The Sunshine Coast Book Awards for BC Authors culminated with the announcement of winning selections during a ceremony in Gibsons last Saturday evening. The annual competition — now in its third year — is an initiative of the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society.
“It was held Canada-wide,” explained society president Cathalynn Cindy Labonté-Smith. “It’s only for B.C. authors, but B.C. authors are published all across the country. We started this because we thought it was an opportunity to create a new type of book contest, and give equal footing to both trade and self-published authors.”
Publishers and authors submitted 153 books for evaluation by a panel of nearly 40 judges around the province.
Finishers in the Children’s and Young Adult category were divided into three groups. A Stronger Home by Katrina Chen and Elaine Su, Bison by Frances Backhouse, and Saving Wolfgang by Gregor Craigie took top honours among the list of general releases for younger readers.
Chen attended the presentation, and recollected her arrival in Canada as a 17-year-old for whom English was a second language. “I wrote this book about my journey as a survivor of gender-based violence,” she said, “and as someone who is always seeking a sense of home within me, and within our community. I never thought I would write in English — it was impossible for me.” She revealed that all her personal proceeds from book sales will be dedicated to programs for women and children affected by violence.
Two books were awarded in the Indigenous classification for children’s literature: The Princess and the Pants by Carla Voyageur and Dreaming Alongside by Monique Gray Smith. The corresponding “diverse” group included three selections: A Hug on the Wind, by Robin Stevenson, Two Tricksters Find Friendship by Johnnie Aitken and Jess Willows, and Crash Landing by Li Charmaine Anne.
“We write side-by-side, every word,” said Willows. She and Aitken attended the ceremony, and announced that a second book in their anticipated trilogy is currently in the process of publication.
Three books of verse were named as top finishers in the poetry division: Blood of Stone, Poems by Tariq Malik, The Salmon Shanties: A Cascadian Song Cycle (composed both in English and the Chinook jargon) by Harold Rhenisch, and I Know That Woman by Virginia Dansereau. Two Sunshine Coast poets also received first-place recognition for recent releases: The Taste of a Raindrop by Sheila Weaver and The Quantum Spirit: A Poetic Journey to Source, by Deanna Bell.
Four books shared the top prize for general nonfiction: A Complex Coast by David Norwell, The Final Spire: Mystery Mountain Mania in the 1930s by Trevor Marc Hughes, Power Metal: The Race for Resources that Will Shape the Future by Vince Besier, and Signs of Life: Fields Notes from the Front Lines of Extinction by Sarah Cox.
“We had such a hard time with the nonfiction section,” said judge J.K. Chayko. “There were so many incredible books to read.”
Michael Simpson’s book It Stops Here: Standing Up for Our Lands, Our Waters and Our People took first place for Indigenous nonfiction. The category for diverse nonfiction authors was led by Chinatown Vancouver: An Illustrated History by Donna Seto and Freeing Teresa by Franke James. Four volumes by Sunshine Coast authors collected nonfiction prizes: Charlotte Gill’s Almost Brown, andrea bennett’s Hearty: On Cooking, Eating and Growing Food for Pleasure and Subsistence, Kristin Miller’s Knots & Stitches: Community Quilts Across the Harbour and Victor Labonté-Smith’s Second-Hand Firsthand.
Miller read a selection from her book, recalling how community quilt-making offered solace during her years spent living in Dodge Cove near Prince Rupert.
Four winners were identified for the general fiction category: Blackheart Man by Nalo Hopkinson, The Cipher by Genni Gunn, Inside Outside by Faye Arcand, and Through the Portal: Tales From a Hopeful Dystopia by L. Hutchinson Lee N. Munteau. Bal Khabra’s Collide took the category’s “diverse” prize. Two local writers collected awards in the Sunshine Coast category: Marion Crook, for her novel Murder in Vancouver 1886 and Robin Lamarche for her collection of stories Voices in Prose.
A full list of winners and honourable mention recipients will be released online at www.scwes.ca.
