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| Backgrounder(s) & FactSheet(s): | Backgrounder |
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| Backgrounder(s) & FactSheet(s): | Backgrounder |
VANCOUVER – Patrick Lane is the first recipient of Canada’s newest major literary prize, the British Columbia Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. Premier Gordon Campbell presented Mr. Lane with the $25,000 award today in Vancouver for his memoir There Is a Season.
“This award was established to recognize Canada’s finest writers of literary non-fiction,” said Campbell. “Mr. Lane’s achievements as a poet and non-fiction writer have contributed immeasurably to Canadian literature. On behalf of all British Columbians I offer him our warmest congratulations.”
“The British Columbia Award for Canadian Non-Fiction marks the first time that a major national book prize has originated in British Columbia,” said Keith Mitchell, the chair of the British Columbia Achievement Foundation, which established and launched the new award. “The four finalists for this inaugural year were simply outstanding. They represent the country’s best in literary non-fiction.”
The independent jury panel for the award was also introduced today: author Denise Chong, University of Victoria professor Lynne Van Luven, and retired journalist Paddy Sherman.
There Is a Season is an exquisite memoir in which Lane, a passionate gardener, explores the way his garden’s life intertwines with his own. When he gave up drinking, after years of addiction, Lane found solace and healing in tending to his yard. Now, he relates stories of his hard early life in the context of the landscape he’s created. As he observes seasonal changes, a plant or a bird or the way a tree bends in the wind brings to mind an episode from his storied past.
Along with Mr. Lane, three other finalists were in the running for this year’s award: Jane Jacobs for Dark Age Ahead, Harry Thurston for A Place Between the Tides, and Ronald Wright for A Short History of Progress.
The British Columbia Award for Canadian Non-Fiction is an annual prize established by the British Columbia Achievement Foundation, an independent foundation endowed by the Province of British Columbia in 2003 to celebrate excellence and achievement.
The finalists for this year’s award were selected from 79 entries submitted to the independent jury panel by 49 publishers from across Canada. To be eligible for consideration, books had to published in Canada in English during the 2004 calendar year, authored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada and submitted by the publisher.
For more information on the award and this year’s finalists, please call 604-261-9777 or visit http://www.bcachievement.com/.
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To download images from the award luncheon, as well as book covers and authors’ photos for this year’s shortlist, please visit http://www.bcachievement.com/.
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Press Secretary Office of the Premier 250 213-8218 |
Executive Director British Columbia Achievement Foundation 604 261-9777 mailto:info@bcachievement.com |
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Visit the Province's website at www.gov.bc.ca for online information and services. |
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