe-Horn Book Winners |url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3748 |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Shelf Awareness |archive-date=2022-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011221502/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3748 |url-status=live }}

Operatic

|Forest of Reading Red Maple Award

|Finalist

|{{Cite web |date=2020-06-10 |title=Here are the 2020 Red Maple Award finalists: 10 great Canadian books for readers in Grades 7-8 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/here-are-the-2020-red-maple-award-finalists-10-great-canadian-books-for-readers-in-grades-7-8-1.5591093 |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=CBC Books |archive-date=2022-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201210810/https://www.cbc.ca/books/here-are-the-2020-red-maple-award-finalists-10-great-canadian-books-for-readers-in-grades-7-8-1.5591093 |url-status=live }}

2021

|It Began with a Page

|Rise: A Feminist Book Project

|Top 10

|{{Cite web |date=2021-03-15 |title=Rise: A Feminist Book Project: 2021 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9745858 |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Booklist |archive-date=2022-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921230051/https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9745858 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Chapman |first=Monica |date=2021-04-20 |title=2021 Rise Book Project presents Top Ten feminist books for young readers |url=https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2021/04/2021-rise-book-project-presents-top-ten-feminist-books-young-readers |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=American Library Association |language=en |archive-date=2021-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420170912/http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2021/04/2021-rise-book-project-presents-top-ten-feminist-books-young-readers |url-status=live }}

2022

|{{Sort|Big Bath House|The Big Bath House}}

|ALSC Notable Children's Books

|Selection

|{{Cite web |last= |date=2023-02-01 |title=2022 Notable Children's Books |url=https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb/ncbpastlists/ncb_2022 |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) |language=en}}

2023

|Unearthing

|Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction

|Winner

|[https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/anuja-varghese-wins-governor-generals-literary-award-for-fiction/article_1bb0f610-14e9-5ee7-9f19-68bcbfe555f8.html "Anuja Varghese wins Governor General's literary award for fiction"]. Toronto Star, November 8, 2023.

Bibliography

= Novels =

  • The Letter Opener (Toronto: HarperCollins, 2007){{cite book |last=Maclear |first=Kyo |url=https://archive.org/details/letteropener0000macl_s1z7 |title=The Letter Opener |publisher=HarperCollins Canada |year=2007 |isbn=9780002006071 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/letteropener0000macl_s1z7/page/312 312] |url-access=registration}}
  • Stray Love (Toronto: HarperCollins Canada, 2012){{cite book |last=Maclear |first=Kyo |url=https://archive.org/details/straylove0000macl/page/317 |title=Stray Love |publisher=HarperCollins Canada |year=2012 |isbn=9781443408592 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/straylove0000macl/page/317 317]}}

= Nonfiction =

  • Birds Art Life: A Year of Observation (New York: Scribner, 2017){{cite book |last=Maclear |first=Kyo |title=Birds Art Life: A Year of Observation |publisher=Scribner |year=2017 |isbn=9781501154201 |pages=221}}
  • Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets (Scriber, 2023)

= Children's literature =

  • Spork (Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2010. Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault){{cite book |last=Maclear |first=Kyo |url=https://archive.org/details/spork00kyom |title=Spork |publisher=Kids Can Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-55337-736-8}}
  • Virginia Wolf (Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2012. Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault){{cite book |last=Maclear |first=Kyo |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781554536498 |title=Virginia Wolf |publisher=Kids Can Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-55453-649-8}}
  • Mr. Flux (Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2013. Illustrated by Matte Stephens){{cite book |last=Maclear |first=Kyo |title=Mr. Flux |publisher=Kids Can Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-55453-781-5}}
  • Julia Child (Toronto: Tundra Books, 2014. Illustrated by Julie Morstad){{Cite book |last=Maclear |first=Kyo |title=Julia Child |publisher=Tundra Books |year=2014 |isbn=9781770494497}}
  • The Good Little Book (Tundra Random House, 2015. Illustrated by Marion Arbona)
  • The Specific Ocean (Kids Can Press, 2015. Illustrated by Katty Maurey)
  • The Liszts (Tundra Books, 2016. Illustrated by Júlia Sardà)
  • The Wish Tree (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2016. Illustrated by Chris Turnham){{Cite book |author=Maclear, Kyo |title=The wish tree |date=2016 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=9781452150659 |location=San Francisco, California}}
  • The Fog (Tundra Books, 2017. Illustrated by Kenard Pak)
  • Yak and Dove (Tundra Random House, 2017. Illustrated by Esmé Shapiro)
  • BLOOM: A Story of Fashion Designer Elsa Schiaparelli (Tundra Books, 2018. Illustrated by Julie Morstad)
  • Flo (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018. Illustrated by Jay Fleck)
  • Operatic (Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2019. Illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler){{Cite book |last=Maclear, Kyo, 1970- |title=Operatic |date=April 2019 |others=Eggenschwiler, Byron |isbn=978-1-55498-972-0 |location=Toronto |oclc=1049790029}}
  • It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way (New York: HarperCollins, 2019. Illustrated by Julie Morstad)
  • Story Boat (Tundra Books, 2020. Illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh)
  • The Big Bath House (Random House Studio, 2021. Illustrated by Gracey Zhang)
  • Hello, Rain! (Chronicle Books, 2021. Illustrated by Chris Turnham)
  • If You Were A City (Chronicle Books, 2022. Illustrated by Francesca Sanna)
  • Kumo: The Bashful Cloud (Tundra Book, 2022. Illustrated by Nathalie Dion)

References

{{Reflist}}