| It’s a good thing Monique Polak has a lot of energy, because she likes to do a lot of stuff. In addition to teaching English and Humanities at Marianopolis College in Montreal, Monique is an active freelance journalist whose work appears frequently in The Montreal Gazette and in Canwest newspapers across the country. Several of her feature stories have also been published in Maclean's Magazine. But what Monique likes to do most of all is write fiction for young adults. She is the author of nine 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) and What World Is Left (Orca, 2008). Monique's newest novel, What World Is Left (Orca, 2008), is a historical novel based on her mother's experience in a Nazi concentration camp. The American Library Association's publication, Booklist, recently gave What World Is Left a starred review, describing it as "heartbreaking" and "an important addition to the Holocaust curriculum." Booklist has also put What World Is Left on its 2008 Editor's Choice list. To watch the CTV interview with Monique and her mom, visit the CTV website.To watch a video-clip of Monique reading from What World Is Left, visit the Montreal Gazette website. Flip Turn, On the Game, All In, Finding Elmo, and Scarred were all selected by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre for its Our Choice lists. Home Invasion was named a Popular Paperback by the American Library Association. All In was nominated for an Arthur Ellis crime-writing prize. Resource Links included Scarred on its Best of 2007 list.
Monique lives in Montreal, where most of her stories are set. In addition to writing and teaching, she enjoys cooking, jogging and puttering around her house. She is married to a newspaperman and has one grown daughter. |  Here I am (in Prague)! |
