Selvadurai, Uppal and James nominated for Governor General’s Literary Awards

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The nominees for the Governor General’s Literary Awards were announced on Wednesday, and WCA is proud to have three authors on the list:

Shyam Selvadurai for THE HUNGRY GHOSTS (fiction category)

Priscila Uppal for PROJECTION (non-fiction category)

Matt James for NORTHWEST PASSAGE (children’s literature – illustration category)

The winners will be announced on November 13 in Toronto. For more information, please visit: http://ggbooks.canadacouncil.ca/

WCA Authors Dominate Hilary Weston Writers Trust Prize for Nonfiction Shortlist

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The Writers’ Trust of Canada released its short list for this year’s Hilary Weston Writers Trust Prize for Nonfiction, and Westwood Creative Artists authors were named as four of the five finalists. The prize is awarded for literary excellence in the category of nonfiction, and with $60,000 to be awarded to the winner, it is the richest nonfiction prize in Canada. The winner of the prize will be announced at the Art Gallery of Ontario on Oct. 21.

WCA’s nominated authors are:

Thomas King for The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America (Doubleday Canada)

Graeme Smith for The Dogs are Eating Them Now: Our War in Afghanistan (Knopf Canada)

Andrew Steinmetz for This Great Escape: The Case of Michael Paryla (Biblioasis)

Priscila Uppal for Projection: Encounters With My Runaway Mother (Dundurn Press)

For information about the prize, please visit: http://www.writerstrust.com/awards/hilary-weston-writers-trust-prize.aspx

Carol Shaben wins Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction

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WCA would like to congratulate Carol Shaben on winning the $10,000 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction.

INTO THE ABYSS has had a great run. A #1 Bestseller in Canada, a finalist for the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize, a Barnes & Noble Spring/Summer 2013 Discover Great New Writers pick, an Amazon.com Best Book of the Month (for May 2013), A PW Best New Book for the Week, and an Indie Bestseller, it was also featured as a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week.

Bergen Wins Two Prizes at the Manitoba Book Awards

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The Age of Hope by David Bergen has won the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award and the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction at the Manitoba Book Awards. The Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award honours books that evoke the special character of and contribute to the appreciation and understanding of the City of Winnipeg. The Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction is awarded to a Manitoba writer whose book is judged the best book of adult fiction published in 2012. Bergen has now won four Margaret Laurence awards and three Carol Shields awards. Congratulations David!

BC Book Prize Finalists Announced

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The finalists for the BC Book Prize were announced and they include…

– Bill Gaston’s THE WORLD for Fiction

– Carol Shaben’s INTO THE ABYSS for Non-Fiction

– Caroline Adderson’s MIDDLE OF NOWHERE for Non-Illustrated Children’s Book

– Susin Nielsen’s THE RELUCTANT JOURNAL OF HENRY K. LARSEN for Non-Illustrated Children’s Book

Congratulations everyone!

For more information please visit:

http://www.bcbookprizes.ca/news/article/2013-bc-book-prizes-shortlists-announced/

Marcello Di Cintio wins Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing

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Westwood Creative Artists is thrilled to announce that Marcello Di Cintio’s Walls: Travels Along the Barricades has won the 2013 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.

Now in its twelfth year, the prize is awarded annually to a non-fiction book that captures a political subject of interest to Canadian readers and enhances our understanding of the issue. The winning work combines compelling new insights with depth of research and is of significant literary merit.

Below, please find the Jury Citation:

When Ronald Reagan exhorted Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, it was not only a political act. As Marcello Di Cintio discovers, walls divide far more than nations. In this beautifully written reportage, the author brings readers the personal stories – gripping, haunting, humorous, and inspiring – of people living against walls around the world, from the “peaceline” of Belfast to the l’Acadie fence of Montreal.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.writerstrust.com/awards/shaughnessy-cohen-prize-for-political-writing.aspx

LIFE OF PI TOP OSCAR FILM

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Life of Pi was the big winner at the 2013 Academy Awards, picking up 4 Oscars, the most by any film.

Ang Lee’s film adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel captured four Oscars, including the award for best Director, Original  Score, Cinematography and Visual  Effects. It was also nominated for best Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Art Direction, Visual Effects, Sound, Sound Editing, and Original Song.

Congratulations, Yann!

Life of Pi Nominated for 11 Oscars!

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It was announced this morning that Life of Pi, based Yann Martel’s award-winning novel, is a leading contender for the 2013 Academy Awards. The film earned a stunning 11 nominations, including best picture. The full list of nominations follow:

The winners will be announced on Sunday, February 24. For more information, please visit: www.oscars.com

Martel’s 2002 Man Booker Prize winning novel, a #1 international bestseller, has been published in more than 50 territories, sold more than 9 million copies worldwide, and spent more than a year on the New York Times Bestseller list.