Tosh Taylor - The voices of New Brunswick writers are the heart of WordCraft, a podcast aimed at creating community through words. WordCraft is a creation of the Writers Federation of New Brunswick, a non-profit organization that helps New Brunswick writers to write, acquire skills, and showcase their talents to the world. The show is hosted and produced by Jenna Morton, with technical production by Tosh Taylor. The WFNB acknowledges that the land on which we live, work, and gather is the traditional unceded territory of the Woolastook and Mi'kmaq peoples. And we honor the spirit of our ancestors' treaties of peace and friendship. We acknowledge the support of ArtsCulture, NB.

Jenna Morton - Welcome to another episode of WordCraft, celebrating the works of New Brunswick writers at all stages and in all genres. Our last episode gave you a glimpse behind the scenes of the New Brunswick Book Awards. Now, we turn our attention to some of the recent winners of those awards. The 10th Annual New Brunswick Book Awards were presented in the spring of 2025. The winners were for the Mrs. Dunster's Award for Fiction, Nelson Keane for his book, Nachzerher, The Books for Young Readers Award, sponsored by J.D. Irving Limited, was awarded to Valerie Sherrard for her work, An Unbalanced Force. The Fiddlehead Poetry Book Prize was presented to Michael Pacey for his work, Van Gogh's Grasshopper, and the Writers' Federation of New Brunswick Nonfiction Award, sponsored by the Brennan family, was awarded to a group, C. Ted Bain, James W. Wheaton, Keith Hellmuth, Darryl Hunter, and Nicholas Smith for Tappan Adney: From Birchbark Canoes to Indigenous Rights. This episode shines a light on two of the award winners. First, you'll hear my discussion with Nelson Keane, a new author on the scene here in New Brunswick, followed by veteran author Valerie Sherrard. Nelson's book, Nachzerher, blends historical fiction with psychological horror. It tells the story of a young Canadian pilot in World War II, of his love for flying, his capture by the Nazis, and his time coming to terms with his experiences. Here is our conversation. I would love to know. Just a brief synopsis without giving away anything more than you would on the back cover. Tell people what your story is about.

Nelson Keane - Sure. I'll give some background first. I wrote a book about 10 years ago in a coffee shop and it was terrible. And I was kind of finishing it up and I'd been seeing a homeless man sit in the coffee shop almost every day. And he had money. He had a huge cart piled up with his stuff and I had to speak to him. So I did one day, and he introduced himself. It wasn't his real name. And I asked him why he was wearing a helmet, like a baseball, it was a baseball helmet, hockey helmet. And he said, because if I take it off, people have nervous breakdowns around me. And he's wearing a uniform. I'm like, there's a story, right? So it's complete fiction, my story, but it's based on that interaction with that guy. And then I start having nightmares. I always have nightmares when I'm writing, because I write dark, black historical fiction, terrible stuff that happens to real people. And so, I started it. And it's basically about a guy who's a happy-go-lucky young man in Kitchener, Ontario, steals a plane, learns to fly. And I'm a pilot, by the way. So, you know, it hit home. And then he gets involved in World War II and returns completely destroyed in the books about what happens to him. And then he roams the street. It's a Nachzerher there, which is a monster. And he really is a monster. The question is, schizophrenia, or is he really a monster? That's one of the main, main sort of questions, right? And it's written first person by a high school principal. That's me too, right? And the guy… he drives, he drives a Mustang, but I had a Buick back in those days. You know what I mean? It was very much like what I know. And people I didn't meet in Kitchener. And it's about his story and it's dark, very, very dark. And people tell me they can't read it all in one fell swoop. My wife read the first draft, horrible draft years ago, and she was, I don't know, kind of angry with me because of the ending. I won't say.

Jenna Morton - No, but she stuck around. It couldn't have been enough to scare her away.

Nelson Keane - She's got a sense too. She read the final version that Lee Thompson put together for me, the editor, publisher, and he did a great job. It's different.

Jenna Morton - I know the judge who reviewed your piece for the submission for the book awards said that, it was terrifying and beautiful, it was deep, and that it was, kind of really pushing us to question what it means to be human. So you took on a very light topic for your first full novel.

Nelson Keane - Yes, and I did. And that's all I can do. That's the way I think when I see things. And I see myself the very sane person. And I've decided you have to be really sane and have a good, everything going well in your life to write stuff like that, or it can bring you down. And I wrote on the cover that Heather brings me back when I'm writing that stuff. And I've written two since that are just as dark. So that's the way I look at the world, trying to analyze it. And I think people need to look at the bad stuff, like look at the world now. You know, it's terrifying to me. So let's not forget that. We are humans and we can do bad things to people.

Jenna Morton - I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about what it was like to submit this work for the awards and then to find out that you made the shortlist.

Nelson Keane - Oh, that's a really good question. I've sent, well, it was hard to get it published, first of all. I get a lot of rejections saying, great book, can't sell this, it's too dark. And I got a hold of Lee Thompson here in Moncton, he loved it, right? So he and I worked together on it. I think getting any published was difficult, but he worked with me. Fantastic job, as you can see. So anyway, he submitted that and then I heard I was shortlisted. I went, what? I've never won anything in an intellectual way. Like I went to university, I didn't, I was a mediocre student. And I never had anything for my grades ever. So I thought, okay, that's cool. And then we're sitting there. We got there early to Fredericton, tell my wife and I, and I was a wreck. And she brought me a coffee. We're sitting in the hotel and she's calming me down. She's good, for me. And then we sat there and the awards are going on out. We were talking to the people who wrote one of the children's book about the Goosebutt? I really got to know them. And then this award came up and I went, what? Heather said, “Nelson, no. What? You got to be kidding.” It was amazing, really, feeling that I recognized for a book that I think is okay and was really hard to write. It's about a dark subject. Good for them, good for her. And she's a wonderful person, right, the judge. Hallett, I think her name is. And very good friend of Lee Thompson and all that. The whole world knows her for her books, right? They're dark too. Sad enough because it was an incredible evening and [unintelligible.]

Jenna Morton - That's fantastic. That's what I want to know more about the awards and what it means to sit in that room.

Nelson Keane - Well, right. Affirmation. I've never had affirmation. Anything I've written or done intellectually. I mean, I did the university thing and who cares, right? And I became a principal. Just a job. It's all it was to me, right? And my daughter's boyfriend's coming upstairs to take care of the dogs. So that was wonderful. And it's like, wow, affirmation that what I'm writing is actually okay. Because you always wonder, you write something and you go, “oh, that's not, I can't do anything good.” Because I don't write in sequence. I write all over the place and put it all together later. So I didn't know. Thank you for that question.

Jenna Morton - You're welcome.

Nelson Keane - I loved having Heather there with me though. It's my favorite picture of her and me there.

Jenna Morton - I was wondering if you could share a little bit more about that, the immediate aftermath of getting the award and as it starts to really kind of sink in that you are an award-winning author.

Nelson Keane - Yeah. I never thought it would happen. Originally, all we want to do is get it published and I'd be happy with that. We all say that, right? That's a safe thing to say. And when you win something, that means people think it's okay. I think it's good. And it does a huge, huge boost for your next one and the one after. But maybe it's going to, they're going to be okay too. And for Lee Thompson too, he's, it's his business and he's backed me. I don't know, like even right now, every day, well, I have the trophy in the book, on the bookcase, right? Stares at me when I'm watching television, right? It's that kind of thing. Told my whole family. And they're all living in Ontario and Scotland and let them all know right away. And that was really neat. And my daughter was pretty pleased. And she's a poet, so pretty good. Yeah. And my dad was a bit of a writer, but so it's kind of in the family, but it was good. See, when someone says, yeah, that's okay, that's a feeling, right? Okay. It's not just me, not just Heather, who thinks it's good. Family doesn't count much, right? But yeah, I think that was really neat. And it was a really good ceremony, the Writers Federation. It was lots of people. They were great. And it was like, wow, this is bigger than I thought when we got there. I was scared. Oh my God, look at these people looking at me. Oh no, and I hate public speaking. I had to go up twice, read it, and then thank you. Thank you. I didn't have anything prepared. And of course I could read, but it was… I don't like doing that. But Heather said it was fine.

Jenna Morton - I don't think you're alone in that feeling among writers. I think a lot of writers would consider themselves a bit introverted when it comes to public speaking.

Nelson Keane -  I'm introverted. And I talk for a living. I was a school principal, right? I talk for a living, which is really weird.

Jenna Morton -  Well, when it's your job, it's different though, right?

Nelson Keane - Yeah, totally. It's my job. It's different. Yeah.

Jenna Morton - I'm wondering if you could share a little bit about how you think having this award is going to impact what you're going to do over the next bit.

Nelson Keane - Yeah. I'm really happy for Lee and his business and his publishing business because I think it's important to have those because I really like the man. We're friends and we have a coffee every once in a while. He's been, I mean, the guy calls you and says, yeah, I'm going to publish a book. You go, what? No. And that's neat about that for sure. He had another one I wrote and he's going to put that out in the spring called Boxcar. And it's darker, scarier. it's a little girl on her way to Treblinka in 1943 and what happens and what she thinks about. That gave me confidence for that one. And I'm writing The Sins of Lazarus right now, which is a sequel to that, which gave me confidence for that, because that's an interesting topic. You can offend people with that one, but if they fall flat and nobody reads them, I've got this one in a little piece of glass to show. And the trophy was beautiful. Wow. Beautiful.

Jenna Morton - Those fiddleheads are gorgeous.

Nelson Keane -  Yeah, it gives you tons and tons of confidence because I remember high school. I have a degree in English literature, believe it or not. In my high school, an English teacher said I was a terrible writer, and I can't write an essay. University, I struggle with the format of essay writing because I'm a free thinker and really don't like the structure of it. You know, like they do. I love to read. I mean, a small thing. I haven't I haven't read a book in 10 years now because I write. I don't want to. I don't know. I just can't do it. I might steal an idea or something. Isn't that weird?

Jenna Morton - No, I completely understand that feeling.

Nelson Keane - Nothing. Well, I read Lee Thompson's book about a guy, a horror story about a guy who got his head chopped off and put on the sheet. It's so wonderful. That's the last book I've read.

Jenna Morton - Before we wrap things up, I'm wondering if you could maybe give some advice or just share some thoughts for those listening who maybe haven't put themselves forward yet or haven't put themselves in the running for an award. What would you say now that you've gone through this experience?

Nelson Keane - First thing, finish it. Finish it. Do a little bit every day. I don't advocate a routine. Because I don't have one. I write when I feel like it. I go to a coffee shop at McDonald's or here, sit with my dogs, get it done, get a version of it, edit every day, revise every day, every day. Everything you write, revise it later and then later. I revise that book 40, 50 times, little bits. I go over and over until it's perfect. That's the first thing. Do your research for a publisher. No, get a good editor first. Do your research for a good publisher. Find out the people that actually publish your stuff, and then have confidence in yourself and do a really good letter to them. Really good letter to them. Like that's important, believe it or not. And have confidence that's good. Like it may, you may think it's not, but it probably is. And if you're not sure, have a look at it again and again and again. But get it finished first, even if it's raw. Well, your first drafts are always terrible. I don't know. I think they are. But get’er done and then start looking, and then have confidence. Because I had none at the awards assembly. Because I thought, sure, no way, right? These guys don't know me. I'm a newbie, right? Unknown. And then see what happens. And if you don't, it doesn't matter. You've done it. Because writing a book is really, really hard work. I find it an arduous task. That's what I would say. Have confidence. Enjoy the experience, though. Even going there. That's great. I'm going to go this year, I think, next year. I mean, I won't have a book there, but it's neat. I think the community of writers in this province and others on the East Coast are amazing. Nice people.

Jenna Morton - Could you just share some thoughts on the impact of these awards on writing and authors in New Brunswick?

Nelson Keane - I think that most people don't write for awards. I think they don't. And that's a really good question because I've been thinking about that a lot. Why do we do it? And is it certainly not for others necessarily? Of course it is, but not really. It really is something. It's something inside. You got to get it done. It's like an impulse. It's not the right word. It's a desire to do it. I don't know if that's answering, but it's intrinsic. It's almost egocentric. I won't say it's narcissistic, but it's egocentric thing and it fulfills something. It's a real rush and a real high and you've written something that's good. And then you have your wife read it. She says, “Nelson, that's terrible. Fix it.” Right? No, I'm kidding. She does do that. You know what I mean? If it inside, it does something that perhaps all your life you've been wondering about and not sure if you could. It's like running a marathon. You don't know until you do it. And the training for it, which is equal to the writing of a book, is really interesting and fun and fulfilling. Like, I love running and I love writing, but I think I'm a better runner than writer, but I didn't, but not anymore. I really like it a lot. And when I read my book a little bit, I go, “geez, that's not bad. It's okay.”

Jenna Morton - That's always my favorite part of writing is reading it, you know, months or years later after you don't have it stuck in your head anymore and you're like, oh, oh, I did that.

Nelson Keane - Wow, yeah. I wrote a thesis years ago and it's terrible. It's so boring, right? Oh, that's awful. That's not real writing. That's not…that's school writing, right? It's awful. But this is… write whatever you want. That's the other thing. Write whatever you want. It's yours. Do it right. Doesn't matter. You know, let's let your mind go. That's the other thing. What happens is your mind, right? You think you're going to write this, and you don't. I said, I said at McDonald's yesterday and I got to write about this. I didn't. It just takes over. It's not structured. It just happens, right? Because you're living. When I wrote the book, I was that guy. I was Gary when I wrote it. That's why I had the nightmares, right? Yeah, for sure. And of course, I was the teacher. But the Gary, I lived out, living in that cell. And terrible. I was almost swore there. and the terrible things that happened to him. So I want people to know. My dad was a World War II veteran, and he lived through all that. And they told me tons of stuff that happened to people, right? And of course, I was a pilot, and I loved those fighter airplanes in World War II. So there you go.

Jenna Morton - That was my conversation with Nelson Keane, author of Nachzehereer, winner of the Mrs. Dunster's Fiction Award at the 2025 New Brunswick Book Awards. Well, 2025 saw the creation of a new award, the Books for Young Readers Award, celebrating writing intended for readers from middle school to young adult. The inaugural award was presented to Miramichi author Valerie Sherrard for her novel, An Unbalanced Force. She joined me for a conversation about the book and the role of the awards in general. Valerie Sherrard is the author of three dozen books for children and teens, several of which are set here in New Brunswick. Her novel, An Unbalanced Force, won the inaugural Books for Young Readers Award from the New Brunswick Book Awards in 2025. I'm really thrilled to dive into talking about your book and the awards. Before we really get into all of that, let's hear a little bit more about the book itself. Tell me about An Unbalanced Force. What's the hook and who should be reading it?

Valerie Sherrard - Of course, all young people around the world should be reading it, or at least in Canada, that would be really nice. This book is for teenagers. It's probably suited to grade six and up, I would say. This is a novel, and it's set in Ottawa. And in this story, Ethan Granger is a young man who he lives in not a wealthy family, but like upper middle class. So, they're what we would call reasonably well off. And he has a very comfortable lifestyle, until the day that he discovers that something isn't quite right in how the money comes into their house. And he discovers this through a lie from his father, and he begins investigating. And it's kind of a different story for me to have written something that where there's misconduct by a parent that is deliberate. He dives into that. And in his discoveries, as the story moves along, he's finds out some things that are very disturbing and is faced with some questions himself about what, if anything, should or could he do about it? Because if he does anything to disrupt the way his father makes, you know, earns a living, that is going to seriously affect his own life as well, and his mother, and all the comforts of, you know, what they enjoy in their community.

Jenna Morton - I love that you're not afraid in your writing to tackle difficult situations. I think that's something that you're known through many of your books to have tackled. Talk a little bit about why you feel compelled to write these kind of stories, particularly for this age group.

Valerie Sherrard - Not really sure. I mean, ideas for stories come to you and you recognize which ones I think you can develop into something that's worthwhile. If a story isn't worthwhile, then why bother telling it, you know? And also, stories where everything is la la la, everything's happy, all everything's good, nothing alarming, nothing mysterious, nothing, you know, disturbing happens. Who wants to read that? Nobody. So yeah, you need to have. a story that's interesting and, and some tension in the story so that the reader feels that, you know, it's worth…worth their time to spend, you know, however long it takes to read through. How many pages is this? Let me look. I hardly ever know. It's around 190 pages. Not a really long, long story.

Jenna Morton - But that's a very kind of typical length for a book aimed at that age group. And what's really interesting about this award that you've won this year, it's the first time for the New Brunswick Book Awards. There's been an award specifically for young readers, so kind of ages like 8 to 18, that area. I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about what it was like finding out that there was going to be a New Brunswick Award specifically for this type of writing.

Valerie Sherrard - Well, I had been part of the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick. I sat on the board a number of times, and I also helped with the database for writers in the schools in New Brunswick. And so, I've sort of had connections to the in-behind-the-scenes things over the years. And I had urged them a few times, you know, to look at  adding a book award for young people to their list because I think until they brought that in, but we were the only province that did not recognize writing for young people. And yeah, so it was, it was very gratifying. Rhonda Bulmer, who is the executive director of Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick, she worked behind the scenes like to really get that, you know, she really had a passion to make that happen. So it was, it was great to see that. I mean, book awards aren't that old in any case here in New Brunswick. So they had to, you know, they needed time to build them up from the get at the very beginning. But Yeah, books for young people, I think it was an overdue inclusion.

Jenna Morton - You have a very prolific career. You have more than 30 titles to your name. You've been on award shortlists and winning awards more times than you have books published. I'm wondering if you can share, that's what the bio says, so I believe it, someone's done the numbers. I'm wondering if you can share a little bit about the importance of awards, because sometimes people question whether it's the right thing to do to have awards and to single out, certain works, and then other people think we need more of them. So as someone who's been in the system for a while, from an author's point of view or from a reader's point of view, why do these awards matter?

Valerie Sherrard - Well, I mean, there are a number of reasons, obviously, for a writer to have their work recognized. That is very important. There are two kinds of awards. I should clarify that. There are awards that are determined by a committee or individuals or whatever who shortlist and then choose the winner from the shortlist. And those are usually based on, the quality of the writing and story arc and those types of things. And then there are Reader's Choice Awards. And those are my favorite because that is determined - the winner of a Reader's Choice Award is determined by a large group of students who are reading and making their, you know, selections. They get to vote for a winner. And it would, it's typically province wide, but here in the Maritimes we have the Hackmatack Awards. So that's covers all of the Maritimes. And it's really neat because that's determined by the reader who is your target, our audience. And the Reader's Choice Awards, obviously there are more sales involved with being shortlisted for those because they need to provide the young people with, You know, it's not a huge mass, but enough that they can get their turn to read all of the titles that they want to read. So it does impact sales and it impacts, you know, your profile as far as like, do people recognize your your name or whatever? Yeah, I think like awards, obviously, I think as an author, I'm in favour. And I think that there are all kinds of very strong justifications for having them.

Jenna Morton - Talk a little bit about the importance of New Brunswick having its own awards. You know, you did allude to the fact that it's only been 10 years that we've been really taking this spotlight and shining it on our authors. I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about how you've seen that impacting the literary scene and what you hope that it will accomplish in the next 10, 20, however many years we're able to keep this going.

Valerie Sherrard - I don't know how aware the average New Brunswicker is of the book awards and New Brunswick authors and what's going on in the literary scene. And I think the more attention, media attention, those things get, the better. Because like, you mentioned it's only been 10 years that we have had the NB book awards. We've had some like really, we've had and do have some really, really incredibly gifted writers. I think first name that comes to mind is David Adams Richards, you know, and when his career began and his publications were first coming out, there was no such a thing. I mean, he won national awards. He won the Governor General Award for fiction and nonfiction. He won the Giller. He's like  - all of the big top things. He won them all and yet no recognition within his own province. And that's kind of disturbing. Like we need to recognize our own. We do so in all kinds of industries and all kinds of different types of professions… and the arts have been, I wouldn't say necessarily neglected, but they haven't received the support and attention that they would and should receive. For example, like the percentage of books in schools that are written by Canadian writers and provided for young people for novel studies or just for, you know, in their libraries and et cetera, et cetera. the percentage of those that are Canadian is really low. It's like somewhere in the 10% bracket. And there's huge numbers of like American books, and I'm not saying anything negative about those books themselves. I'm saying that we have as good books by Canadian writers, and why wouldn't we choose first to support our own? That's the way I feel. So yes, I think everything that contributes to building up the arts in general, the arts and the artists in New Brunswick is a good thing. And it's good for the economy. People don't always understand that, but it contributes significantly to the province's economy. You think, oh, well, it's just making money for the people that are producing the works. That is not true at all, not even a little bit true.

Jenna Morton - No, and I've, in my life, I have talked many times about the importance I think it does have on the economy, not just in the very obvious, oh, you've bought a book from a local author, but to see the place you live reflected in literature, reflective in song, that is such a powerful driver to future success in the economy as well that I think if we don't protect it and we don't encourage more people to read New Brunswick books or books set in New Brunswick, that you chip away at the people who want to stay here and live here and create things here. And that creation may not just be literary. That might be someone who creates a business that employs hundreds and thousands. And the spark is there because they love this place, because they get to see it reflected in so many different ways.

Valerie Sherrard - And this year happens to be the 200th anniversary of the Great Miramichi Fire, which in 1825, actually the anniversary is coming up on the 7th of October. In 1825, one-fifth of this province burned to the ground overnight. It was a huge, huge event for many, many years. It was the largest recorded land fire in North American history. And there had not been anything really written about it. I wrote a book called Three Million Acres of Flame about the Miramichi Fire. I did a lot of research, and it was published in 2007. So now this year being the 200th anniversary, like I approached education, the Department of Education and said, this is a novel about a very important historical event in our province's history. And would the Department of Education maybe look at considering it for the curriculum or whatever. And the response I got back was not very encouraging. And it was more, it was more and that's like, well, you contact the local boards, you know, on your own. And I was like, no…that was, that was disappointing because that's an opportunity for young people province-wide to become acquainted with some of their heritage. And it's a missed opportunity. And it's a missed opportunity to support a Canadian writer writing about a Canadian part of history. So I think we have a long way to come as a society.

Jenna Morton - Well, and hopefully that's what things like the New Brunswick Book Awards and this podcast and having these discussions will help reach more people who are looking for these things to realize the wealth that is here waiting for them to discover.

Valerie Sherrard - There's so much, so much talent. Like we have an incredible number of artists in all of the disciplines here in New Brunswick, and people don't necessarily know or aren't always familiar with. Last year I was awarded the Lieutenant Governor's Award for High Achievement in the Literary Arts. And I think I'm quite sure from a conversation that I had that when my name was put forth, it was by nomination… the committee members had no idea, like who, who I was. They'd never heard of me before, I'm pretty sure. And, you know, I have about three dozen books published. Some of them have been shortlisted for some of the top awards in Canada. And, you know, it's just the, the lack of a profile. I'm not saying that like, oh, look at me. It's just, just that I'm one of many and there are so many like really, very gifted people who our own economy is not, or I shouldn't say economy, I guess our society is not supporting in the way that it could.

Jenna Morton - Wholeheartedly agree. And I'm very, very thankful I get to do my small part in trying to make a difference in that by having these discussions with people like you. So thank you very much for taking the time to chat with me, Valerie.

Valerie Sherrard - My pleasure. And you're awesome.

Jenna Morton - Oh, thank you.

Tosh Taylor - WordCraft is a project by the non-profit Writers Federation of New Brunswick. The show is hosted and produced by Jenna Morton with technical production by Tosh Taylor. The Writers' Federation of New Brunswick acknowledges that the land on which we live, work, and gather is the traditional unceded territory of the Woolastook and Mi'kmaq peoples. We honor the spirit of our ancestors' treaties of peace and friendship.