Joel Bakan, author of Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Your Children, is the winner of the ninth annual George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature, sponsored by Okanagan College and BC Bookworld.

The award was announced at the Word Ruckus event, which took place Saturday at the Laurel Packinghouse in Kelowna.

"The aim of the George Ryga Award is to acknowledge B.C. authors whose books shed light on important social issues and urge us to take action,"; said Okanagan College English and Women's Studies Professor Norah Bowman-Broz, who organizes the award.

"Bakan's book helps the reader understand how much businesses - like the pharmaceutical industry, multimedia organizations, and manufactured food companies - have gained access to our children's bodies and minds, and reminds us of the responsibility we have to our children today.";

Childhood Under Siege, published by Penguin Canada and now available in both the U.S. and the U.K, was one of more than 50 entries in the competition.

"I am honoured and humbled to be receiving this award, especially because of my admiration for George Ryga and his remarkable ability to deliver powerful messages about social justice through art and literature,"; Bakan said.

Bakan appeared in Kelowna on April 8 to hold a reading and discuss his book at the Bohemian Café.