Seven books and their authors were honoured last Saturday when the 2010 BC Book Prizes were awarded at Government House in Victoria.
Sechelt's Andrew Scott won the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize for The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names, A Complete Reference to Coastal British Columbia, a project on which he spent three years logging in more than 5,000 place names. The win also reflects well on Scott's publisher, Harbour Publishing of the Sunshine Coast.
Reached at home in Sechelt the following Monday, Scott told Coast Reporter he had hoped he would win and felt he stood a good chance since his book had been nominated in two categories. The event held at Government House made it special.
"It adds a layer of elegant tradition and ceremony," Scott said.
While waiting to be called to the stage, Scott sat next to 92-year-old band leader Dal Richards (nominated for his autobiography) who regaled him with delightful stories.
Scott's nomination placed him in fine literary company: also nominated for the same award was Ian Gill's book about the Haida nation, Brian Brett's prize-winning book Trauma Farm, a Caitlin Press (a local publisher) book by Lorne Dufour, Jacob's Prayer, and a book about the downtown eastside by former Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell. The winners each received $2,000.
Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point was piped in formally and began the ceremony by calling the written word a powerful tool. Shelagh Rogers, host of the CBC Radio show The Next Chapter, emceed the presentations.
Raincoast Place Names uses a series of encyclopedic entries and photographs to describe original First Nations cultures, the heroics of the 18th-century explorers, the grueling survey and settlement efforts of the 19th century, the heritage of the 20th century, the lives of colonial officials, missionaries, gold seekers and homesteaders and the histories of nearly every important vessel to sail or cruise the BC coast.
But the book is not a dry reference. Many of the entries generate fascinating stories told in detail about the place names: how they were discovered, who named them and why, and what the names reveal.
"When I finished writing it, I didn't know what to do with myself," Scott recalls of the mammoth research effort.
But his publisher had an answer at the ready. He was kept occupied by overseeing the complex production process for such a book which involves detailed maps and photos. Once his promotional commitments have been taken care of, Scott hopes for some travelling and vacation time.
Scott is also the author of several other books - the most recent a collaboration with Daniel Bouman to produce The People's Water, a book published by the Sunshine Coast Conservation Association about the struggle for the Coast's watershed. Scott's book Secret Coastline II, published in 2005, is based on his many columns in the Georgia Straight and demonstrates his love of the outdoors and role as a dedicated conservationist.
