Once again Vancouver and West Coast Canadian writers are showing their awesomeness as the finalists for the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-fiction were announced this morning.
Our Winter Book Club selection, Charlotte Gill's Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe is among those on the shortlist, along with Vancouver's JJ Lee for his book The Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit. (Look for our review of JJ's book this Sunday in VBC 'Views.)
The other shortlisted finalists chosen from the 115 books submitted by 35 publishers are part-time Stikine Valley resident Wade Davis, Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest; Victoria writer Madeline Sonik, Afflictions & Departures: Essays; and UBC MFA Creative Writing grad Andrew Westoll, Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A Canadian Story of Resilience and Recovery.
The $25,000 prize is awarded to the author whose book "best combines a superb command of the English language, an elegance of style, and a subtlety of thought and perception." The runners up each receive $2000 and all the shortlisted books receive promotional support. The winner will be announced at a gala luncheon in Toronto on March 5.
The Vancouver Book Club Winter Event with Charlotte Gill takes place Saturday January 28 at Project Space. Find all the details here and check out Maegan Thomas' review of Eating Dirt.
