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Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold
Published by Second Story Press, 2023
WINNER: The Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People 2024.
Launched at Trent University's 48th Annual Elders Gathering, Peterborough
"A shining treasure of a children’s novel."
Historical middle-grade fiction rooted in my Métis family history.
Recognition, Reviews,
and Featured Publications
Jury comments from the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, for the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People.
"An immersive story of an Indigenous girl seeking adventure and finding it close to home. This story shared the language and culture of the Métis in Georgian Bay in the early 1900s… Jessica Outram weaves a sincere story about a loving family who follow the teachings and traditions of their Métis ancestors… This story was tied to a place and left me thinking about history, place, and family... A shining treasure of a children’s novel.”
Parry Sound North Star
"A treasure map sparks a coastal Canadian Métis eight-year-old’s search for gold in an exuberant, richly detailed novel from a Métis author sharing her family’s fictionalized history.... A sweet historical fiction pick for fans of well-intentioned young protagonists with enlightening Indigenous representation.”
First Nation Communities Read, Longlist of 2024-2025 Adult/YA Nominated Titles.
Anishinabek News
“Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold is an amusing and informative story that serves both to entertain and educate the reader. It would be a positive addition to any home or school library.”
Canadian Review of Materials
"A compelling novel about an adventurous girl who finds that the real gold on Georgian Bay is right where she lives."
Winnipeg Free Press
"An excellent complementary read for Indigenous or Canadian history studies. It is a worthwhile and thoughtful read and an admirable way of paying tribute to past generations. Highly Recommended."
Historical Novel Society
"Author Jessica Outram has given us a story with a difference: a book that incorporates many phrases in the Métis language, Michif.... When eight-year-old Bernice is shown a piece of rock with gold streaks and finds a map that once belonged to famous artist Tom Thomson, she’s convinced she can find the gold and solve her family’s financial problems. After many false starts she sets out alone to try to reach the secret location. Will she succeed? Mid-level readers (9-12) will be urging her on."
CBC Books
"As a story, it will interest readers of all ages, moving deftly between the warm family scenes, industries across the water, and the dangerous storms of Georgian Bay." Included in "15 Canadian middle-grade and YA books to read this summer."
The Thing with Feathers
Published by Piquant Press, 2022
Launched at Art Gallery of Northumberland, Cobourg
Poetry collection composed during my tenure as Poet Laureate in Cobourg.
Sarah Lewis, First Poet Laureate of Peterborough
"The Thing With Feathers takes you on an intimate journey of truth, transformation, and healing of spirit. From cherry blossom tree trunks to the shores of Georgian Bay, these poems evoke reverence, recalling past lives and ancestral Métis blood memory passed down from grandmothers."
Antony Di Nardo, Poet
"Poetry that’s both affective and effective in recognizing the power of expression as a means of revealing the human spirit. There is clarity of language in these poems, and in that clarity the reader finds what it means to feel alive."
Catherine Graham, Poet
"Here are poems that show a way to build belonging. With clarity and sharp imagery, Outram’s poetry aches with the will to transform. They swirl beyond the whirlpool of rules because it’s all possible. Slowly, a new self emerges by breaking down threads / pulled by uncertainty. Through the deliberate act of seeing, facing, and confronting, a knowing, more integrated self comes to light. A fresh, vivid and heartfelt debut."
Kate Rogers, periodicities : a journal of poetry and poetics
"The bravery and emotional honesty of the collection are its greatest strength. I recommend The Thing With Feathers for the power of Jessica Outram’s personal journey and the courage it took to share it."
The Writing Spiral: Learning as a Writer
Published by Sunshine in a Jar Press, 2014
Launched at Victoria Hall, Cobourg
Also features 30 writers from across Canada.
The book explores eight thematic spiral. We write what we learn.
From the Cottage Porch
Published by Sunshine in a Jar Press, 2011
Launched in a community gathering, Ajax Ontario
Also features 30 writers from across Canada.
Once Upon a Rocking Chair
A Play in Two Acts
Premiered in Ajax, Ontario at StoneCircle Theatre in 2008.
Staged in 2017 in Cobourg, Ontario at the Firehall Theatre with Northumberland Players.
Inspired by a family tradition of mothers and daughters together at the cottage for a week each summer.