Vancouver Book Award finalists
August 22nd, 2024
The City of Vancouver Book Award finalists for 2024 has been selected by a jury of Vancouver writers including Dina Del Bucchia, Hari Alluri and Toke Adejoye. This award recognizes authors of excellence in any genre, and the winner will be announced at the 2024 Vancouver Book Award Ceremony on October 25, as part of the Vancouver Writer’s Fest.
Here are the five authors and their respective books that made it to this shortlist:
Jen Sookfong Lee’s (at right) memoir, Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart (McClelland & Stewart $24.95) delves into her lifelong relationship with pop culture as a means of exploring themes of family, identity and belonging. Growing up as the child of Chinese immigrant parents, Jen found solace in pop culture, which helped her cope with family tragedy and societal expectations. But as she grew older, she realized how pop culture often excluded people like her, reinforcing stereotypes and invisibility. With wit and honesty, Jen reflects on how figures such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Bob Ross and the influence of The Joy Luck Club shaped her experiences as an Asian woman, single mother, and writer. Her memoir connects these pop culture moments with her personal struggles, highlighting the profound impact of cultural narratives on both individual and collective identities.
C.A. Tanaka
C.A. Tanaka’s Baby Drag Queen (Orca $10.95) follows the story of Ichiro, a transgender high school senior, who dreams of escaping his financial struggles by buying a camper van to live off the grid with his single mother. To achieve this, he works as a dishwasher and secretly performs as a drag queen at a local club. When he learns about a drag contest with prize money that could make his dream a reality, he decides to participate. However, Ichiro’s secret life as a drag performer is at risk of being exposed, and he fears how his friends will react if they find out.
Reuben George
It Stops Here: Standing Up for Our Lands, Our Waters, and Our People (Allen Lane $34.00) is a personal account by Rueben George, a leader of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, detailing their fight against colonization and the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion on their unceded lands. The book highlights the spiritual, cultural and political resurgence of the Tsleil-Waututh people as they reclaim their lands, waters, laws and food systems. George shares stories of his family’s deep ancestral connections to what is now Vancouver and the Burrard Inlet, emphasizing the importance of Indigenous law and the need to prioritize sacred lands over extractive industries. The book serves as both a memoir and a call to action, urging settler society to honor Indigenous sovereignty.
Joni Low
What Are Our Supports? (Richmond Art Gallery $45.00) by Joni Low and Jeff O’Brien, eds. explores how artist groups in downtown Vancouver respond to environmental, social, and political challenges by creating forms of connection, self-organization and mutual aid. These artists use friendship, collective action, and pleasure activism as mediums to foster change in a city dominated by urban development and regulation. The book documents their projects and includes critical essays, poetry, and reprinted texts by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Celine Condorelli, highlighting the frameworks artists propose for creating meaningful change in precarious times.
Henry Tsang
Author Henry Tsang’s book, White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver (Arsenal Pulp $32.95) examines the anti-Asian riots orchestrated by the Asiatic Exclusion League, targeting Chinese and Japanese Canadian communities in Vancouver. This work, based on Tsang’s 360-degree video project 360 Riot Walk, explores the social and political environment of the early 20th century, marked by systemic racism and violence against racialized communities. The book includes colorized photographs of the riots and contemporary Vancouver, along with essays that connect the historical events to current anti-Asian sentiment and broader issues of racism in North America. White Riot critically questions how to reconcile our collective histories within the enduring legacy of white supremacy in today’s efforts toward anti-racism and decolonization.
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ABOUT THE AWARD
The annual City of Vancouver Book Award has been recognizing authors that contribute to the appreciation and understanding of Vancouver’s diversity, history, unique character or the achievements of its residents since 1989. This $3,000 prize is funded by their Publishing Reserve, which was established in 1977 as a permanent legacy for Vancouver writers and publishers.
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