by: Mark Medley
Ian Brown was named winner of British Columbia's National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction at a ceremony in Vancouver on Friday afternoon.
Brown, a Globe and Mail columnist, was awarded the prize for his book The Boy in the Moon: A Father's Search for His Disabled Son, a memoir about life with his son, Walker, who is afflicted with the extremely rare cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome (CFC). The award is worth $40,000, making it Canada's most lucrative non-fiction prize.
The other finalists were Karen Connelly for Burmese Lessons: A Love Story, Eric Siblin for The Cello Suites: J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece, and Kenneth Whyte for The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst. Both Brown and Whyte and also finalists for the Charles Taylor Prize, which will be awarded next month.
The jury, which consisted of Andreas Schroeder, Vicki Gabereau, and National Post book columnist Philip Marchand, described the book as “a journey … into deeply touching and troubling territory.”
“I congratulate Ian Brown and all of the finalists for their exceptional books – and for what it took to write them. These books are excellent indicators of the quality of non-fiction being published in Canada today,” said Bristish Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell in a statement. “It’s an honour to present an award for such an important literary genre in our country.”
The B.C. National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, now in its sixth year, is presented annually by the British Columbia Achievement Foundation, an independent foundation established by the Province of B.C. in 2003 to celebrate the arts, humanities, community service and enterprise.
From: National Post
I actually saw him speak at read for the cure - very moving book!
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