Monique Polak (born May 20, 1960) is a writer from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec. She has won the

Janet Savage Blachford Prize The Quebec Writers' Federation Awards are a series of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Quebec Writers' Federation to the best works of literature in English by writers from Quebec. They were known from 1988 to 1998 as the QSPELL ...

, formally known as the Quebec Writer's Foundation Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature, three times: ''What World is Left'' (2009), ''Hate Mail'' (2014), and ''Room for One More'' (2020).

Personal life and education

Polak was born May 20, 1960, in

to Maximilien, a criminal court judge, and Celina, a homemaker, Polak. Celina survived the Holocaust, as did her two brothers and both parents. Maximilien survived the Holocaust because he was a painter in Holland and was forced to do propaganda art for the Nazis. Polak also has a sister named Carolyn. She married Chaim Melamed December 16, 1979, and the couple have a daughter named Alicia. They divorced in 1985. She married Michael Shenker, a journalist, on June 2, 1996. Polak received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in English literature from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in 1981, and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in English literature from

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

. Polak is Jewish.

Career

In 1987, Polak began teaching in English and humanities at

Marianopolis College Marianopolis College is a private English-language college in the Canadian province of Quebec. Located in Westmount, Quebec, it is an anglophone college with a student body over 2,000. The General and Vocational Education College, known as a CE ...

, where she has worked since. She is also a freelance journalist. Her articles appear regularly in ''

The Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'' and other

Postmedia Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is an American-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in Engl ...

newspapers across the country. Several of her feature stories have also been published in ''

Maclean's Magazine ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

''. In 2015, Polak was named the inaugural CBC/QWF Montreal writer-in-residence.

Awards and honours

Publications

Novels

* ''Flip Turn'' (James Lorimer, 2004) * ''No More Pranks'' (Orca, 2004) * ''On the Game'' (James Lorimer, 2005) * ''Home Invasion'' (Orca, 2005) * ''All In'' (James Lorimer, 2006) * ''Finding Elmo'' (Orca, 2007) * ''Scarred'' (James Lorimer, 2007) * ''121 Express'' (Orca, 2008) * ''What World Is Left'' (Orca, 2008) * ''The Middle of Everywhere'' (Orca, 2009) * ''Junkyard Dog'' (Orca, 2009) * ''Miracleville'' (Orca, 2011) * ''Pyro'' (Orca, 2012) * ''So Much It Hurts'' (Orca, 2013) * ''Straight Punch'' (Orca, 2014) * ''Hate Mail'' (Orca, 2014) * ''Learning the Ropes'' (Orca, 2015) * ''Forensics Squad Unleashed'' (Orca, 2016) * ''Leggings Revolt'' (Orca 2016) * ''Bullies Rule'' Orca, 2017) * ''Princess Angelica, Camp Catastrophe'', illustrated by Jane Heinrichs (Orca, 2018) * ''Planet Grief'' (Orca, 2018) * ''Princess Angelica, Part-Time Lion Trainer'', illustrated by Jane Heinrichs (Orca, 2019) * ''The Taste of Rain'' (Orca, 2019) * ''Room for One More'' (Kar-Ben, 2019) * ''Princess Angelica, Junior Reporter'', illustrated by Jane Heinrich (Orca, 2020) * ''For the Record'' (Owlkids, 2022) * ''Open Science: Knowledge For Everyone'' (Orca, 2023)

Nonfiction

* ''Passover: Festival of Freedom'' (Orca, 2016) * ''I Am a Feminist: Claiming the F-Word in Turbulent Times'' (Orca, 2019) * ''Why Humans Work: How Jobs Shape Our Lives and Our World'', illustrated by Suharu Ogawa (Orca, 2022) * ''Passover Family'' (Orca, 2018) * ''The Brass Charm'', illustrated by Marie Lafrance (Scholastic, 2022)

References

External links

Monique Polak
at

Quebec Writers' Federation The Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF) is a not-for-profit registered charitable organization representing and serving the English-language literary community in the province of Quebec, Canada. QWF is a literary arts presenter, provides profession ...

Literary Database of Quebec English-Language authors
Write On Montreal: Monique Polak
''Montreal Gazette'', Aug. 20, 2013
Mom's fine, Dad's an absolute mess
''Maclean's Magazine'', Sept. 3, 2009

''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'', June 22, 2013 * ttp://moniquepolak.com/ Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Polak, Monique Canadian women novelists 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian writers of young adult literature Living people 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian women writers of young adult literature 1960 births Novelists from Montreal