BC Book Prizes 2011 Shortlists Announced

Vancouver, BC – The West Coast Book Prize Society is pleased to announce the names of the finalists vying for recognition in seven categories at the 27th Annual BC Book Prizes.

Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize awarded to the author of the best work of fiction:

Supported by Friesens and Webcom

    * Rifet Bahtijaragic, Chernovs’ Toil and Peace (Publish America)
    * Gurjinder Basran, Everything Was Good-Bye (Mother Tongue Publishing)
    * Jack Hodgins, The Master of Happy Endings (Thomas Allen Publishers)
    * Meredith Quartermain, Recipes from the Red Planet (BookThug)
    * Jack Whyte, The Forest Laird (Viking Canada)

Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize to recognize the author(s) of the book that contributes most to the enjoyment and understanding of British Columbia:

Supported by Transcontinental Printing

    * Bruce Grenville and Scott Steedman, Visions of BC: A Landscape Manual (Douglas and McIntyre)
    * Aldona Jonaitis and Aaron Glass, The Totem Pole: An Intercultural History (Douglas and McIntyre)
    * Grant Lawrence, Adventures in Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound (Harbour Publishing)
    * Sylvia Olsen, Working with Wool (Sono Nis Press)
    * Dan Savard, Images from the Likeness House (Royal BC Museum)

Hubert Evans Non-fiction Prize awarded to the author of the best original non-fiction literary work: Supported by Abebooks

    * Morris Bates and Jim Brown, Morris as Elvis: Take a Chance on Life (Fox Music Books)
    * Douglas Coupland, Marshall McLuhan (Viking Canada)
    * Sarah Leavitt, Tangles: A Story about Alzheimer’s, My Mother, and Me (Freehand Books)
    * Derek Lundy, Borderlands: Riding the Edge of America (Knopf Canada)
    * John Vaillant, The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival (Knopf Canada)

Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize awarded to the author of the best work of poetry:

Supported by the BC Teachers’ Federation

    * Ken Belford, Decompositions (Talonbooks)
    * George Bowering, My Darling Nellie Grey (Talonbooks)
    * Stephen Collis, On the Material (Talonbooks)
    * Jen Currin, The Inquisition Yours (Coach House Books)
    * Eve Joseph, The Secret Signature of Things (Brick Books)

Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize presented to the best illustrated book written for children: Supported by Kate Walker and Company

    * Maggie de Vries and Renné Benoit, Fraser Bear: A Cub’s Life (Greystone Books)
    * Julie Flett, Owls See Clearly at Night (Lii Yiiboo Nayaapiwak lii Swer): A Michif Alphabet (L’alfabet di Michif) (Simply Read Books)
    * Seiji Hiroe, The Cowboy Fisherman (self published)
    * Deborah Hodge and Brian Harris, Up We Grow! A Year in the Life of a Small, Local Farm (Kids Can Press)
    * Ian McAllister and Nicholas Read, The Salmon Bears: Giants of the Great Bear Rainforest (Orca Book Publishers)

Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize awarded to the best non-illustrated book written for children: Supported by the BC Library Association

    * Maggie de Vries, Hunger Journeys (HarperCollins Canada)
    * Polly Horvath, Northward to the Moon (Groundwood Books)
    * Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, Fatty Legs (Annick Press)
    * Gina McMurchy-Barber, Free as a Bird (Dundurn Press)
    * Susin Nielsen, Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom (Tundra Books)

Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award presented to the originating publisher and author(s) of the best book in terms of public appeal, initiative, design, production and content:
Supported by the BC Booksellers Association

    * Robert Budd, Voices of British Columbia: Stories from Our Frontier (Douglas & McIntyre)
    * Zsuzsi Gartner, editor, Darwin’s Bastards: Astounding Tales from Tomorrow (Douglas & McIntyre)
    * Gary Kent and Kim La Fave, Fishing with Gubby (Harbour Publishing)
    * Ross King, Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven (Douglas & McIntyre)
    * Grant Lawrence, Adventures in Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound (Harbour Publishing)

In early April, these nominees — who collectively will receive $14,000 in cash prizes — will be celebrated at a free event, the BC Book Prize Soirée in Vancouver (venue and date TBA in the coming weeks).

At the Soirée, the recipient of the 2011 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence will be announced. This award was established in 2003 by the Honourable Iona Campagnolo to recognize British Columbia writers who have contributed to the development of literary excellence in the province. In 2010, the seventh annual award was presented to Stan Persky.

The winners in the seven categories listed above will be announced at the Lieutenant Governor’s BC Book Prizes Gala on Thursday, April 21, 2011 at the Kay Meek Centre in West Vancouver. British Columbia’s Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Steven L. Point, OBC, will be in attendance.

A selection of the shortlisted authors (to be announced in the coming weeks) will be part of BC Book Prizes On Tour presented by Rio Tinto Alcan. This author reading tour will take finalists to schools, bookstores, and public libraries in many communities throughout BC April 8-20, 2011.

Details at www.bcbookprizes.ca