City of Vancouver Book Award
Submissions being accepted for 2012 Book Award
The City of Vancouver is now accepting submissions for the annual City of Vancouver Book Award. The $2,000 prize will be presented to the winning author in October 2012. Deadline for submission is Wednesday, May 23, 2012.
Learn more about the 2012 Book Award guidelines and how to submit. Read the 2012 Call for Submissions.
2011 Winner Announced!
The 2011 City of Vancouver Book Award finalists. Left to Right: Lynne Bowen, Mayor Gregor Robertson, Lesley McKnight, Michael Christie, and Wayde Compton.
This year’s finalist list of books reveals Vancouver’s history of diversity. While one book reveals the struggles of the Italian immigrant experience, another provides insight into diverse characters from the Downtown Eastside. The third book examines black history and culture in Vancouver, and the fourth portrays Vancouver’s history through a range of children’s perspectives.
- Michael Christie - The Beggar’s Garden -- WINNER
- Lynne Bowen - Whoever Gives us Bread
- Wayde Compton - After Canaan: Essays on Race, Writing, and Region
- Lesley McKnight - Vancouver Kids
The four short-listed titles were chosen by an independent jury that included: bookseller Emilie Dierking, author and 2009 City of Vancouver Book Award winner Lee Henderson, and poet and editor Jim Wong-Chu. Mayor Gregor Robertson will presented the 2011 City of Vancouver Book Award and a $2,000 cash prize to the winning author on October 18, 2011 in Council Chamber.
Learn more about the 2011 Vancouver Book Award Finalists and winner.
Media Coverage: CBC News 
, Georgia Straight , Globe & Mail , and Vancouver Sun
About the Awards
Since 1989 the Vancouver Book Award has been recognizing authors of excellence writing books in any genre that contribute to the appreciation and understanding of Vancouver’s history, unique character or the achievements of its residents.
The book may be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or drama written for adults or children and may explore any aspect of the city such as its history, geography, current affairs, or the arts. The winning book must also exhibit excellence in content, illustration, design, and/or format. The eligibility and evaluation criteria for the award reflect the importance of diversity in literary genres and subject matter.
History and source of funds
The $2000 prize is funded by interest earned from the City’s Publishing Reserve which was established in 1977 as a permanent legacy for Vancouver writers and publishers. The fund received royalties generated from Vancouver’s First Century: a photo history of Vancouver edited by City staff. The third edition of the book, renamed Vancouver: A City Album, for many years generated royalty payments for the fund.
Vancouver In Print: 100 Books from a Century Past
An exhibition of Vancouver's historical bibliography
A century of books covering everything from Vancouver's history and politics to its literature and culture were featured in this exhibition, which opened at City Hall January 23, 2001. Presented by the City of Vancouver and the University of British Columbia Library, Vancouver in Print highlighted key books representing excellence and variety in works published about the city since its incorporation in 1886. [ See the complete list of titles 
(14kb) ].
The 100 books were chosen from the Vancouver Bibliography, a comprehensive compilation of material written about Vancouver. The bibliography was the centennial project of the Vancouver Historical Society in 1986, and continues to be supported and maintained by the society and the UBC Library. Today, it contains almost 20,000 entries and is online at: www.library.ubc.ca/vancouverbibliography .
Vancouver in Print was a celebration of the bibliography and its significance to researchers and citizens, and of the richness and diversity of publications about our city. The 100 books on display were selected by an independent committee and were on loan for the exhibition from UBC Library's Special Collections and University Archives division.
Organized in conjunction with the City of Vancouver Book Award, the exhibition offered glimpses of the city through historical documents such as the 1886 City of Vancouver Voters' List. Some of the more lively titles in the exhibit were The Enterprising Mr. Moody, The Bumptious Captain Stamp: The Lives and Colourful Times of Vancouver's Lumber Pioneers and The First Vancouver Catalogue: All the Appurtenances of a Civilized, Amusing, Comfortable Life. Also included are several winners of the City of Vancouver Book Award including 2001's winner, Lions Gate by Lilia D'Acres and Donald Luxton.
The exhibition was featured at City Hall until February 9 and then toured to the central branch of the Vancouver Public Library, then to UBC, and finally to the B.C. Book Awards banquet at the Wall Centre.
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