Royal Canadian Mint Unveils New Coin Celebrating L.M. Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables

Today, the Royal Canadian Mint unveiled a new $1 coin that celebrates L.M. Montgomery as Canada's literary icon. The unveiling took place in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island at the Green Gables Heritage Place, the location that inspired L.M. Montgomery's most famous novel Anne of Green Gables. The release celebrates the 150th anniversary of L.M. Montgomery's birth in 1874.

This coin is the first circulation coin to honor an author. The new loonie will be entering circulation across Canada tomorrow June 27, 2024.



The Royal Canadian Mint launched a beautiful webpage today to announce the coin. It includes biographical information on L.M. Montgomery, the beautiful collages featured in this post, as well as information on the coin's artist and design.

According to the Royal Canadian Mint website:

"Not many Canadian authors have captured the hearts and imaginations of readers quite like L. M. Montgomery. Through her beloved stories and characters, the creator of the internationally-acclaimed Anne of Green Gables has transported millions of readers, over many generations, to the little province she called home.

One of Canada’s most enduring and endearing cultural figures, Montgomery is an icon who continues to impart a lasting impression. This year, we honour her brilliant imagination and exceptional talent with a commemorative $1 circulation coin—a tribute to her life’s work."

The coin's artwork is by Brenda Jones. She's an artist from Prince Edward Island who has a connection to Anne of Green Gables. According to a "fun fact" posted on the Royal Canadian Mint website, her grandparents owned the Green Gables house.

The coin features an image of L.M. Montgomery holding a fountain pen, with a manuscript and inkwell nearby. Below her portrait is her signature and cat icon. To the left is an image of Anne Shirley looking towards patchwork quilt fields representing Prince Edward Island.


It's a beautiful coin. I can't imagine they'll remain in circulation long. Anne fans might just pocket them all.


Official Websites:
L.M. Montgomery Literary Icon at the Royal Canadian Mint
Behind the Design: L. M. Montgomery Commemorative $1 Circulation Coin

Image credits:
Images and collages by the Royal Canadian Mint.

Created June 26, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

The Annethology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon

The Annethology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon is a collection of short stories by ten Canadian writers who take Anne Shirley on new adventures. The collection was edited by Judith Graves and Robin Sutherland.

Judith Graves, who describes herself as an L.M. Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables "fangirl," had once written a short story about Anne being a cyborg. Writing this story gave her the idea of creating an anthology of stories. In an interview with the CBC, Graves says, "I pitched the idea of what if it wasn't just my little Anne story? What if we got a whole bunch of authors writing and taking Anne on these wild new adventures?" Graves invited writers to contribute with the following guidelines: "the main character had to be named Anne with an E and was adopted by an older couple."

The book includes stories by Paul Coccia (Leon Levels Up), Hope Dalvay (Welcome to Camp Fill-in-the-Blank), Matthew Dawkins (Until We Break), Natasha Deen (Key of Nira Ghani), Judith Graves (Retribution series), Shari Green (Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess), Mere Joyce (Oracle of Senders series), Deirdre Kessler (Lobster in my Pocket), Susie Moloney (The Thirteen), and Susan White (The Year Mrs. Montague Cried).

Graves notes that, "Very much this anthology will rock some people's world, I think. But I think the underlying theme of everything, all the stories … was a nod to L.M. Montgomery's work and a hearkening back to those themes of finding yourself, belonging, being quirky but that's OK — being your own person and finding your people who may not be related to you."

Here is the book's description from Acorn Press:

Who is YOUR Anne?

Join ten of Canada's top young adult fiction writers as they set Canada's favourite red-haired orphan, Anne Shirley, on brand new adventures. With its futuristic settings, cybernetic beings, ghosts, mysterious books and boxes, and racial and sexual diversity in its cast of characters, The ANNEthology offers serious "scope for the imagination" for all readers.

2024 marks the 150th anniversary of L.M. Montgomery's birth and the 30th anniversary of Acorn Press, Prince Edward Island's longest-running traditional publishing house. What better way to celebrate these milestones than publishing a collection of stories inspired by the Island's (and one of Canada's) most beloved authors?

Sure to include something for everyone, this is a must-have collection for Anne of Green Gables fans.

The book launch for The Annethology took place yesterday at The Guild in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. What do you think of the concept of The Annethology? Will you read it?

Image credit:
Cover of The Annethology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon by Acorn Press.

Reference:
Ross, Shane. (2024, June 22). Anne with an Edge: New anthology will 'rock some people's world:' This is not your grandmother's Anne Shirley. CBC. Retrieved from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-annethology-green-gables-judith-graves-1.7243762

Purchase and read The Annethology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon:


Created June 24, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Tourism Prince Edward Island's Anne of Green Gables Itinerary

Tourism Prince Edward Island posted an updated Anne of Green Gables itinerary for 2024 to help visitors discover Anne Shirley's island. The itinerary recommends sites to visit in Cavendish, including the Green Gables Heritage Place, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Cavendish Home, Cavendish United Church, Cavendish Cemetery, and Montgomery Park. The guide features several other significant sites, including L.M. Montgomery's birthplace in New London and the Lower Bedeque schoolhouse where she once taught. It's a great reference if you're planning a visit to PEI.


Official Website:
Tourism PEI's Anne of Green Gables Itinerary

Image Credit:
Screencapture of the Tourism Prince Edward Island website showing the featured itineraries.

Created June 23, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

I’m sick of the fragrance of dead things.

"I’m sick of the fragrance of dead things."
-L.M. Montgomery
Valancy Stirling in The Blue Castle

Read more quotes by L.M. Montgomery.

Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

Purchase and read the The Blue Castle:




Created May 31, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables in Fukuoka

While traveling in Japan, among several personal quests, I wanted to find signs of Anne of Green Gables. I wasn't sure if I would spot her, but I did. I managed to find Anne Shirley in Fukuoka.

I was spending some time in JR Hakata City, a giant mall with a major train station hub at its core. While there, I visited the Bandai Namco Crossstore. The place was kind of mesmerizing, with a giant Pac-Man video game and lots of toys and other games. One section of the store had hundreds of capsule machines. You drop 400 yen into a machine, turn a lever, and receive a random toy from a selection of toys pictured on the machine. I walked around a bit, wondering if I might spot a machine featuring World Masterpiece Theater toys, and I found one pretty quickly.

The machine contained five toys, and among them was an Anne of Green Gables (Akage no An) model. It took a bit of trying, but I got the toy I wanted.



Above, you can see the model out of its capsule. Little Anne Shirley is waiting at the Bright River Station. She's not in PEI though. She's actually waiting with me at the Hiroshima station on a bullet train to Tokyo. We're keeping each other company.

Image credits:
Photographs by World of Anne Shirley.

Created May 30, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

The Blue Castle Graphic Novel

 

The Blue Castle is one of my favorite stories by L.M. Montgomery. I wanted to share an in-progress graphic novel adaptation of The Blue Castle by Maaike Bouhuyzen-Wenger. Maaike is a Canadian artist who is based in Toronto, and her specialties include printmaking and pen & ink drawing. She began drawing and designing her graphic novel in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the introduction to her project on Tumblr, Maaike writes that she thought The Blue Castle seemed "to be a good choice for my first graphic novel project – an opportunity to practice art work and learn from mistakes without the pressure of writing my own story and characters." She has currently concluded Part 2 of the story.

I just began exploring this adaptation, and I think the novel is a beautiful choice for her work. I'm excited to view both Valancy's personal growth and Maaike's artistic growth as the project continues.


External Links:
The Blue Castle Graphic Novel by Maaike Bouhuyzen-Wenger adapted from the novel by L.M. Montgomery
Maaike Bouhuyzen-Wenger's Website

Image Credit:
Page from The Blue Castle Graphic Novel by Maaike Bouhuyzen-Wenger adapted from the novel by L.M. Montgomery.

Created May 29, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

The beauty of winter...

"The beauty of winter is that it makes you appreciate spring."
-L.M. Montgomery
Sara Stanley in The Story Girl

Read more quotes by L.M. Montgomery.

Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

Purchase and read The Story Girl and The Golden Road:



Created May 28, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

The L.M. Montgomery Bookshelf

The L.M. Montgomery Bookshelf is a project launched by the L.M. Montgomery Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island in November 2022. It is described as, "a physical and digital collection of some of Montgomery's most-loved or most interesting reads." The bookshelf is curated by Dr. Emily Woster, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota in Duluth.

It is interesting to consider what a writer reads and how books influence them. Which books did L.M. Montgomery own, quote from, and give as gifts to others? This website helps explore these questions, and the book collection will continue to expand over time.

Image credit:
Screencapture adapted from The L.M. Montgomery Bookshelf website.

Created May 27, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com