NEWS: BC Book Awards Short List Announced

BC Book Prizes 2010 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 26th Annual BC Book Prizes.

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

Supported by Friesens and Webcom

• Annabel Lyon, The Golden Mean (Random House of Canada)
• Michael Turner, 8 X 10 (Doubleday Canada)
• Ian Weir, Daniel O’Thunder (Douglas & McIntyre)
• Deborah Willis, Vanishing and Other Stories, Penguin Group (Canada)
• Cathleen With, Having Faith in the Polar Girls’ Prison, Penguin Group (Canada)
  

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

Supported by the BC Teachers’ Federation

• Gillian Jerome, Red Nest (Nightwood Editions)
• Larissa Lai, Automaton Biographies (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• Miranda Pearson, Harbour (Oolichan Books)
• Fred Wah, is a door (Talonbooks)
• David Zieroth, The Fly in Autumn (Harbour Publishing)

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

Supported by Abebooks

• Ehor Boyanowsky, Savage Gods, Silver Ghosts: In the Wild with Ted Hughes (Douglas & McIntyre)
• Brian Brett, Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life (Greystone Books)
• Lorna Crozier, Small Beneath the Sky: A Prairie Memoir (Greystone Books)
• Charles Demers, Vancouver Special (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• Brian Payton, The Ice Passage: A True Story of Ambition, Disaster, and Endurance in the Arctic Wilderness (Doubleday 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:

• Neil Boyd, Larry Campbell, Lori Culbert, A Thousand Dreams: Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and the Fight for Its Future (Greystone Books)
• Brian Brett, Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life (Greystone Books)
• Lorne Dufour, Jacob’s Prayer (Caitlin Press)
• Ian Gill, All That We Say is Ours: Guujaaw and the Reawakening of the Haida Nation (Douglas & McIntyre)
• Andrew Scott, Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names: A Complete Reference to Coastal British Columbia (Harbour Publishing)

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

• Kristin Butcher, Return to Bone Tree Hill (Thistledown Press)
• Rachelle Delaney, The Ship of Lost Souls (HarperCollins Canada)
• Sylvia Olsen, Counting on Hope (Sono Nis Press)
• Carrie Mac, The Gryphon Project, Penguin Group (Canada)
• Robin Stevenson, Inferno (Orca Book Publishers)

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

• Robert Bateman (author/illustrator), Vanishing Habitats (Scholastic Canada)
• Fiona Bayrock (author), Carolyn Conahan (illustrator), Bubble Homes and Fish Farts (Charlesbridge Publishing)
• Jennifer Lloyd (author), Ashley Spires (illustrator) Ella’s Umbrellas (Simply Read Books)
• Kari-Lynn Winters (author), Christina Leist (illustrator) On My Walk (Tradewind Books)
• Frieda Wishinsky (author), Dean Griffiths (illustrator), Maggie Can’t Wait (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)

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 Duthie Family and Independent BC Bookstores

• Brian Brett and Greystone Books, Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life
• Masako Fukawa, Stanley Fukawa, and Harbour Publishing, Spirit of the Nikkei Fleet: BC's Japanese Canadian Fishermen
• Dal Richards, Jim Taylor, and Harbour Publishing, One More Time: The Dal Richards Story
• Andrew Scott and Harbour Publishing, Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names: A Complete Reference to Coastal British Columbia
• Michael Yahgulanaas and Douglas & McIntyre, Red: A Haida Manga
  

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 at The Listel Hotel in Vancouver Wednesday April 7, 2010 (time TBA). 

At the Soirée, the recipient of the 2010 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 2009, the sixth annual award was presented to Terry Glavin.

The winners in the seven categories listed above will be announced at the Lieutenant Governor’s BC Book Prizes Gala on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at Government House in Victoria. The event will be hosted by broadcaster Shelagh Rogers. 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 12-23, 2010.