Ren Louie’s Kidlit Books

Indigenous author, Ren Louie (left) is set to release an adaptation of his book for younger audiences, about his childhood journey of connecting with his culture through a drum gifted by his mother.” FULL STORY

 

Women dominate nominations

March 11th, 2015

Of the 35 titles nominated for seven BC Book Prizes, the newly-released 2015 shortlists include seventeen books from B.C. publishers and eighteen books from non-B.C. publishers.

Harbour Publishing of B.C. has led the way with six nominations; the HarperCollins imprint in Ontario has four nominations. Caitlin Press of Halfmoon Bay, B.C. and Kids Can Press of Ontario have three nominees each. Ten nominated titles were published from the Sunshine Coast.

Double nominees this year are Caroline Adderson for adult fiction and illustrated children’s literature; scientists Richard Beamish & Gordon McFarlane who teamed up for The Sea Among Us, nominated for the best book about B.C. and the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award; and Toronto illustrator Qin Leng [red shirt, right].

There were 26 nominations for women; 17 for men.

The West Coast Book Prize Society will announce the winners at the 31st Annual BC Book Prizes gala to be held  Saturday, April 25, 2015 at the Pinnacle Vancouver Harbourfront Hotel.

British Columbia’s Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Judith Guichon, OBC, will be in attendance.

Adderson, Caroline white shirt (cr) Erich Saide Photography

Caroline Adderson nominated twice

Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize awarded to the author of the best work of fiction:

•    Caroline Adderson, Ellen in Pieces (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
•    Aislinn Hunter, The World Before Us (Doubleday Canada)
•    Kathy Page, Paradise and Elsewhere (Biblioasis)
•    Brian Payton, The Wind Is Not a River (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
•    Michael Springate, The Beautiful West & The Beloved of God (Guernica Editions)

Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize to recognize the author(s) of the book that contributes most to the enjoyment and understanding of British Columbia:

•    Richard Beamish and Gordon McFarlane (editors), The Sea Among Us: The Amazing Strait of Georgia (Harbour Publishing)
•    Margaret Horsfield and Ian Kennedy, Tofino and Clayoquot Sound: A History (Harbour Publishing)
•    Christine Lowther, Born Out of This (Caitlin Press)
•    Ian McAllister, Great Bear Wild: Dispatches from a Northern Rainforest (Greystone Books)
•    Jay Sherwood, Surveying Southern British Columbia: A Photojournal of Frank Swannell, 1901-07 (Caitlin Press)

Joseph,-Eve-photo-WEB

Eve Joseph has one of four titles from HarperCollins.

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

•    Julie Angus, Olive Odyssey: Searching for the Secrets of the Fruit That Seduced the World (Greystone Books)
•    Kevin Chong, Northern Dancer: The Legendary Horse That Inspired a Nation (Viking)
•    Barry Gough, The Elusive Mr. Pond: The Soldier, Fur Trader and Explorer Who Opened the Northwest (Douglas & McIntyre)
•    Eve Joseph, In the Slender Margin: The Intimate Strangeness of Death and Dying (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
•    Nancy J. Turner, Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge: Ethnobotany and Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples of Northwestern North America (McGill-Queen’s University Press)

Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize awarded to the author of the best work of poetry:

•    Rob Budde, Dreamland Theatre (Caitlin Press)
•    Jen Currin, School (Coach House Books)
•    Kayla Czaga, For Your Safety Please Hold On (Nightwood Editions)
•    Patrick Lane, Washita (Harbour Publishing)
•    Cecily Nicholson, From the Poplars (Talonbooks)

Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize presented to the best illustrated book written for children:

•    Norman, Speak!, by Caroline Adderson, illustrated by Qin Leng (Groundwood Books)
•    Dolphin SOS, by Roy Miki and Slavia Miki, illustrated by Julie Flett (Tradewind Books)
•    The Most Magnificent Thing, by Ashley Spires, illustrated by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press)
•    Stop, Thief!, by Heather Tekavec, illustrated by Pierre Pratt (Kids Can Press)
•    Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin, by Chieri Uegaki, illustrated by Qin Leng (Kids Can Press)

Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize awarded to the best non-illustrated book written for children:

•    Becky Citra, Finding Grace (Second Story Press)
•    Maggie de Vries, Rabbit Ears (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
•    Eileen Kernaghan, Sophie, in Shadow (Thistledown Press)
•    Gabrielle Prendergast, Capricious (Orca Book Publishers)
•    Elizabeth Stewart, Blue Gold (Annick Press)

Beamish, Dick informal

Dick Beamish nominated twice

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:

•    Lisa Ahier, The Sobo Cookbook: Recipes from the Tofino Restaurant at the End of the Canadian Road (Appetite by Random House)
•    Richard Beamish and Gordon McFarlane (editors), The Sea Among Us: The Amazing Strait of Georgia (Harbour Publishing)
•    Aaron Chapman, Live at the Commodore: The Story of Vancouver’s Historic Commodore Ballroom (Arsenal Pulp Press)
•    Alicia Priest, A Rock Fell on the Moon: Dad and the Great Yukon Silver Ore Heist (Harbour Publishing)
•    Roy Henry Vickers and Robert Budd, Cloudwalker (Harbour Publishing)

Also, at the Gala, the recipient of the 2015 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence will be presented (announcement date TBA). This award was 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. Winners in the seven categories and the recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence will collectively receive $19,000 in cash prizes.

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