Several familiar names are on eight shortlists for the 41st annual B.C. and Yukon Book Prizes. The late Murray Sinclair, mystery writer Iona Whishaw, CBC Radio One broadcaster Gregor Craigie, Syrian-Canadian novelist and LGBTQ-refugee activist Danny Ramadan, Tyee journalist Christopher Cheung, visual artist Dana Claxton are among the finalists.
The West Coast Book Prize Society won’t unveil this year’s winners until a gala on September 21 at the University Golf Club in Vancouver. However, the public is invited to attend a free soirée at 6:30 p.m. on May 22 at Book Warehouse Vancouver (632 West Broadway) to celebrate those on the shortlist. The finalists’ books will be on sale at this event.
Below, you can see a list of the shortlists for the B.C. and Yukon Book Prizes:
Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize awarded to the author of the best work of literary fiction:
- Billy-Ray Belcourt, Coexistence: Stories (Hamish Hamilton Canada)
- Shashi Bhat, Death by a Thousand Cuts: Stories (McClelland & Stewart)
- Deirdre Simon Dore, A Reluctant Mother (Ronsdale Press)
- Scott Alexander Howard, The Other Valley (Scribner Canada)
- Cynthia LeBrun, Black Sunflowers (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)
Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize awarded to the author of the best original non-fiction literary work:
- Marilyn Bowering, More Richly in Earth: A Poet’s Search for Mary MacLeod (McGill-Queen’s University Press)
- Gregor Craigie, Our Crumbling Foundation: How We Solve Canada’s Housing Crisis (Random House Canada)
- Jennifer Grenz, Medicine Wheel for the Planet: A Journey Toward Personal and Ecological Healing (Knopf Canada)
- Minelle Mahtani, May It Have a Happy Ending: A Memoir of Finding a Voice as My Mother Lost Hers (Doubleday Canada)
- Danny Ramadan, Crooked Teeth: A Queer Syrian Refugee Memoir (Viking 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 and Yukon:
- Shashi Bhat, Death by a Thousand Cuts: Stories (McClelland & Stewart)
- Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson with Robert Davidson, A Haida Wedding (Heritage House Publishing)
- Laurel Dykstra, Wildlife Congregations: A Priest’s Year of Gaggles, Colonies and Murders by the Salish Sea (Hancock House Publishers)
- Murray Sinclair with Sara Sinclair, Who We Are: Four Questions for a Life and a Nation (McClelland & Stewart)
- Tanya Talaga, The Knowing (HarperCollins Publishers)
Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize awarded to the author of the best work of poetry:
- Kayla Czaga, Midway (House of Anansi Press)
- Leanne Dunic, wet (Talonbooks)
- Dallas Hunt, Teeth (Nightwood Editions)
- Zehra Naqvi, The Knot of My Tongue (McClelland & Stewart)
- shō yamagushiku, shima (McClelland & Stewart)
Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes presented to a book that challenges or provokes ideas and forces that shape what writing, art, and/or society can become:
- Carleigh Baker, Last Woman: Stories (McClelland & Stewart)
- Billy-Ray Belcourt, Coexistence: Stories (Hamish Hamilton Canada)
- Christopher Cheung, Under the White Gaze: Solving the Problem of Race and Representation in Canadian Journalism (UBC Press, Purich Books)
- Sarah Leavitt, Something, Not Nothing: A Story of Grief and Love (Arsenal Pulp Press)
- Loghan Paylor, The Cure for Drowning (Random House Canada)
Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize presented to the best illustrated book written for children:
- Jessica J. Lee (Author), Elaine Chen (Illustrator), A Garden Called Home (Tundra Books)
- Julie Morstad, A Face is a Poem (Tundra Books)
- Tonya Simpson (Author), Delreé Dumont (Illustrator), This Land Is a Lullaby (Orca Book Publishers)
- Julie Wilkins (Author), Brady Sato (Illustrator), We’re Happy You’re Here (Orca Book Publishers)
- Mei Yu, Lost & Found: Based on a True Story (Union Square & Co. / Union Square Kids)
Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize awarded to the best non-illustrated book written for children:
- Li Charmaine Anne, Crash Landing (Annick Press)
- Leslie Gentile, Elvis, Me, and the Postcard Winter (DCB Young Readers)
- Shari Green, Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams: A Novel in Verse (Andrews McMeel Publishing)
- Jenny Manzer, Picture a Girl (Orca Book Publishers)
- Anthony Nerada, Skater Boy (Soho Teen)
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:
- Bill Arnott, A Perfect Day for a Walk: The History, Cultures, and Communities of Vancouver, on Foot (Arsenal Pulp Press)
- Dana Claxton and Dr. Curtis Collins, Curve!: Women Carvers on the Northwest Coast (Figure 1 Publishing)
- Daniel Marshall, Untold Tales of Old British Columbia (Ronsdale Press)
- Marion McKinnon Crook, Always on Call: Adventures in Nursing, Ranching, and Rural Living (Heritage House Publishing)
- Iona Whishaw, Lightning Strikes the Silence: A Lane Winslow Mystery (TouchWood Editions)
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