Friday, February 22, 2008

Latest CBC Literary Award winners unveiled

CBC: 2008 February 21
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2008/02/21/cbc-literary-awards.html

New and emerging writers from Quebec, Alberta and Ontario are among the latest winners of the CBC Literary Awards.

CBC Radio host Eleanor Wachtel revealed on Thursday morning the latest batch of English-language winners:
  • Creative Nonfiction: 1st prize - In a Garden by Shelagh Plunkett of Montreal; 2nd prize - Vidh by Phyllis Nakonechny of Swift Current, Sask.
  • Poetry: 1st prize - Sundress, Fortress by Jeramy Dodds of Orono, Ont.; 2nd prize - Catching a Snare Drum at the Fraser's Mouth by Harold Rhenisch of Campbell River, B.C.
  • Short Story: 1st prize - White by Lee Kvern of Okotoks, Alta.; 2nd prize - Preservation by Alex Leslie of Richmond, B.C.

Radio-Canada's Christiane Charette also announced the French-language winners Thursday morning. They are:

  • Creative Nonfiction: 1st prize - La valise rouge by Chantal Gaudreault from Quebec City; 2nd prize - Havre-les-Chiens by Guy Lalancette of Chibougamau, Que.
  • Poetry: 1st prize - La science de l'adieu by André Roy of Montreal; 2nd prize: Je suis une espionne by Tania Langlais of Montreal.
  • Short Story: 1st prize - Louise by Vital Gagnon of Sept-Îles, Que.; Une baleine dans le ventre by Chantal Gaudreault of Quebec City.

The winners were feted at a ceremony in Montreal Thursday, with the first place writers receiving $6,000 each, and $4,000 going to each of the second place finishers.

Presented annually, the awards honour excellence in unpublished work submitted by up-and-coming writers across the country and are presented by CBC and Radio-Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts and Air Canada's enRoute magazine.

Writer and Rheostatics member Dave Bidini, poet Di Brandt and authors Nino Ricci, Barbara Gowdy and Thomas King were among the English-language jurists.

The winning texts, chosen from the more than 5,000 pieces submitted from across Canada, will be published in Air Canada's enRoute magazine and presented on CBC Radio's satellite radio show Between the Covers during week of Feb. 25.

Presentations of the winning pieces will also be available as podcasts from CBC's Words at Large page beginning Feb. 27.

Words At Large http://www.cbc.ca/wordsatlarge