1999 acceptance speech for the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize won by Peter Newman for Titans (1998)

NEWMAN: "I'm very touched and grateful because this is a B.C. Book Prize and it finally gives me a home... Toronto's a funny place. In Toronto, it only takes one person to change a lightbulb: one person to hold the light-bulb while the world turns around him. In B.C. it takes 13 people to change a light-bulb: one person to change it and 12 others to do an environmental impact study...
"It's tough being a writer in British Columbia. We're competing with God. There are so many diversions. Nature offers so much... A lot of people think I'm in the establishment; I'm not. I'm a sort of court jester for the establishment. In Shakespeare's time, the court jester was an interesting character who brought news. I think of myself that way...
"The private sector now is basically running the country because the public sector is bankrupt. And these people are the most selfish you can imagine... They have no feelings about the country-but they're also essential to our future. So it's part of the mandate of writers to expose them for what they are... They think it's never too late to have a happy childhood...
"I came here when I was ten years old, a Jewish immigrant running away from Nazi-occupied Europe. I didn't know anybody, I couldn't speak a word of English. Now I'm being attacked by the Globe and Mail-what a great country... because it's not finished yet... It's a country that a million people a year want to come to... Don't take Canada for granted. Those of us who came here never take it for granted. We know that this country has a mandate from heaven... I really appreciate this prize and I hope to see you again. Thank you very much.";

[BCBW SUMMER 1999]