The West Coast Book Prize Society is thrilled to announce the winners of the 40th annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. Prizes are awarded annually to recognize the achievements of BC and Yukon authors, illustrators, and publishers. Award winners are selected through a juried system, with five finalists in each prize category, including the winner selected in each prize category. Here is the list of the 2024 BC and Yukon Book Prizes winners:
Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize – Darrel J. McLeod, A Season in Chezgh’un (Douglas & McIntyre)
Jurors: Billy-Ray Belcourt, Andromeda Romano-Lax, and Hannah Tolman
Statement from the jury:
“Jury members praised A Season in Chezgh’un by Darrel McLeod for its multidimensional characters and unflinching look at racism, both blatant and insidiously subtle, as experienced by a Cree school principal from Vancouver who accepts a position in a small Indigenous community. The novel succeeds in moving beyond the “white savior” education narrative to show us the complexity of a queer, urban character grappling to establish his role and define his own identity within an unfamiliar place and culture. Darrel Mcleod’s keen eye for both the personal and political enables him to tell a story about one place that is resonant with collective and national significance.”
Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize – John Vaillant, Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast (Knopf Canada)
Jurors: Carellin Brooks, Harrison Mooney, and Margot Fedoruk
Statement from the jury:
“This was a book that none of us on the jury wanted to read. We already knew how the story would end. We knew our world was going to hell in a handcart and that we were the sole authors of our misfortune. We had no interest in learning more about exactly how badly we’d mismanaged our environment and the disasters that would subsequently unfold.
Then we opened this book and fell under John Valliant’s spell. We were drawn as if by magic into this grim story about the Fort McMurray fire in 2016. Some of us on the jury read it as if it was a thriller. It kept us up nights. That’s how good the storytelling is in this tale of a fire that nobody thought would be any worse than any other, and that ended up destroying an entire town.
Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize – Jess Housty, Crushed Wild Mint (Nightwood Editions)
Jurors: Nicole Bauberger, Cecily Nicholson, and Billeh Nickerson
Jury statement:
“Crushed Wild Mint achieves a generosity of kindness and humanity. Housty’s poems welcome readers, in all our frailties, as they share observances of familial and community love with a gentleness whose power surprises us and leaves us changed. Housty’s poems feed us rose petals slowly. They invite us up mountains and into the ocean of their Haíɫzaqv homelands, allowing our imaginations to more clearly understand what reciprocity might mean.”
Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize – Ian Kennedy, The Best Loved Boat: The Princess Maquinna (Harbour Publishing)
Jurors: Amanda Graham, Mark Winston, and Eldon Yellowhorn
Jury statement:
“Biographies usually chronicle the deeds and exploits of prominent historical figures, so the life history of the Maquinna is not your typical biography. While the journey is a time-tested metaphor employed by authors to narrate their stories, in this case it is a literary device to depict the voyages of the “best loved boat.” Ian Kennedy tells two stories with his yarn about an imagined, uneventful summer cruise in the waters off Vancouver Island’s west coast in 1924. Steaming out of Victoria intent on reaching its northern terminus at Quatsino Sound, the ship visited isolated outposts, First Nations villages, whale-rendering stations, and lighthouses. Each port of call on this putative excursion is another opportunity for the author to share anecdotes, do a little time-travelling, and introduce the people who lived in those far-flung communities.
Amid the buoyant tales of pioneers thriving on the free land they gained as settlers Ian Kennedy also depicts the way each trip of the Maquinna, ironically named to honour Nuu-Chah-Nulth Chief Maquinna, advanced and entrenched the colonial era. Since every departure gave passage to the racism then in vogue, the chief’s descendants and their kin could only ever purchase the third-class fare charged to “Indians and Orientals.” This good ship received its name in August 1912, months ahead of its christening on Christmas Eve, and represented the optimism evident in pre-WWI British Columbia. Its final trip in the last days of August 1952 marked forty years of service, but in the post-WWII era the modern province lost its dependence on water travel. Maps of the island featured more roads connecting ever more isolated places, while air travel became commonplace. By the time its boilers cooled, it was a relic. Change was evident everywhere, yet the ever-present racism aboard its last voyage mirrored the colonialism barnacled to the coast. Ian Kennedy uses his skill as a storyteller to invite readers to experience the steam ship Maquinna, though the “CPR strawberries” can be replaced with real strawberries.”
Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize – Wanda John-Kehewin, Hopeless in Hope (HighWater Press)
Jurors: Lucy Dow, Emily Seo, and Robin Stevenson
Jury statement:
“We fell in love with this story of trauma and pain, resilience and love, and determination and hope. As well as being a compelling and beautifully written book, it is also an important one–one that tells a much needed story with compassion, understanding, and deep respect for its characters and their communities and histories. Without ever falling into didacticism, this is a book that also has a lot to teach, sharing an important part of our history and giving young readers deeper insight into the lives of an Indigenous family living with the intergenerational impact of residential schools. The utterly believable main character and her pitch-perfect first-person voice had us engaged from the first pages, and as her story unfolded, she and her family completely captured–and broke, and mended–our hearts. We loved the way poetry was woven into this novel, and the way these words and characters stayed with us long after we closed the book.”
Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize – Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith (Illustrator), My Baba’s Garden (Neal Porter Books)
Jurors: Caroline Adderson, Rob Bittner, Nancy Vo
Jury Statement:
“My Baba’s Garden is a beautiful exploration of a young boy’s daily visits with his Polish grandmother, based on Jordan Scott’s own childhood. Although the boy does not always understand what his Baba does, or why, the poetic text and gouache-and-watercolor illustrations let readers interpret interactions and images in their own way. Scott’s quiet storytelling combined with Smith’s rich, warm, and gentle illustrations, culminate in an introspective narrative that celebrates intergenerational relationships and the power of communication that transcends language barriers. This is a picture book that resonates with children and adults alike!”
Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes – Helen Knott, Becoming a Matriarch: A Memoir (Knopf Canada)
Jurors: Kristie Lauer, Franz Seachel, and Naava Smolash
Jury Statement: “In Becoming a Matriarch, Helen Knott beautifully illustrates how to embody traditional roles of matriarchy, while carving new paths to push back against patriarchal and colonial societies to take up space as an Indigenous woman. Knott’s writing is honest, poetic, and memorable; her heart and voice are so approachable that they compel the reader to a place of connection and understanding. Knott’s memoir presents her as an unstoppable force for change and a guiding light for generations of young Indigenous women trying to find their identity. The role her mother and Grandmother play in the memoir is beautifully rendered by Knott who shares her family story, burning through years of trauma and grief to build a thing of pure beauty, rediscovery, and self-assurance.”
Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award – Jess Housty, Crushed Wild Mint (Nightwood Editions)
Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence – Keith Maillard
The recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence will be recognized as having written a substantial body of literary work throughout their career and contributed significantly to the literary community/industry of the Province of British Columbia.
Keith Maillard is the author of fifteen novels, a book of poetry, and two memoirs. Twelve of his titles have been shortlisted for or won literary prizes. He continues to write and mentor the next generation of writers through his work as an influential teacher and mentor at UBC’s School of Creative Writing. He champions the craft of writing and works to uplift new voices. He has had a profound influence on writers and his students/mentees all speak of a specific kindness and generosity, a genuine willingness to find what a writer needs to say and to help them hone their unique style and voice.
Jurors: Kathryn Gretsinger, Wiley Ho, and Gillian Wigmore
Jury statement: “The jury carefully reviewed all nominees, discussed their excellent work, and came to a unanimous decision. We were honoured to be asked to adjudicate this award. We wish to recognize that all of the nominees are deserving of our respect and gratitude for their contributions to the literary community in BC. Together, we wholeheartedly choose Keith Maillard as this year’s recipient.
The depth and scope of Keith’s five decade-long career is undeniable. He authored almost two dozen books; he has written articles, reviews, essays poems and contributed to anthologies; he continues to write and mentor the next generation of writers. Keith is an influential teacher and mentor at UBC’s School of Creative Writing. He champions the craft of writing and works to uplift new voices. He has had a profound influence on writers and his students/mentees all speak of a specific kindness and generosity, a genuine willingness to find what a writer needs to say and to help them hone their unique style and voice.
We recognize that a career of excellence involves far more than what meets the reader on a page. Writers with influence touch people. They work in life’s margins to foster creativity, courage, exploration and self-discovery. We would be remiss not to mention the countless readers, students and fellow writers who have been influenced by his work.
The letters supporting Keith show his care for literature as well as his dedication to building the literary community. His activities demonstrate that care – consider the Writer’s Union and the Federation of BC Writers – his contributions to both organizations are a testament to his commitment to writers and writing in BC.
This award was created to recognize writers who have created a ‘substantial body of work’ and have contributed ‘significantly to the literary community/industry in the Province of British Columbia.’ Keith Maillard’s work exceeds the requirements. Mr. Maillard’s contributions reach far and wide in BC and beyond. We are delighted to present this award to him this evening.”
Borealis Prize: The Commissioner of Yukon Award for Literary Contribution – Lhù’áán Mân Ye Shäw (Kluane First Nation Elders)
The recipient of the Borealis Prize will be recognized as having spent significant time living and working among the writing community in Yukon and made substantial contributions to the Yukon writing and publishing community through writing, publishing, community organizing, Indigenous writing and storytelling, or in many other ways.
Jurors: Charmaine Arjoonlal, Michele Genest, Lillian Nakumara Maguire
Jury statement: “Individually and together, members of the Kluane First Nation Elders have contributed to the storytelling, literary, and publishing community in Yukon for decades. They have provided stories, knowledge, and teachings to several academic, heritage, linguistic and scientific publications. For six years, they collaborated with editors to do the challenging and time-consuming work of transforming oral stories to the written word for the book, Lhù’ààn Mân Keyí Dań Kwánje Nààtsat Kluane Lake Country People Speak Strong (2023). The 22 Elders who contributed to this publication have made a significant contribution to Yukon literature, expanding the space for Indigenous voices in the literary community.”