Karen Bass

Canadian author
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroCanadian author
PlacesCanada
isWriter
Work fieldLiterature
Gender
Female
Birth1962, High Prairie, Alberta, Canada
Age63 years
ResidenceHamilton, Ontario, Canada
The details

Biography

Karen Bass (born 1962 in High Prairie, Alberta) is a Canadian writer of young adult fiction. Her 2017 novel Grafitti Knight won the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award and Geoffrey Bilson Award. Her 2015 novel Uncertain Soldier also won the Geoffrey Bilson Award.

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. In 2012, she was the writer-in-residence for the Peace region in Alberta.

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), Two Times a Traitor (2017), and Blood Donor (2021).

In 2015, Bank Street College of Education included Graffiti Knight on their list of the best books for children ages fourteen and up. 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.

YearTitleAwardResultRef.
2008Run Like JägerINDIES Award for Young Adult Fiction (Children's)Honorable mention
2009Summer of FireINDIES Award for Young Adult Fiction (Children's)Finalist
2011Drummer GirlINDIES Award for Young Adult Fiction (Children's)Bronze
2012Moonbeam Children's Book Award for YA GeneralBronze
2014Grafitti KnightCanadian Library Association Young Adult Book AwardWinner
Geoffrey Bilson AwardWinner
R. Ross Annett Award for Children's LiteratureWinner
Stellar Book AwardNominee
2016Uncertain SoldierForest of Reading Red Maple AwardFinalist
Geoffrey Bilson AwardWinner
IODE Violet Downey Book AwardShortlist
Grafitti KnightPacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice AwardNominee
2017The HillForest of Reading Red Maple AwardFinalist
Snow Willow AwardWinner
Sunburst Award for Young Adult FictionLonglist
2018Rocky Mountain Book AwardNominee
2022Blood DonorCrime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence for Best Juvenile or YA Crime BookShortlist

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)
The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article on 05 Feb 2024. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.