Edith Lambert Sharp (March 7, 1911 – July 2, 1974) was a Canadian professional woman, writing teacher, and writer. She won the annual

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for juvenile fiction in 1958, recognizing her historical novel ''Nkwala'' as the year's best Canadian book.

Life

She was born near Carroll,

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, the daughter of Charles Lambert and Edna Louise (Maloan) Sharp. She dropped out of

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley of the British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan Lake, Okanagan and Skaha Lake, Skaha lakes. In the 2021 Canadian Census, its population was 36,885, while its Census geographic un ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, after one year. She attended the

Vancouver School of Art The Emily Carr University of Art and Design (stylized as Emily Carr University of Art + Design and abbreviated as ECU) is a public university of art and design located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1925 as the Vancouver Schoo ...

and took private studies from the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

to develop her artistic talents. Sharp worked as the director of the Okanagan Summer School of the Arts, and taught creative writing in night and summer schools. She also became involved in politics and served for several years as secretary to the

riding association An electoral district association (), commonly known as a riding association () or constituency association, is the basic unit of a political party at the level of the electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) distr ...

s of the local Progressive Conservative Party. Sharp was a member of the Penticton Board of Trade, an honorary member of the Business and Professional Women's Club, and a member of the Conservative Party and the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...

. She died in British Columbia in 1974.

Selected works

* ''Nkwala'', illustrated by William Winter (Little, Brown, 1958), , –

Governor General's Award for Juvenile Fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language children's writing is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a children's book written in English. It is one of four children's book awards among the Governor Ge ...

''Nkwala'' is a researched juvenile novel about the pre-colonial

Okanagan people The Syilx () people, also known as the Okanagan, Suknaqinx, or Okinagan people, are a First Nations and Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–US boundary in Washington state and unceded British Columbia in the Ok ...

of the

Interior of British Columbia The British Columbia Interior, popularly referred to as the BC Interior or simply the Interior, is a geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. While the exact boundaries are variously defined, the British Columbia Interior ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Edith Lambert 1911 births Canadian Anglicans Canadian children's writers Governor General's Award–winning children's writers People from Westman Region, Manitoba Emily Carr University of Art and Design alumni 1974 deaths