Toronto Book Awards

Congratulations to the nominated authors for the 2009 Toronto Book Awards. The winner will be announced at the Toronto Reference Library on Oct. 15th.

Austin Clarke, More

Anthony De Sa, Barnacle Love

Maggie Helwig, Girls Fall Down

Mark Osbaldeston, Unbuilt Toronto

Charles Wilkins, In the Land of Long Fingernails.

Toronto Book Awards

BC Book Prizes winners

Congrats to Lee Henderson who won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for The Man Game (Penguin).

And Gabor Mate, winner of the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize for In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. (Random House). Other BC Book Prize-winners can be found here.

The Flying Troutman long listed for Orange Prize

Miriam Toews’ lively and excellent novel, The Flying Troutmans, published by Knopf Canada, is the only Canadian work on the Orange Prize long list, announced today. Winner of last year’s Roger’s Writers Trust Fiction Prize, this was one of my favourite reads of last year. One of those books you fly through because it’s so much fun to read, and when the last page is done, you just want to start at the beginning again.

The Orange Prize is open to books written in English and published in England. The short list will be announced April 21st and the award given out on June 3rd.

Congrats and good luck Miriam!

Giller International

Lots of rumblings on Twitter and in the media today about the Giller Prize choosing non-Canadian judges for this years awards. Judges chosen are Canada’s Alistair MacLeod, Britain’s Victoria Glendinning and from the United States, Russel Banks. I say, big deal. And so does Globe Books editor Martin Levin on his blog.

The Giller has sadly developed the reputation, along with other Canadian book/arts prizes, of being too political, and/or biased. Maybe this will help.

It’s hard to believe the Giller celebrates its fifteenth year. I remember it in its infancy and though I haven’t been in the last few years, I fondly remember it as an inspirational and extravagant night for Canadian literature. I doubt that will ever change.

BC Book Prizes

When I lived in Vancouver, 2000 to 2006, I looked forward every year to the BC Book Prizes, an opportunity to celebrate the best books chosen from a pretty talented pool of writers.  Fairly quickly it gave me a sense of how supportive and welcoming the BC community of writers is with fellow writers and book media. It was both inspiring and relieving.

Every year I look forward to the short list, and miss going to the nomination Soiree and the Prize Gala. 2009 marks BC Book Prizes 25th annual ceremony, to be held on April 25th.

Here are this year’s contenders. Congrats to all!