Book award nominations revealed

The Island’s best published writing has been nominated for the 2018 Prince Edward Island Book Awards.

The awards are presented every two years to recognize authors, editors, and book producers in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The awards will be presented at a gala event on May 26 in partnership with the PEI Writers’ Guild Island Literary Awards.

“Our province is so fortunate to have such talented authors who have produced the excellent books up for consideration this year, and I encourage all Islanders to add these titles to their reading lists,” Education, Early Learning and Culture Minister Jordan Brown said. “Their creativity and knowledge contribute to the rich Island culture that helps make us the Mighty Island.”

Here is the Prince Edward Island Book Awards 2018 short list of nominees.

Non-fiction

• Home Plate, Blue Helmet: From Charlottetown to the Holy Land and Back by Michael Conway
• Historic Furniture of Prince Edward Island by James W. MacNutt
• New London: The Lost Dream by John Cousins

Fiction

• Cure for Wereduck by Dave Atkinson
• An Unauthorized Biography of Being by J.J. Steinfeld
• Queen of the Crows by Harmony Wagner

Poetry

• Blue Waiting by Sean Wiebe
• Bird Calls: The Island Responds by Jane Ledwell
• Prometheus Reconsiders Fire by Brent MacLaine

Book award nominees will read from their nominated works at the Confederation Centre Public Library on May 15 at 6 p.m. (fiction authors); May 17 at 6 p.m. (nonfiction authors); and May 23 at 6 p.m. (poetry authors).

Submissions in each category were assessed by an independent jury for the content, quality of design, and production. Winners receive a cash prize and handmade item created by an Island craftsperson. This year’s selection is stained glass by Kro in the Skye Art Studio.

The Prince Edward Island Book Awards are sponsored by the Department of Education, Early Learning and Culture. The province’s 2018-19 operating budget invests more than $1.45 million to support Island culture in our communities.

Media contact:
Hillary MacDonald
hpsmacdonald@gov.pe.ca