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Articles: 13 Articles for this author

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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

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A coffee table book about tugboats was selected by B.C. booksellers as their favourite title to sell in 2002 and the cancer-stricken novelist Carol Shields of Victoria delivered an unforgettable acceptance speech-even though she was at home in bed-at the 19th annual B.C. Book Prizes awards dinner in Vancouver, April 26, at the Bayshore Inn.

With well-considered stagecraft, Shields' daughter Anne Giardini accepted the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for her mother's final novel, Unless (Random House), holding aloft a cell phone. "Well, I have a phone call to make,"; she said. "So you'll have to bear with me for a moment.";

And it was only a moment.

Shields was waiting, like one of those 'ask a friend' experts on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. As the phone rang, Giardini confided, "She and Dad spent the day in bed together."; There was a slight pause. "He said parts of it were wonderful.";

Then Giardini cooed into the telephone, with sing-song tenderness, making sure everyone in the room could hear. "You won."; The audience of almost 400 people burst into applause, on cue, as Giardini held aloft the phone. It amounted to 30 seconds of kindness and reaching out to a family coping remarkably well with mortality.

"Anything you want to tell them?"; Giardini asked, teasingly. Having spent much of her writing career in Winnipeg, Carol Shields conveyed a compliment back to the audience. "Mom is thrilled to be living in British Columbia,"; said Giardini, "but don't tell anybody in Manitoba."; Some audience members were moved to tears when Giardini switched to a whispering voice to conclude the call.

"Goodnight. Love you. Bye.";

After hanging up, Giardini commended emcee Bill Richardson, poetry nominee Patrick Friesen and Vancouver Writers Festival organizer Alma Lee-all of whom were present-for being such close friends during her mother's illness. It was one of the finest acceptance speeches in the 19-year history of the event, rivaling sculptor Bill Reid's quivering-with-Parkinson's spiel about saving Haida Gwaii in 1985, First Nation kidlit author Shirley Sterling's tear-jerking tribute to her mother in Penticton in 1993 and Rita Moir's inspired male-bashing harangue in 2000.

Unless is also in contention for the 2003 Orange Prize, the world's most lucrative award for fiction, and was previously nominated for the Governor General's Award, the Booker Prize and the Giller Prize.
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CBC cameraman and stills photographer Robb Douglas took home the Bill Duthie Booksellers Choice Award with writers Peter Robson and Betty Keller, along with the publisher of the coffee table book, Howard White, for their collaborative work, Skookum Tugs (Harbour Publishing), an appreciation of the coastal tugboat industry. "I'm totally shocked,"; said Douglas, who admitted to being obsessive about the project. "I know I was a total pain in the ass."; The Booksellers' Choice award is shared by the winning book's publisher. "This is a terrific honour because of the other books nominated for this award,"; said White. "We only had to look at the amazing quality of Rob's photos to know we wanted to do a book.";

Harbour Publishing also claimed the Roderick Haig-Brown Prize for best book about the province with Tong: The Story of Tong Louie, Vancouver's Quiet Titan by former public relations man Ernest Perrault. Well-edited and entirely complimentary, this tribute to the less-than-forthcoming London Drugs owner also provides an intelligent overview of racial issues and social progress pertaining to Chinese Canadians in the Lower Mainland. Perrault was enthusiastic about the collaborative work that enabled his manuscript to become a fully-fledged work of history, as much as it's a biography.
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bill bissett was in Toronto for an opening of his latest art exhibit, unable to receive his Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize for peter among th towring boxes (Talonbooks). His publisher Karl Siegler of Powell River succinctly accepted the $2,000 prize. "Speaking for bill, I can only think of one word to say, and that is raging."; bissett is well-known for uttering either the words 'raging' or 'brilliant' to express his deep satisfaction with life and its myriad of wonders.
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The surprise-and surprised-winners of the evening were the wife-and-husband team of writer Sandra Shields (no relation to Carol Shields) and photographer David Campion who took home the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize for Where Fire Speaks (Arsenal Pulp), an appreciation of the Himba tribe in Namibia. Having spent two months with the cattle-raising Himbas, they thanked editor Stephen Osborn for his essential support and encouragement. "Wow!"; said Campion. "I'm really kind of honoured. There's really some heavy books out there.";
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Clearly a gifted writer in private, James Heneghan won an unprecedented third Sheila Egoff Children's Prize (for text) for his novel Flood (Groundwood). He joylessly thanked editor Norma Charles and his wife. Adult fiction writer Audrey Thomas is the only other author to have scored a literary hat trick at the Book Prizes.
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Relatives of the late Christie Harris turned out in full force for the first presentation of the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Prize. Presenter Ron Jobe of UBC's Language & Literacy Dept. gave the performance of his dreams, ignoring instructions to limit his remarks to five minutes, endeavoring to whip his audience into a Canucks-styled, white-napkin-twirling frenzy.

Jobe's protracted exuberance led to a confusing finale. The winning illustrator was Karen Reczuch of Acton, Ontario, for a book published in Ontario, Salmon Creek (Groundwood). Salmon Creek writer Annette LeBox gleefully accepted the illustration prize.
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Other presenters were CBC host Mark Forsythe, Vancouver Sun book pages editor Rebecca Wigod, Vancouver Writers Festival coordinator Alma Lee, BCBW publisher Alan Twigg, writer Aislinn Hunter and the new president of the B.C. Booksellers' Association, Robert Wiersema, a book reviewer who works for Munro's Books of Victoria.
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Wearing high heels, a kilt, a blouse, pearls and a tam-o'-shanter, half-cross-dressed Bill Richardson of CBC radio started the formal proceedings with a toast to the reader. Dressed like a split personality, Richardson nimbly skirted the borderline between media guy and literary guy.

Intimately involved in the writing game, he was one of the most comfortable, versatile emcees in Book Prizes history, delivering erudite commentary about the book industry while dropping self-referential quips about his attire.

"I thought I should move into modeling for romance covers,"; he said, going for "a kind of hybrid look, half Braveheart, half Mary Tyler Moore.";
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THE JUDGES: Hélène Cyr, Sheryl MacKay, Harold Rhenisch (Evans Prize); James Delgado, Terry Glavin, Alex Rose (Haig-Brown Prize); Janice Douglas, Sandy Duncan, Eva Wilson (Egoff Prize), Sue-Ann Alderson, Judith Saltman, Deborah Zagwyn (Harris Prize), Roy Miki, Susan Musgrave, Patricia Young (Livesay Prize) and Alma Lee, William New and George McWhirter (Wilson Prize).

[SUMMER 2003 BCBW]

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Hilary Stewart has become the first author to receive a second B.C. Book Prize.

Stewart's packaging of a journal belonging to a stranded British seaman who was a slave of Nootka Chief Maquinna, The Adventures and Sufferings of John R. Jewitt (Douglas & McIntyre), has won the Bill Duthie's Booksellers' Choice Award for outstanding book production.

When the book 'Prizes "were originated years ago, Stewart's Cedar (D&M) won the first Roderick Haig-Brown Prize for best book about B.C.

This year the Haig-Brown honour went to North Vancouver native W.H. Hagelund for his historical memoir Whalers No More (Harbour). In presenting the prize at the Hotel Vancouver on May 13, Alan Haig-Brown recalled his father's struggles in the 1950's to save Strathcona Park on Vancouver Island, an area now threatened by development.

George McWhirter, head of UBC's Creative Writing department, was so surprised to be named winner of the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for his novel, Cage (Oberon), that he arrived at the podium with his shoelaces untied. Few copies of McWhirter's novel about a B.C. priest in Mexico have been available in B. C. so he expected either Jane Rule's Memory Board or Robin Skelton's The Parrot Who Could to win.

The following evening McWhirter also won the F.R. Scott Prize Translation Prize for The Selected Poems of Jose Emilio Pacheco (New Directions), presented at the League of Canadian Poets convention at UBC. Patricia Young won the B.C. Poetry Prize for All I Ever Needed Was A Beautiful Room (Oolichan). P .K. Page won the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize for Brazilian Journal (Lester & Orpen Dennys). Nicola Morgan won the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Prize for Pride of Lions.

[BCBW 1988]

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THE BEST WAY TO Win a BC BOOK PRIZE is to write about Indians. Or trees. Or preferably both. That's the tradition that has emerged over the five year history of the province's top awards for books.

This year's ceremonies produced four winners with Native content or packaging. Coincidentally, the Book Prizes committee adopted a Native design, 'Eagle Full Circle' by Tofino's Roy Vickers, as its emblematic seal.

Stein: The Way of the River (Talonbooks $39.95), an historical and anthropological appreciation of the Stein Valley by Michael M'Gonigle and Wendy Wickwire, was selected by 30 bookstore operators to receive the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice award. Designed by Ken Seabrook, the multifaceted coffee table book was a key factor in the decision of Fletcher Challenge to declare a one year moratorium on the company's plans to log the Stein region.

The Duthie Prize is given for a superior production combined with strong sales. All winners since 1985 have featured Native culture or forestry.

UBC anthropologist Robin Ridington's study of the Dunne-xa tribe in the sub arctic, Trail to Heaven: Knowledge and Narrative in a Northern Native Community (Douglas & McIntyre $29.95), won the Hubert Evans Non Fiction Prize.

Selected over more widely celebrated authors Edith Iglauer (Fishing with John) and Paul Yee (Saltwater City), Ridington donated his prize money to help the Beaver Indians' legal battles with the federal government over land rights.

"I'm just the person who gave voice to the stories," said Ridington. Native leader Gary Ochre of the Dunne-xa tribe provided an impromptu and somewhat didactic plea for improved understanding of his people to the predominantly white audience of 300.

A second surprise winner was Celia Haig-Brown's Resistance and Renewal (Tillicum Library $10.95), a study of Native students forced to attend the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops.

Resistance and Renewal took the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize over The Accidental Airline, the second topselling B.C. book of the year in a row from Tim Spilsbury and Howard White.

With a withered totem pole on its cover, Charles Lillard's Circling North (Sono Nis) won the first Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize as a collection of poems about Lillard's extensive travels in the B.C interior and on the northern coastline.

Dorothy Livesay was on hand to present the newly-named prize in her honour and received a standing ovation in recognition of her writing career that spans half a century. The most eloquent acceptance speech of the evening was also one of the shortest. Previously nominated for her first children's book in the inaugural year of the B.C. Book Prizes, Mary Ellen Lang Collura of Parksville won the Sheila A. Egoff Prize for Children's Literature with Sunny (Irwin $9.95).

'What the book is really about is kids with damaged brains, grandmothers with broken hearts and families with sinking dreams," said Collura.

"For all the little kids in the world with Down Syndrome who like to ride horses and be happy, I accept this' award.'

Bill Shermbrucker of Capilano College won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for his fictionalized memoir of his mother, Mimosa (Talonbooks $11.95).

Representing the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Recreation and Culture, deputy minister Ken Mcleod announced a new Writers in Libraries program. Coordinated by Library Services and Cultural Services, the program will pay 50% of the expenses for libraries wishing to sponsor readings by B.C. writers.

Each library system can receive up to $1,000 per year. Funds not spent by the government will not necessarily be channeled into the literary arts. (For info, call Cultural Services at 356-1718 or Library Services at 356-1791.)

McLeod also announced that the Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing of Simon Fraser has been selected to undertake a study of the B.C. publishing industry and existing support programs for the industry and related organizations. It is scheduled to be tabled in late July.

The May 13th gala at' the Hotel Vancouver, ably hosted by CBC humourist Bill Richardson, was generally regarded as the most smoothly coordinated Book Prizes banquet to date.

For the first time, five of the six prizes went to books from B.C. publishers. Forty-nine publishers in Canada submitted 112 books for judging.

[Summer/BCBW 1989]

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When it comes to book prizes, emotional tampering is common. A judge for the Booker Prize once threatened to jump out of a window if Paul Scott's novel Staying On didn't win Britain's top fiction award. It won.
When Federico Andahazi won Argentina's top literary prize, the Fortabat, the wealthy, 72-year-old 'cement heiress' who sponsors the award, Amalia Locrosse de Fortabat, became incensed to learn the winning novel concerned the 'discovery' of the clitoris. She denounced Mr. Andahazi as "communist porn artist."; The Argentinian prize ceremony was cancelled. The jury stood its ground. The winner's cheque for $16,000 was reportedly slipped under Mr. Andahazi's door. His sales skyrocketed.
When she was judging the Roderick Haig-Brown Prize for 1987, Ann Haig-Brown, the author's widow, threatened the other two judges and the organizers by saying she would come to Vancouver and personally denounce the procedures if a certain journalist, whose book was less than flattering to her husband but was favoured to win by the other two judges, was given the Haig-Brown Prize. Intimidated by this fierce opposition, the two other judges reneged on their decision and the prize that year ended up going to an American who was technically ineligible because she wasn't a B.C. resident.
It's an imperfect world.

Judges for the B.C. Book Prizes need no longer fear tantrums or bullying. A simple mathematical system, in place since 1992, now accords points to each judge's top five picks. No fisticuffs or filibusters, just fairness.

This year's judges for the Haig-Brown Regional Prize panel are former head of UBC Special Collections Anne Yandle; longtime host of Radio Canada in Vancouver, Elizabeth Roux; and former Edmonton Journal books editor Lynne Van Luven, Director of Professional Writing at UVic's Department of Writing.

On the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize panel are UVic Bookstore manager Sarah Harvey; founding co-publisher of Rungh magazine, Zool Suleman; and last year's recipient Marilyn Bowering, whose novel Visible Worlds is appearing in American, British, Finnish, Greek and German editions. Bowering's Collected Poems project, with a CD, will appear from BeachHolme.

On the non-fiction panel are former Province editor Geoffrey Molyneux; coastal author Vicki Jensen; and New Society author Don Gayton, winner of the 1997 National Outdoor Book Award. Gayton, who lives in Nelson, is now working on a new book about the land-locked Kokanee for New Star's Transmontanus series, plus he's completing a collection of nature-related short stories to be called Man Facing West.

Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize judges are poet Sandy Shreve, coordinator of the Poetry in Transit project; award-winning poet and fiction writer George McWhirter, former chair of UBC's Creative Writing Dept.; and award-winning poet, editor, critic and BCBW columnist Gary Geddes.

Sheila Egoff Children's Prize judges are Richmond librarian Andreé Duval, chair of YACS (Young Adult and Children's Services division of the BCLA); former bookseller Ruth Meta, coordinator of the second annual Spread The Word literary celebration in Strathcona; and Nanaimo-based Native Studies educator Ellen White, author of Kwulasulwut, Stories From The Coast Salish.

The winning publisher and author of the Bill Duthie B.C. Booksellers' Choice award are selected by a ballot sent to the membership of the B.C. Booksellers Association.

[BCBW WINTER 1998]

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Emceed by Susan Musgrave, the 20th annual B.C. Book Prizes were hosted by The Honourable Lieutenant Governor Iona Campagnolo at Government House in Victoria, May 1st, 2004. Few speeches rose to the occasion but the grandeur of the venue was a compensation for those who attended. It marked the third time in 20 years that the event was held in Victoria.

Accepting her second Ethel Wilson Prize, Caroline Adderson praised her publishing house for its attentiveness ("They might be a cult as well as publisher";) and she thanked the six women with spinal cord injuries who helped with her research for the novel. "It's an honour to be nominated with my fellow writers,"; she said. "That's the prize. The award is secondary.";

Scott McIntyre praised his author Samuel Bawlf's "ten years of passion"; that led to their Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award and he thanked the Hon. Iona Campagnolo for her respectfulness, adding the B.C. book industry "has earned its way the hard way."; Bawlf said, "It's been a long time since I've been this nervous. I accept this award with deepest thanks.";

"Wow. I'm really, really surprised to have won this award,"; said First Nations' poet Philip Kevin Paul, who praised his 'poetry parents' Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane and described his Livesay Prize-winning collection as "an elegy to Saanich and also an elegy to my parents and to my mentor.";

P.K. Page confessed that when she received a phone call from the Lt. Governor, her first reaction was, "Good Lord, what on earth could I have done!"; She said she was particularly pleased the first recipient of the new award for literary excellence is a poet. "Poetry, in a race with prose, always trails the field,"; she said.

Lt. Governor Campagnolo was praised for being the first Lieutenant Governor in Canada to sponsor a literary prize. In fact, the Lieutenant Governor's office in British Columbia has supported the annual literary medal and citations for B.C. historical writing, in conjunction with the B.C. Historical Society, since 1983. The evening marked the third time in 20 years that the gala was held in Victoria. It has been held 14 times in Vancouver and once in Penticton, in 1993.

Maria Tippett, Dennis Foon and Donald Luxon were not in attendance to receive their prizes. Tippett was in Cambridge; Foon was in Ontario. Luxton was in Vancouver accepting another prize. Compiled and edited by Luxton, Building the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia (Talonbooks) had previously won the Mark Madoff Award for Outstanding Publication by the Hallmark Society, as well as a City of Vancouver Heritage Award of Honour.

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The Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice:

A Batch of Biscuits (Bottesini) Kathleen Nichol
British Columbia Heritage Cookbook (Whitecap) Mary Evans-Atkinson
Cedar (D&M) Hilary Stewart
Environmental Anarchy (Cappis Press) Charles Keenan
Islands At The Edge (D&M) Islands Prot. Soc.
The Okanagan (Self-published) Gordon Peachey
The Raven Steals The Light (D&M) Reid & Bringhurst
The Roman Cookery of Apicius (Hartley & Marks) John Edwards
The Selkirks Nelson's Mountains (Footprint) J .F. Garden
Steam in Canada (Launch Pad) Donald C. Lewis
Vancouver The Way It Was (Whitecap) Michael Kluckner
West Coast of Vancouver Island (Special Int.) P. Don Watmough
Wings Over The West (Harbour) John Condit
The World of Carmian Wine (D&M) John Schreiner

The Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize:

...And When You Go Fishing. ..(Oolichan) Ron Nelson
The Automobile Saga of B.C. 1864-1914 (Sono Nis) G.W. Taylor
Barkerville The Town (Hancock House) Lorraine Harris
Blakeburn (Self-published) Don Blake
The Bootlegger's Lady (Hancock House) E. Sager & M. Frye
Bunch Grass to Barbed Wire (Heritage Com.) Heritage Committee
Cedar (D&M) Hilary Stewart
Convergences (Coach House) Lionel Kearns
Discover Barkerville (Special Int.) Richard T. Wright
Environmental Anarchy (Cappis Press) Charles J. Keenan
Exploring The Outdoors, S.W. B.C. (Hancock House) T. Ebert & A. Grass
Four Walls in the West (R.F.P.O. Assoc.) Jack D. Scott
Fraser Canyon Highway (Hancock House) Lorraine Harris
Growing up British in B.C. (U.B.C.) Jean Barman
Gunboat Frantier (U.B.C.) Barry M. Gough
A Haida Potlatch (D&M) Ulli Steltzer
Helicopters: The B.C. Story (Canav Books) Peter Corley-Smith & David N. Parker
Islands At The Edge (D&M) Islands Prot. Soc.
Letters From Windermere (U.B.C.) R. Cole Harris & Elizabeth Phillips
never a time to trust (Cinnabar) Joe Garner
The New Reality (New Star Books) Com. on Alternatives
Novice In The North (Hancock House) William M. Robinson
The Okanagan (Self-published) Gordon Peachey
Rafting in B.C. (Hancock House) Doug VanDine & Bernard Fandrich
Sound Heritage (D&M) Saeko Usukawa
Sternwheelers and Steam Tugs (Sono Nis) Robert Turner
Sunlight In The Shadows (Oxford) Michael Breuer & Kerry Mason Dodd
Tales From The Canadian Rockies (Hurtig) Brian Patton
Vancouver The Way It Was (Whitecap) Michael Kluckner
Walhachin Catastrophe or Camelot? (Hancock House) Joan Weir
Warriors of the North Pacific (Sono Nis) Charles Lillard
Who Killed Janet Smith? (Macmillan) Edward Starkins
Wings Over The West (Harbour) John Condit
Winners & Losers, Gamblers All (Oxford) Michael Breuer & Rosemary Neering

The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize:

Adam And Eve In Middle Age (Sono Nis) Rona Murray
All Kinds Of Magic (D&M) Florence McNeil
Among Friends (Doubleday) L.R. Wright
Barkerville (Thistledown) Florence McNeil
Bearers Of The Sun (Integrity Int.) Chris Foster
A Bolt Of White Cloth (General) Leon Rooke
A Coastal Range (Sono Nis) Charles Lillard
Confabulations (Oolichan) Sharon Thesen
Convergences (Coach House) Lionel Kearns
Dazzled (Irwin) John Gray
Dinner At Auntie Rose's (Annick) Janet Munsil
Expecting Rain (Oolichan) Stephen Scobie
Fetishistic (Porcupine's Quill) Derk Wynand
Frieze (Thistledown) John Lent
Fury (Oberon) David Watmough
Gold Earrings (Pulp) Sharon Stevenson
The Gulf Island Connection (Crook) Marion Crook
How The Blind Make Love (Orca Sound) Terry Gould
Intertidal Life (General) Audrey Thomas
It's A Good Thing (Annick) Joan Buchanan
A Long Way To Oregon (Mosaic) Anne Marriott
The Man Who Sang In His Sleep (Porcupine's Q.) Robin Skelton
Nanoose Bay suite (Oolichan) Kevin Roberts
New: West Coast Fiction (Pulp) Fred Candelaria
Nobody Asked Me (Lorimer) Elizabeth Brochmann
Northbound (Thistledown) Leona Gom
Open is broken (Longspoon) Betsy Warland
Paula Lake (Oberon) George McWhirter
Quincy Rumpel (D&M) Betty Waterton
The Rude visitors (Annick) Gail Chislett
Touch to My Tongue (Longspoon) Daphne Marlatt
Safari Ride (Three Trees) Cecilia Mavrow
Seasonal (Sono Nis) Ron Smith
Sheltering Bridges (Harlequin) Bobby Hutchinson
Sheba and Solomon (Eleftheria) Karen Mulhallen
Smoke Without Exit (Sono Nis) Brian Brett
Snow Apples (D&M) Mary Razzell
Summer of Discovery (Collins) Eric Wilson
The Sunday Before Winter (General) Marilyn Bowering
Vampires of Ottawa (Collins) Eric Wilson
Winners (Western Prairie Producer) Mary Ellen Collura
Women & Words The Anthology (Harbour) ed. W.C. Edit. Coll.
Yellow Fever (Playwrights Ca.) Rick Shiomi
Your Time My Time (Press Porcepic) Ann Walsh

The Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize:

Black Wolf (D&M) Betty Keller
Convergences (Coach House) Lionel Kearns
Duff: A Life In The Law (UBC) David Ricardo Williams
Ice Runway (D&M) Roy Mason
America, The Last Domino (New Star) Stan Persky
Orwell's Message (Harbour) George Woodcock
Parliament. VS. People (New Star) Philip Resnick
Piper's Lagoon (Self-published) Vi Henderson
Reforming Hunan Services (UBC) M. Clague, R. Dill, R. Seebaran & B. Wharf
Sternwheelers and Steam Tugs (Sono Nis) Robert Turner
Walhachin (Hancock House) Joan Weir
Vancouver The Way It Was (Whitecap) Michael Kluckner
We Went To War (Canada's Wings) Roy Ito
Who Killed Janet Smith? (Macmillan) Edward Starkins
Wings Over The West (Harbour) John Condit
Without Surrender Without Consent (D&M) Daniel Raunet

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2005 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize Nominees
Sponsored by the BC Teachers' Federation
Aislinn Hunter, The Possible Past (Polestar Books)
Eve Joseph, The Startled Heart (Oolichan Books)
Patrick Lane, Go Leaving Strange (Harbour)
D.C. Reid, The Hunger (Ekstasis Editions)
Jan Zwicky, Robinson's Crossing (Brick Books)
(Judges: Brad Cran, Crispin Elsted and Angela Hryniuk)

2005 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize Nominees
Sponsored by Friesens and Transcontinental Printers
Bill Gaston, Sointula (Raincoast)
Pauline Holdstock, Beyond Measure (Cormorant Books)
Theresa Kishkan, A Man in a Distant Field
(The Dundurn Group)
Annabel Lyon, The Best Thing For You
(McClelland & Stewart)
Patrick Taylor, The Apprenticeship of Dr. Laverty
(Insomniac Press)
(Judges: John Harris, David Watmough and John Burns)

2005 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize Nominees
Sponsored by the BC Library Association
Sandy Frances Duncan, Gold Rush Orphan (Ronsdale Press)
Shelley Hrdlitschka, Kat's Fall (Orca Book Publishers)
Susan Juby, Miss Smithers (HarperCollins Canada)
Eileen Kernaghan, The Alchemist's Daughter
(Thistledown Press)
Sylvia Olsen, White Girl (Sono Nis Press)
(Judges: Carolyn Cutt, Irene Watts and Bill Valgardson)

2005 Hubert Evans Non-fiction Prize Nominees
Sponsored by Abebooks
Katherine Gordon, The Slocan: Portrait of a Valley
(Sono Nis Press)
Patrick Lane, There is a Season (McClelland & Stewart)
Charles Montgomery, The Last Heathen (Douglas & McIntyre)
Alan Twigg, First Invaders:
The Literary Origins of British Columbia (Ronsdale Press)
Rex Weyler, Greenpeace: How a Group of Ecologists, Journalists and Visionaries Changed the World
(Raincoast Books)
(Judges: Maria Tippett, Lynne Bowen and George Fetherling)

2005 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize Nominees
Sponsored by Sandhill Book Marketing and Dempsey Distributing
Daniel Francis, L.D.: Mayor Louis Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Stephen Hume, Alexandra Morton, Betty C. Keller,
Rosella M. Leslie, Otto Langer and Don Staniford,
A Stain Upon the Sea: West Coast Salmon Farming (Harbour)
Robert Hunter and Robert Kaziere,
The Greenpeace to Amchitka:
An Environmental Odyssey (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Jay Sherwood, Surveying Northern British Columbia:
A Photo Journal of Frank Swannell (Caitlin Press)
Nancy J. Turner, Plants of Haida Gwaii (Sono Nis Press)
(Judges: Richard Hopkins, Theresa Kishkan and Rosemary Neering)

2005 BC Booksellers' Choice Award Nominees
in Honour of Bill Duthie
Sponsored by the BC Booksellers' Association and Duthie Books
Douglas Coupland and Douglas & McIntyre,
Souvenir of Canada 2
Stephen Hume and Harbour Publishing,
Raincoast Chronicles 20: Lillies & Fireweed:
Frontier Women of British Columbia
Anny Scoones and Hedgerow Press,
Home: Tales of a Heritage Farm
David Suzuki and Wayne Grady and Greystone Books,
Tree: A Life Story
Harvey Thommasen and Kevin Hutchings and Harbour Publishing, Birds of the Raincoast: Habits and Habitat
(Judged by the membership of the BC Booksellers'Association)

2005 Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize Nominees
Sponsored by an anonymous donor
Stefan Czernecki, Ride 'em Cowboy (Simply Read Books)
Earl Einarson and Julie Flett,
The Moccasins (Theytus Books Ltd.)
Adrienne Mason and Nancy Gray Ogle, Owls (Kids Can Press)
Marilynn Reynolds and Renné Benoit,
Goodbye to Griffith Street (Orca)
Richard Thompson, Maggee Spicer and Kirsti Anne Wakelin, When They Are Up (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)
(Judges: Barbara Nichol, Andrea Spalding and Ron Lightburn)

Winner: 2005n Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence
Robert Bringhurst is the recipient of the second annual award, 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.

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Bun toss comes of age

The glass is half empty. The glass is half full. Now operated under the aegis of the Lieutenant Governor's office, complete with mandatory forelock pulling and a toast to the Queen, the 21-year-old BC Book Prizes gala is more impressive to some, less fun to others.

"I remember well the first awards,"; noted semi-retiring CTV talk show host Vicki Gabereau, reappearing to host the affair after a 21-year interim. "You were all a lot drunker than you are now.";

With a minimum of self-deprecating wit, Gabereau ably noted the deaths of Pierre Berton and CBC's David Grierson while playing second fiddle to Lieutenant Governor Iona Campagnolo. The evening climaxed with Campagnolo's hymn of praise for the "sheer raw courage"; of Robert Bringhurst, winner of the second annual Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence.

"It is impossible to imagine a more worthy recipient,"; cooed the LG, who engineered the prize to honour the creator of a body of work who is deemed to exhibit mastery of the written word. Poet and editor Bringhurst thanked "cantankerous"; bookseller Bill Hoffer, Vic Marks ("one of the most reclusive publishers in British Columbia";) and his long-time publisher Scott McIntyre, adding, "It might come as a surprise to you that part of the value of winning a prize like this is the money that comes with it."; [Judged by Celia Duthie, Daniel Francis & last year's recipient P.K. Page]

The most memorable acceptance speech was made by former Department of Fisheries employee Otto Langer, one of six co-authors of A Stain Upon the Sea, an anti-fish farming volume from Harbour Publishing that won the Roderick Haig-Brown Prize for best book about the province. [Judged by Richard Hopkins, Theresa Kishkan & Rosemary Neering]

"Above all, I'd like to thank my ex-employers because without their incompetence this book would not have been possible,"; Langer said. "And I would like to thank the fish farms and the multi-national corporations because without their greed this book would not have been possible."; Langer concluded by urging the audience to always ask if their salmon is farmed or wild.

Another dark horse recipient was novelist Pauline Holdstock who took home the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for Beyond Measure (Cormorant). "I immigrated to B.C. twice,"; she said, "and I'm really glad I stayed the second time."; [Judged by John Burns, John Harris & David Watmough]

Two rising stars of the Canlit scene, Susan Juby and Charles Montgomery, received the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize and the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize respectively for Miss Smithers (Harpercollins) and The Last Heathen (Douglas & McIntyre). [Egoff judges Carolyn Cutt, Bill Valgardson & Irene Watts; Evans judges Lynne Bowen, George Fetherling & Maria Tippett]

"This kind of makes up for the fact that I failed miserably in the Miss Smithers beauty contest,"; Juby said. Fresh from winning the lucrative Charles Taylor Prize, Montgomery thanked his friend Michael Scott, editor Saeko Usukawa and publisher Scott McIntyre.

For the first time a B.C.-published book, Goodbye to Griffith Street (Orca), illustrated by Renné Benoit of Ontario and written by Marilyn Reynolds of Victoria, received the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Prize. [Judged by Barbara Nichol, Andrea Spalding & Ron Lightburn]

Another multi-author title from Harbour Publishing, Birds of the Raincoast: Habits and Habitat, received the newly renamed BC Booksellers' Choice Award in Honour of Bill Duthie, as selected by the membership of the BC Booksellers Association.

Jan Zwicky was not present to receive the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize for Robinson's Crossing (Brick Books). [Judged by Brad Cran, Crispin Elsted & Angela Hryniuk]

Billeh Nickerson was a breath of fresh air presenting the Livesay Prize. For the most part, presenters out-shone recipients in speechifying. Alan Haig-Brown recalled his father with a quote from John Steinbeck; Stephen Osborne gave an astute appreciation of Hubert Evans; Janice Douglas touted equal rights for children's literature; Women In Print bookseller Carol Dale recalled Bill Duthie. "Mr. D., to many of us,"; she said, "was a mentor to so many in this industry, not just booksellers.";

In recalling the collective history of the B.C. book community, Dale noted the BC Book Prizes were an outgrowth of the Eaton's Book Award, a singular prize that was presented in a basement. Now there are twice as many prizes as there were in 1985, when Gabereau emceed the first bun toss on Granville Island, but half as many laughs.

Such is adulthood.

It adds up to social progress. In one of the best speeches of the evening, Ottawa bureaucrat Gordon Platt reported the findings from a recent federal survey on reading habits, yet to be released, that reveal book reading habits in Canada are "rock solid."; Whereas only 50% of people in the U.S. have read a book in the past year, 80% of Canadians have read a book in the past year. "British Columbians score the highest,"; Platt said. "90% of British Columbians read a book last year. It's the most book friendly and literate place probably on the planet.";
BCBW

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There were 302 entries for this year's B.C. Book Prizes, capably hosted by Bill Richardson. For only the second time in 22 years, neither Douglas & McIntyre nor Harbour Publishing had a winning title.
In the six categories for which books published outside of the province were eligible, the only homemade winner was Stan Persky for The Short Version: An ABC Book (New Star). Accepting the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize on behalf of Persky, who was in Berlin, his usually talkative publisher Rolf Maurer told an audience of nearly 400 people at the Marriott Pinnacle Hotel in Vancouver, "Gosh. I'm non-plussed.";
The best-crafted Book Prize acceptance speeches came from John Vaillant and James Delgado. Delgado, co-recipient of the BC Booksellers' Choice Award in Honour of Bill Duthie, for Waterfront: The Illustrated Maritime Story of Greater Vancouver (Stanton, Atkins & Dosil), recently announced his plans to resign as the Director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum, a position he has held since 1991. "In many ways Waterfront is the Maritime Museum I [had] hoped to build in this community,"; he said, regretfully.
Vaillant picked up his third major prize of the year for The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed (Knopf), winner of the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. "To be associated in any way with Roderick Haig-Brown is a great honour,"; said Vaillant, "To have it recognized and received locally is the greatest honour I could receive."; The smoothly-run affair included more than its usual share of surprised winners.
"This is quite a shocking honour,"; said Tanya Lloyd Kyi, winner of the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize for The Blue Jean Book: The Story Behind the Seams (Annick Press). Her history of blue jeans for young readers was a project suggested to her by Colleen MacMillan of Annick Press.
"I'm quite humbled,"; said Barbara Nickel, accepting the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize for Hannah Waters and the Daughter of Johann Sebastian Bach (Penguin). Nickel acknowledged the influence of the UBC Creative Writing program and fellow writer Rhea Tregabov. "Wow,"; said Charlotte Gill, accepting the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for Ladykiller, a short story collection that doubled as her thesis at the UBC Creative Writing program. "It's amazing how nervous one can be when they haven't prepared anything.";
The shortest speech [non-speech] came from Meredith Quartermain, winner of the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize for Vancouver Walking (NeWest Press). "I have nothing, even jotted down, to say,"; she said.
Some of the best lines of the evening came from new Book Prizes president Michael Hayward who noted publishing "is a relatively slow way to make a fortune."; Jack Hodgins ended the night on a high note, accepting the third Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence with a typically self-effacing view of his writing career, including a tribute to his wife of 45 years, Diane, "who, when I told her what I wanted to do with my life, she married me anyway.";

[Jack Hodgins' speech is posted at www.abcbookworld.com under Hodgins].

[BCBW 2006]

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HOW WE STACK UP AFTER 20 YEARS, SOME STATISTICS TO PONDER-WINNING TITLES FOR BC BOOK PRIZES [Excludes Booksellers' Choice Award for which only B.C. publishers are eligible: (20/20)]

Published out of B.C. vs. Published in B.C.

Harris Prize 2/2 (100%) 0/2 --

Wilson Prize 17/20 (85%) 3/20 (15%)

Egoff Prize 15/18 (83%) 3/18 (17%)

Evans Prize 7/20 (35%) 13/20 (65%)

Livesay Prize 6/19 (32%) 13/19 (68%)

Haig-Brown Prize 0/20 -- 20/20 (100%)

TOTALS 47/99 (47.5%) 52/99 (52.5%)

Books published by B.C. publishers have been eligible for 119 prizes in 20 years. Of all the Haig-Brown and Booksellers' Choice prizes presented since 1985, Douglas & McIntyre and Harbour Publishing have received 28 out of 40 (70%). Groundwood Books in Ontario, an affiliate of D&M, has won exactly half of the 18 Egoff Prizes. Total wins by B.C. publishing houses are Talonbooks (5), Arsenal Pulp (3), Whitecap (3), Oolichan (2), Sono Nis (2), Polestar (2), UBC (2), Western Canada Wilderness Committee (2), Orca (1), Raincoast (1), Beach Holme (1), Ben-Simon (1), Caitlin (1), Gorse (1), Cavendish (1), Salal (1). Of the 72 prizes won by books published in B.C., D&M (27) and Harbour (15) have received 42 of them (58%).

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Somebody's gotta say it. the laudatory sophistication level of the BC Book Prizes' organization is being consistently sabotaged by lame acceptance speeches.

One of the worst speeches in 24 years was made by Egoff Prize winner Polly Horvath who spent less than a minute on stage, making a trite joke about successfully bribing the judges, before walking off with her cheque.

Livesay Poetry Prize winner Rita Wong went the esoteric route, advising everyone, "The spirit of water is what makes everything possible.";

High-minded Robert Bringhurst didn't deign to show up to receive his Evans Non-Fiction Prize, we were told, because he "hates"; such ceremonies. This hatred didn't stop him from accepting the second Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence from the Book Prizes in 2005.

A book about the trend towards "eating locally"; was judged the best book about British Columbia, but its authors J.B. MacKinnon and Alisa Smith also didn't show. No explanation was given when a representative from Ontario's Random House spoke for 20 seconds to accept their Haig-Brown Prize. Perhaps the champions of localism were away.

By contrast, Ian McAllister and his wife Karen arrived from their home on Denny Island, flying down from Bella Bella, leaving the kids overnight in Campbell River, just on the chance he might receive the Booksellers' Choice Award for The Last Wild Wolves. He did-along with its publisher Rob Sanders. "I hope this book gives a little back to the coast that we are trying to preserve,"; said McAllister.

This year's Lieutenant Governor's Award winner Gary Geddes did his best by quoting a Chilean activist who told him that in his country, "Your book may survive [in Chile] but you may not,"; followed by Margaret Atwood's quip, "You can say what you want [in Canada] because nobody is listening."; Alone among the recipients, Geddes had the good manners to conclude, "I am deeply moved by this gesture of belief in my work.";

When the literary tribe gathers annually to break bread, you'd think more than one person would overtly express appreciation-or acknowledge collectivity.

The evening's only animated speech was delivered by kidlit writer Robert Heidbreder who delivered a stand-up comedy routine about his mother while accepting the Harris Prize for best illustrated book. His illustrator Kady MacDonald Denton was home in Peterborough.

Meanwhile the hard-working organizers, Liesl Jauk and Bryan Pike, have done a terrific job spreading the Book Prizes beyond a ballroom. Their company Rebus Creative coordinated 17 finalists on tours and sponsored 64 events in 27 communities in two weeks. In addition, $12,000 worth of nominated titles was donated to 24 B.C. schools.

The ascendancy of the Lieutenant Governor at the annual Book Prizes bun toss can be problematic for any British Columbians who don't believe in kings and queens and hereditary power, but Rt. Hon. Steven Point was the only person with the gumption to use the podium to make a political statement. Pleased to hear Book Prize Society president Sally Harding acknowledge that downtown Vancouver is in Coast Salish territory, the First Nations L.G. joked, "We are just having difficulties collecting the taxes."; Then he paused. "Don't tell the premier I said that.";

[BCBW 2008]

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BC Book Prizes 2012 Shortlists

Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize awarded to the author of the best work of fiction:
Supported by Friesens and Webcom

â?¢ Michael Christie, The Beggar's Garden (HarperCollins Canada)
â?¢ Esi Edugyan, Half-Blood Blues (Thomas Allen Publishers)
â?¢ Frances Greenslade, Shelter (Random House Canada)
â?¢ Steven Price, Into That Darkness (Thomas Allen Publishers)
â?¢ D. W. Wilson, Once You Break a Knuckle (Hamish Hamilton Canada, Penguin Group 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:
Supported by Transcontinental Printing

â?¢ Chuck Davis, The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver (Harbour Publishing)
â?¢ Fred Herzog, Fred Herzog: Photographs (Douglas & McIntyre)
â?¢ Andrew Nikiforuk, Empire of the Beetle: How Human Folly and a Tiny Bug Are Killing North America's Great Forests (Greystone Books in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation)
â?¢ Sheryl Salloum, The Life and Art of Mildred Valley Thornton [#4 UABC series] (Mother Tongue Publishing)
â?¢ Scott Watson, Thrown: British Columbia's Apprentices of Bernard Leach and Their Contemporaries (Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, The University of British Columbia)

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

â?¢ Carmen Aguirre, Something Fierce (Douglas & McIntyre)
â?¢ Gary Geddes, Drink the Bitter Root (Douglas & McIntyre)
â?¢ Charlotte Gill, Eating Dirt (Greystone Books in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation)
â?¢ Theresa Kishkan, Mnemonic: A Book of Trees (Goose Lane Editions)
â?¢ JJ Lee, The Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit (McClelland & Stewart Ltd.)

Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize awarded to the author of the best work of poetry:
Supported by the BC Teachers' Federation

â?¢ Patrick Lane, The Collected Poems of Patrick Lane (Harbour Publishing)
â?¢ Susan McCaslin, Demeter Goes Skydiving (The University of Alberta Press)
â?¢ Garry Thomas Morse, Discovery Passages, Talonbooks
â?¢ John Pass, crawlspace (Harbour Publishing)
â?¢ Sharon Thesen, Oyama Pink Shale (House of Anansi Press)

Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize presented to the best illustrated book written for children: Supported by Ampersand Inc.

� Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been? by Dan Bar-el, illustrated by Rae Maté, (Simply Read Books)
â?¢ Grandpa's Girls by Nicola I. Campbell, illustrated by Kim La Fave (Groundwood Books)
â?¢ Dalen & Gole: Scandal in Port Angus written and illustrated by Mike Deas (Orca Book Publishers)
â?¢ Shake-Awakes by Robert Heidbreder, illustrated by Marc Mongeau (Tradewind Books)
â?¢ When I Was Small by Sara O'Leary, illustrated by Julie Morstad (Simply Read Books)

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

â?¢ Glen Huser, The Runaway (Tradewind Books)
â?¢ Pamela Porter, I'll Be Watching (Groundwood Books)
â?¢ Karen Rivers, What is Real (Orca Book Publishers)
â?¢ Caitlyn Vernon, Nowhere Else on Earth: Standing Tall for the Great Bear Rainforest (Orca Book Publishers)
â?¢ Moira Young, Blood Red Road (Doubleday Canada)

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 BC Booksellers Association

â?¢ Chuck Davis, The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver (Harbour Publishing)
â?¢ Charlotte Gill, Eating Dirt (Greystone Books in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation)
â?¢ Fred Herzog, Fred Herzog: Photographs (Douglas & McIntyre)
â?¢ Gary Hynes, Island Wineries of British Columbia (TouchWood Editions)
â?¢ Robert J. Wiersema, Walk Like a Man: Coming of Age with the Music of Bruce Springsteen (Greystone Books)