Ivan Coyote wins the 2020 Freedom to Read Award

Ivan Coyote, who has written more than a dozen books, created four short films and released three albums combining storytelling with music,has won the 2020Freedom to Read Award, in recognition of theirbody of work thatexamines class, gender identity and social justice.

Their titles include the coming-of-age memoirTomboy Survival Guide, which was a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction and was longlistedfor Canada Reads 2018,the collaborative bookGender Failure,young adult story collectionOne in Every Crowdand the novelBow Grip.

Their most recent book,Rebent Sinner, isan essay collection from various aspects of Coyote's life: helping younger LGBTQ folks, paying homage to their heroes, dealing with legislation andgovernments and being part of protests.

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"They have done amazing and long-term work, especially in schools, on the subject of bullying and discussing what it means to be transgender. The contents of their books are, to me, a testament to freedom not only to read, but for every person to be themselves," said Coyote's nomination.

Over the past two decades, Coyote has performed at storytelling, writers', film, poetryand folk music festivals from Anchorage to Amsterdam.

The Freedom to Read Award, presented annually by TheWriters' Union of Canadaduring Freedom to Read Week, recognizesworks thatsupportfree expression.

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Jael Richardson,founder and artistic director of the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD),wonthe 2019 award.Other past winners include Gary Geddes, Deborah Campbell, Mohamed Fahmy and Lawrence Hill.

Freedom to Read Week runsFeb. 23-29, 2020.