Atlantic Writing Competition’s 1990 Non-Fiction First Prize for “V-Day: Anatomy of a Surgery”.

Canadian Living’s 1990 National Literary Competition First Prize (short fiction category) for “The Test”.

Dandelion Magazine’s 1991 Short Fiction Competition Third Prize for “Scars”.Canadian Authors Association 1996 Lilla Stirling Award for Of Things Not Seen.1996 Ann Connor Brimer Award for Of Things Not Seen.The Toronto Star’s 2002 Short Story Contest Runner-up Prize for “Everything Gets Dead”.2004 Ann Connor Brimer Award for The First Stone.Ontario Library Association’s 2004 White Pine Award for The First Stone.Canadian Authors Association’s 2007 Lilla Stirling Award for One on One.Canadian Library Association’s 2008 Honour Book Award for The Space Between.Ontario Library Association’s 2016 White Pine Honour Book Award for Delusion Road.Of Things Not Seen, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1995.Stranger at Bay, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1997.Nelson Literacy 10, Nelson Education, 2011.

Brothers in Arms: The Siege of Louisbourg, Scholastic, 2015.Scars and Other Stories, Pottersfield Press, 2017.The father of two daughters, Don lives with his wife in Bedford. He has written several books for classroom use, among them Hitting the Mark: Assessment Tools for Teachers (Pembroke, 1995) and a series of language arts texts for grades 8 to 11 (Nelson Education), and he has had articles and fiction published in The International Journal of Reading, Quill & Quire, Books in Canada, Canadian Living, The Toronto Star, Our Family Magazine, The Pottersfield Portfolio, Dandelion Magazine, The Chronicle Herald, and various anthologies. However, he is quick to point out that the strongest stories are never about issues or events–“They’re about how characters are affected by those issues and events.”ĭon holds a Master of Education from Acadia University and, besides working as an educator and writer, he has been a freelance reviewer and consultant for various educational publishers, including Nelson Education, Pembroke Publishers, and Pearson Education. Besides domestic violence, Don’s novels have focused on peer pressure, bullying, youth crime, suicide, sexuality, teen gambling, and a variety of other social issues. Of Things Not Seen tells the story of sixteen-year-old Ben Corbett, who, along with his mother, is physically abused by his domineering stepfather. For example, Don wrote his first novel after a student shared with him that she was being physically abused by her father. What subjects does he choose to write about? “Things that bother me, that don’t go away,” he says. Member Book launch: 77° North (June 14)īecause he taught hundreds of teenagers during his teaching career, it isn’t surprising that young adults are the focus of most of his work.Member Workshop: A Bouquet of Non-Fiction (June 3).Member Reading: Hung Out to Die (May 28).⤷ Guide to Hosting an In-Person WITS Visit.

The space between by don aker