{"id":636,"date":"2014-07-07T12:05:05","date_gmt":"2014-07-07T16:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jamesgang.com\/ideas\/?p=636"},"modified":"2014-07-07T12:12:21","modified_gmt":"2014-07-07T16:12:21","slug":"franke-james-wins-gold-ippy-award-for-banned-on-the-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jamesgang.com\/ideas\/franke-james-wins-gold-ippy-award-for-banned-on-the-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"Franke James’ Wins Gold Ippy Award for “Banned on the Hill”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canadian’s non-fiction graphic book about dirty oil and Canada’s censorship wins Gold IPPY Award in New York<\/strong><\/center>
\n\"Franke<\/p>\n

\"Franke<\/a> \"Franke<\/a> \"CE2_BannedontheHillcover\"<\/a>\"Franke<\/a> \"Teresa_Franke_4611small\"<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/h3>\n

May 31, 2014 -\u2013 New York, NY, United States<\/p>\n

Banned on the Hill:<\/strong> A True Story about Dirty Oil and Government Censorship<\/em><\/a> is the winner of a 2014 Independent Publisher<\/a> Book Award.<\/p>\n

Franke James<\/a>\u2019 true-life story of fighting back against the heavy-handed censorship of the Canadian Government was awarded the Gold Medal<\/strong> in the Canada-East Best Regional Non-Fiction<\/a> category at the IPPY Awards Ceremony in New York City on May 28, 2014.<\/p>\n

Author and Artist Franke James<\/a> commented, \u201cThis Gold IPPY Award for Banned on the Hill<\/a> is a sweet victory for me, for democracy, and for environmental voices everywhere. And it’s a blow against those high up in the Canadian government who are trying to silence and suppress environmental voices. It’s proof that censorship does not work — especially if you can wield a paint brush and leverage social media to gain supporters from around the world. <\/p>\n

“I want to give a huge shout out to all the Indiegogo<\/a> and Loudsauce supporters who joined my activist campaign<\/a> and helped put my ‘banned art’ up on the streets of Ottawa (twice!), Halifax, Calgary and even Washington, DC! Together we are making a difference. We are shining a bright light on the censorship tactics of Orwellian Ottawa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Goldmedal_BannedOnTheHill_4844small\"<\/a><\/p>\n

ABOUT The IPPY Awards: Honouring Publishers who “take chances and break new ground”<\/strong><\/p>\n


\n“Independent Publishers Tell Real Stories about Real People and Places”<\/a>
\n(May 7, 2014 \u2013 Traverse City, MI) – After a long, cold winter, the announcement of the 18th annual Independent Publisher Book Awards has brought a spring-like gust of excellence to the publishing world.
\nLaunched in 1996 and conducted each year to honor the year’s best independently published books, the “IPPY” Awards recognize merit in a broad range of subjects and reward authors and publishers who “take chances and break new ground.” Independent publishers, along with independent booksellers, have long held an important role in the world of books, offering an alternative to “the big five” conglomerated media publishers. Thanks to small presses, university presses, and self-publishing services that give experimental and entrepreneurial authors a platform, the IPPY universe is rapidly expanding — and that gives adventurous readers an abundance of new choices.
\nThe medal-winning books will be celebrated on May 28th during the annual BookExpo America publishing convention in New York, with gold, silver and bronze IPPY medallions awarded in 78 national, 22 regional, and ten e-book categories. This year\u2019s contest drew over 5,500 entries from authors and publishers in all 50 U.S. states, nine Canadian provinces, and 32 countries overseas.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

ABOUT THE BOOK: ‘Banned on the Hill’ by Franke James<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"CE2_BannedontheHillcover\"<\/a> What would you do if you discovered you were blacklisted by your own government for speaking up on climate change and the tar sands? <\/em>In Banned on the Hill, artist and author Franke James, tells how she first discovered she was being censored by the Canadian government — and how she fought back. It’s an inspiring story that shows how creativity, crowd-funding and investigative digging can work together to shine a bright light on a government that is more interested in message control than a citizen’s democratic right to free expression. Through eight visual essays, James traces her personal journey as an active citizen discovering the power of speaking out. Interviewed in the Guardian UK<\/a> newspaper James said that she hoped the book would serve as a how-to guide to other activists hoping to take on the Harper administration, especially with humour. <\/p>\n

Through entertaining, powerful and humorous real-life storytelling, James show us how to speak the hard truths — and get heard. She shows us why actions speak louder than words and how each of us can make a difference in our front yards, our city, our country and our world.<\/p>\n

MEDIA:<\/strong> Banned on the Hill<\/a> debuted with an article<\/a> in The Guardian UK<\/strong> by Suzanne Goldenberg… <\/p>\n

“Artist finds inspiration in Canadian government’s attempt to silence her”<\/a>. Suzanne Goldenberg wrote, “Visual essays by Franke James reveal how the ‘troublesome artist’ was targeted because her views on climate change clashed with the push to develop Alberta’s tar sands… But there is apparently one woman whom the government can’t shut up: the Toronto environmental writer, illustrator and activist Franke James, who turned the efforts to silence her into material for a new book. Banned on the Hill: A True Story about Dirty Oil and Government Censorship<\/em>, released this week, shows how Canadian bureaucrats tried to silence James because her views on climate change clashed with the Harper government’s push to develop Alberta’s tar sands. The story is told through visual essays as well as official emails obtained by James, in which government bureaucrats discuss the troublesome artist and her work.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read more media coverage…<\/a><\/p>\n

Crowd-Funding Campaign Put Franke James’ Posters On the Streets of Ottawa, Halifax, Calgary and Washington, DC<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n