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Butler Book Prize
A Greater Victoria author and an illustrator were recognized for their literary achievements at the 2011 Victoria Book Prize Awards Gala.
Jack Hodgins, author of The Master of Happy Endings was named the winner of the 8th annual City of Victoria Butler Book Prize.
Kristi Bridgeman, illustrator of Uirapurú (pronounced oor-a-pur-u), was named winner of the 4th annual Bolen Books Children's Book Prize.
Mayor Dean Fortin and Brian H. Butler of Butler Brothers Supplies presented Jack Hodgins with a $5,000 cheque for his novel published by Thomas Allen Publishers, for best book published in the preceding year in the categories of fiction, literary non-fiction and poetry.
Samantha Holmes, owner and general manager of Bolen Books, presented Kristi Bridgeman with a $5,000 cheque for her illustration of the children's book Uirapurú, written by P.K. Page and published by Oolichan Books.
The Master of Happy Endings is a wonderful tale of what happens when retired teacher Axel Thorstad posts an ad in the newspaper asking to be adopted by a family in need of a tutor. He hopes a return to teaching English literature will be a way out of the malaise which has enveloped him since his wife died.
Jurors for the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize were Theresa Kishkan, writer; Cathy Sorensen, bookseller; and Avi Silberstein, librarian. The jurors' citation stated, "The Master of Happy Endings is an exuberant novel about the power of narrative to serve as a compass for human odysseys. Hodgins' story is as much about the terrain of the heart and spirit as it is about the physical world and he moves confidently from one to the other, his literary skill in service to his rich imagination.";
Uirapurú is a magical story based on a Brazilian legend about a songbird reputed to sing the most beautiful
song in the world. P.K. Page's retelling of this tale is beautifully reiterated by Kristi Bridgeman's illustrations.
Jurors for the Bolen Books Children's Book Prize were Tracy Kendrick, librarian; Barbara Nickel, writer; and
Pat Oldroyd, bookseller. Their comments on Uirapurú included, "Kristi Bridgeman's extraordinary accomplishment in Uirapurú is to tell a story with illustrations so richly-layered and complex, so warm with colour, humour and detail so as to draw the reader into its haunting magic and back again, each rereading a discovery.";
Jack Hodgins, author of The Master of Happy Endings was named the winner of the 8th annual City of Victoria Butler Book Prize.
Kristi Bridgeman, illustrator of Uirapurú (pronounced oor-a-pur-u), was named winner of the 4th annual Bolen Books Children's Book Prize.
Mayor Dean Fortin and Brian H. Butler of Butler Brothers Supplies presented Jack Hodgins with a $5,000 cheque for his novel published by Thomas Allen Publishers, for best book published in the preceding year in the categories of fiction, literary non-fiction and poetry.
Samantha Holmes, owner and general manager of Bolen Books, presented Kristi Bridgeman with a $5,000 cheque for her illustration of the children's book Uirapurú, written by P.K. Page and published by Oolichan Books.
The Master of Happy Endings is a wonderful tale of what happens when retired teacher Axel Thorstad posts an ad in the newspaper asking to be adopted by a family in need of a tutor. He hopes a return to teaching English literature will be a way out of the malaise which has enveloped him since his wife died.
Jurors for the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize were Theresa Kishkan, writer; Cathy Sorensen, bookseller; and Avi Silberstein, librarian. The jurors' citation stated, "The Master of Happy Endings is an exuberant novel about the power of narrative to serve as a compass for human odysseys. Hodgins' story is as much about the terrain of the heart and spirit as it is about the physical world and he moves confidently from one to the other, his literary skill in service to his rich imagination.";
Uirapurú is a magical story based on a Brazilian legend about a songbird reputed to sing the most beautiful
song in the world. P.K. Page's retelling of this tale is beautifully reiterated by Kristi Bridgeman's illustrations.
Jurors for the Bolen Books Children's Book Prize were Tracy Kendrick, librarian; Barbara Nickel, writer; and
Pat Oldroyd, bookseller. Their comments on Uirapurú included, "Kristi Bridgeman's extraordinary accomplishment in Uirapurú is to tell a story with illustrations so richly-layered and complex, so warm with colour, humour and detail so as to draw the reader into its haunting magic and back again, each rereading a discovery.";
Submitted on October 18, 2011 in By David.
