September 8, 2000

 

City of Vancouver Book Award Finalists Named

 

A book on local gardens, a memoir of a Chinese-Canadian childhood, and histories on   Lions Gate Bridge and the Chinese in Vancouver have been chosen as the finalists for the 2000 City of Vancouver Book Award.

Christine Allen and Collin Varner are nominated for Gardens of Vancouver (Raincoast Books), which presents 26 of Vancouver’s finest private gardens, highlighted by the photographs of John Dowell, and an essay on the origins of gardening in the city.

Lilia D’Acres and Donald Luxton’s Lions Gate (Talonbooks) was chosen for its fascinating look at the complicated and sometimes mysterious past of the Lions Gate Bridge, one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks.

Wayson Choy, a past winner for his novel The Jade Peony, has been nominated again for Paper Shadows: A Chinatown Childhood (Penguin Canada) which chronicles his life growing up in Vancouver’s Chinatown.

Wing Chung Ng made the finalist list with The Chinese in Vancouver: The Pursuit of Identity and Power, 1945-80 (UBC Press), a historical look at the cultural identity struggle of Chinese immigrants and their Canadian-born descendants in Vancouver.

The City of Vancouver Book Award is a $2,000 prize that has been presented annually since 1989 to authors of books in any genre that demonstrate excellence and contribute to the appreciation and understanding of Vancouver’s history, unique character or the achievements of its residents. This year, the City received 30 entries for the award, double the number of entries in 1999.

The finalists and winner are decided by an independent panel of judges. This year’s judges are: writer Shamina Senaratne; Nina Smart, a Simon Fraser University librarian; and Joseph Stewart, manager of Blackberry Books. Mayor Philip Owen will present the award in Council Chambers on October 17.

The award is funded by interest from the City’s Publishing Reserve Fund which was established in 1977 as a permanent legacy for writers and publishers. The fund receives 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, continues to generate royalty payments for the fund.

 

Media enquiries:    

Nancy Duxbury
Office of Cultural Affairs
871-6003

 

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