The finalists for the 2018 City of Victoria Butler Book Prize and the Bolen Books Children’s Book Prize were announced Wednesday.
Five Greater Victoria authors are in contention for the top prize of $5,000, which will be presented at an awards gala on Oct. 17 at the Union Club of British Columbia.
The finalists for the best book published in 2017 includes three poets — Lorna Crozier for What the Soul Doesn’t Want, Patrick Friesen for Songen and Rhonda Ganz for Frequent, Small Loads of Laundry.
Bill Gaston is a finalist for his short fiction collection A Mariner’s Guide to Self Sabotage and Maria Tippett has been chosen as a finalist for her non-fiction Sculpture in Canada.
Monique Gray Smith, author of Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation, will compete with Julie Lawson, author of A Blinding Light, and Dr. Jillian Roberts for On Our Street: Our First Talk About Poverty for the $5,000 Bolen Books Children’s Book Prize. This prize is awarded to an author or illustrator for the best children’s book published in the preceding year.
The nominees for both awards were determined by two independent juries of literary arts community representatives.
The gala begins at 7:30 and will include readings from the shortlisted authors, dessert and the prize-giving.
Tickets are $20 and available now at Bolen Books, Munro’s Books, Ivy’s Bookshop, Tanner’s Books and the Victoria Book Prize Society at 250-589-8430 or at victoriabookprizes.ca.
Tickets can also be purchased online.
