This morning, we joined the crowd at the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction news conference at Toronto's famed King Eddy hotel. This Prize commemorates Charles Taylor’s pursuit of excellence in the field of literary non-fiction. The prize is awarded "to the author whose book best combines a superb command of the English language, an elegance of style, and a subtlety of thought and perception." The Prize consists of $25,000 for the winner and $2,000 for each of the runners up.
The ever-gracious Noreen Taylor welcomed everyone to the news conference and announced that the jury, Neil Bissoondath, Eva-Marie Kröller and David Macfarlane had read 153 Canadian-authored books while forming this shortlist. Juror David Macfarlane announced the finalists:
Stevie Cameron for On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women. The jury notes, "On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women is a powerful investigation into one of Canada's most horrific crimes. With characteristic thoroughness, Stevie Cameron reveals not only the nightmarish events at the Pickton farm, but also their larger social context."
Charles Foran for Mordecai: The Life & Times. The jury notes, "Mordecai: The Life and Times meets the immense challenge of writing about one of Canada's most talented and controversial authors. Charles Foran has created a rich and compelling portrait of the man and his times."
Ross King for Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven. The jury notes, "Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven is a fresh and immediately authoritative study of a Canadian cultural icon. Ross King's accomplishment is to place the historic details of the Group's working lives into an international context."
George Sipos for The Geography of Arrival: A Memoir. The jury notes, "The Geography of Arrival is a lyrical memoir of an immigrant family's daily lives in London, Ontario. George Sipos takes us on a journey through physical and emotional geographies, and makes the ordinary extraordinary."
Merrily Weisbord for The Love Queen of Malabar: Memoir of a Friendship with Kamala Das. The jury notes, "The Love Queen of Malabar: Memoir of a Friendship with Kamal Das is an idiosyncratic account of an unusual cross-cultural friendship between a Canadian documentary filmmaker and a celebrated, controversial Indian poet. Merrily Weisbord successfully captures the contradictory complexity of their dialogue."
Congratulations to all the shortlisted writers and readers, enjoy this fantastic non-fiction reading list! The winner will be announced on February 14, 2011.
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