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1985 BC Book Prizes
The First BC Book Prizes, 1985
The first B.C. Book Prizes gala, hosted by Vicki Gabereau, was an exuberant and unprecedented social success. Some 300 British Columbia writers, publishers, booksellers, librarians, and other dignitaries gathered in the Granville Island Room in Vancouver on October 18 to wine and dine and celebrate the presentation of the four $1,000 B.C. Book Prizes.
Islands at the Edge (Douglas &McIntyre) by the Islands Protection Society, a highly topical book urging the preservation of the South Moresby region of the Queen Charlotte Islands, was named The Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice as the title best exemplifying both saleability and superior production values. Bookseller Celia Duthie presented the prize named after her late father, and renowned Haida carver and artist Bill Reid spoke on behalf of the Islands Protection Society. His forceful testimonial about the need to keep the South Moresby wilderness unspoiled was the highlight among several fine speeches. Reid said of The South Moresby Sermon, his prose contribution to Islands at the Edge. "What it generally says is that you people are a bunch of murderers, the worst plague of locusts." He then quipped, "But it's nice to be here this evening. I think you do have some redeeming features." In the presence of several provincial officials, Reid received a standing ovation for his statements criticizing current government policy.
Another environmental title from Douglas & McIntyre, Hilary Stewart's Cedar, received The Roderick Haig-Brown Region Regional Prize for the book that best contributes to the appreciation and understanding of British Columbia. It was presented to Stewart by Haig-Brown's widow, Ann, who noted that her husband would surely have approved of the judges' selection.
The Hubert Evans Prize for Non-Fiction went to David Ricardo Williams for his highly touted biography, Duff: A Life in the Law (University of British Columbia Press); Williams wife, Laura, accepted the prize for him. Publisher Howard White represented Hubert Evans who, at 93, is the only living person after whom a B.C. Book Prize has been named. White read Evans's message from Sechelt, B.C.: "Having this award named after me is one of the greatest surprises of my life.... I see the prize as the culmination of my 70 years as an active fieelance writer."
Audrey Thomas, currently in Scotland on a Canada-Scotland writer-exchange program, was the winner of the Ethel Wilson Prize for Fiction, Poetry or Children's Literature, for her novel Intertidal Life (Stoddart which is set on Galiano Island. Thomas sent a
message read to the gathering by her editor and friend Bob Amussen, while Vicki Gabereau contributed a pre-recorded conversation, with her from Aberdeen, Scotland.
About a month prior to the awards ceremony, a short list of finalists for each prize had been announced. The other finalists in each category were as follows: for the Bill Duthie prize, John Edwards's The Roman Cookery of Apicius (Hartley&Marks) and Hilary Stewart's Cedar, for the Haig-Brown prize, Barry Gough's Gunboal Frontier (UBC Press) and Sound Heritage (D&M); edited by Saeko Usukawa; for the Evans prize, Michael Kluckner's Vancouver theWay It Was (Whitecap) and Daniel Raunet's Without Surrender Without Consent (D&M); and for the Wilson prize, Charles Lillard's poetry collection, A Coastal Range (Sono Nis) and Mary-Ellen Lang Collura's young-adult novel Winners (Western Producer Prairie Books). Four panels of three judges apiece met independently to choose the winning titles.
The gala evening of dinner and dancing attracted book people from around the province, and many remained on the dance floor with the Dick Smith Quintet until after one a.m. The ghost of Malcolm Lowry must also have been present because never have so manv drank so much to toast so few. The convivia1 and charitable atmospnere, however, could not completely obscure some organizational flaws, such as a caterer who decided one buffet line-up was enough for 300 people. Considering such first-time wrinkles, master ceremonies Gabereau persevered admirably, emceeing a raucous literary quiz and contributing her distinctive, acerbic one-liners.
Politically, the B.C. Book Prizes were also a major success. "I want to say how impressed I am with the number of people who have shown up for this event," said provincia1 secretary James Chabot in his address on behalf of the B.C. government. Chabot's ministry, along with the federal Department of Communications, topped the list of financial sponsors. Although the economic support from the city of Vancouver was relatively small, the event's oganizers will be proposing that the city play a larger part in the book prizes during Vancouver's upcoming centennial year. They also hope funding can be arranged to add separate prizes next year for poetry and children's books. The B.C. Book Prizes did break even this year, thanks to some heartening last-minute contributions, but funding levels need to be increased.
--Alan Twigg
The first B.C. Book Prizes gala, hosted by Vicki Gabereau, was an exuberant and unprecedented social success. Some 300 British Columbia writers, publishers, booksellers, librarians, and other dignitaries gathered in the Granville Island Room in Vancouver on October 18 to wine and dine and celebrate the presentation of the four $1,000 B.C. Book Prizes.
Islands at the Edge (Douglas &McIntyre) by the Islands Protection Society, a highly topical book urging the preservation of the South Moresby region of the Queen Charlotte Islands, was named The Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice as the title best exemplifying both saleability and superior production values. Bookseller Celia Duthie presented the prize named after her late father, and renowned Haida carver and artist Bill Reid spoke on behalf of the Islands Protection Society. His forceful testimonial about the need to keep the South Moresby wilderness unspoiled was the highlight among several fine speeches. Reid said of The South Moresby Sermon, his prose contribution to Islands at the Edge. "What it generally says is that you people are a bunch of murderers, the worst plague of locusts." He then quipped, "But it's nice to be here this evening. I think you do have some redeeming features." In the presence of several provincial officials, Reid received a standing ovation for his statements criticizing current government policy.
Another environmental title from Douglas & McIntyre, Hilary Stewart's Cedar, received The Roderick Haig-Brown Region Regional Prize for the book that best contributes to the appreciation and understanding of British Columbia. It was presented to Stewart by Haig-Brown's widow, Ann, who noted that her husband would surely have approved of the judges' selection.
The Hubert Evans Prize for Non-Fiction went to David Ricardo Williams for his highly touted biography, Duff: A Life in the Law (University of British Columbia Press); Williams wife, Laura, accepted the prize for him. Publisher Howard White represented Hubert Evans who, at 93, is the only living person after whom a B.C. Book Prize has been named. White read Evans's message from Sechelt, B.C.: "Having this award named after me is one of the greatest surprises of my life.... I see the prize as the culmination of my 70 years as an active fieelance writer."
Audrey Thomas, currently in Scotland on a Canada-Scotland writer-exchange program, was the winner of the Ethel Wilson Prize for Fiction, Poetry or Children's Literature, for her novel Intertidal Life (Stoddart which is set on Galiano Island. Thomas sent a
message read to the gathering by her editor and friend Bob Amussen, while Vicki Gabereau contributed a pre-recorded conversation, with her from Aberdeen, Scotland.
About a month prior to the awards ceremony, a short list of finalists for each prize had been announced. The other finalists in each category were as follows: for the Bill Duthie prize, John Edwards's The Roman Cookery of Apicius (Hartley&Marks) and Hilary Stewart's Cedar, for the Haig-Brown prize, Barry Gough's Gunboal Frontier (UBC Press) and Sound Heritage (D&M); edited by Saeko Usukawa; for the Evans prize, Michael Kluckner's Vancouver theWay It Was (Whitecap) and Daniel Raunet's Without Surrender Without Consent (D&M); and for the Wilson prize, Charles Lillard's poetry collection, A Coastal Range (Sono Nis) and Mary-Ellen Lang Collura's young-adult novel Winners (Western Producer Prairie Books). Four panels of three judges apiece met independently to choose the winning titles.
The gala evening of dinner and dancing attracted book people from around the province, and many remained on the dance floor with the Dick Smith Quintet until after one a.m. The ghost of Malcolm Lowry must also have been present because never have so manv drank so much to toast so few. The convivia1 and charitable atmospnere, however, could not completely obscure some organizational flaws, such as a caterer who decided one buffet line-up was enough for 300 people. Considering such first-time wrinkles, master ceremonies Gabereau persevered admirably, emceeing a raucous literary quiz and contributing her distinctive, acerbic one-liners.
Politically, the B.C. Book Prizes were also a major success. "I want to say how impressed I am with the number of people who have shown up for this event," said provincia1 secretary James Chabot in his address on behalf of the B.C. government. Chabot's ministry, along with the federal Department of Communications, topped the list of financial sponsors. Although the economic support from the city of Vancouver was relatively small, the event's oganizers will be proposing that the city play a larger part in the book prizes during Vancouver's upcoming centennial year. They also hope funding can be arranged to add separate prizes next year for poetry and children's books. The B.C. Book Prizes did break even this year, thanks to some heartening last-minute contributions, but funding levels need to be increased.
--Alan Twigg
Submitted on March 1, 2006 in By David.
