Congratulations to The Word Guild member Connie Brummel Crook, who is nominated for a Diamond Willow Award, a Saskatchewan-based readers' choice award for her 2010 novel No Small Victory. This title tied for best children's book in last year's The Word Guild Canadian Christian Writing Awards. There's an interesting article about Connie in The Peterborough Examiner.

Connie also received a review in the March 2012 issue of Quill and Quire, Canada's magazine of book news and reviews, for her latest book Acts of Courage: Laura Secord and the War of 1812 (released to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812). It's a fictionalized biography of Canadian heroine Laura Secord. The reviewer stated, "Given her knowledge of the subject, it's not surprising that Crook's attention to detail and setting is excellent, providing the reader with insight into the social and political situations of the time. The use of primary resources – such as weaving the testimony of Secord's granddaughter into a character's dialogue – is a nice touch that highlights Secord's bravery."