The Outside Circle wins the Burt Award

October 17, 2016. The Outside Circle by Patti Laboucane-Benson is the winner of the fourth annual Burt Award for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Literature. The graphic novel, illustrated by Kelly Mellings, tells the story of two Aboriginal brothers surrounded by poverty, drug abuse, and gang violence, who try to overcome centuries of historic trauma in different ways to bring about positive change in their lives. Laboucane-Benson is a Métis woman and the director of research, training, and communication at Native Counselling Services of Alberta in Edmonton. Winners for the Burt Award were selected by a peer assessment committee administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. Taking second place was The Education of Augie Merasty: A Residential School Memoir. The Burt Award recognizes excellent, engaging and culturally-relevant books in English for young adults that are written, illustrated and/or translated by First Nations, Inuit and Métis creators.