September 24, 2020 – CBC BOOKS, CBC’s online home for literary content, together with its partners the Canada Council for the Arts and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, have announced the finalists for the 2020 CBC Nonfiction Prize.
The finalists are:
- Joseph Kakwinokanasum of White Rock, B.C. for Ray Says
- Amy MacRae of Vancouver for Take a Photo Before I Leave You
- Jonathan Poh of Burnaby, B.C. for Value Village
- Rachael Preston of Nanaimo, B.C. for The Story Teller
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Leona Theis of Saskatoon for Sturnella Neglecta (Overlooked Little Starling)
The stories were selected from more than 1700 entries received from across Canada. The public can read the shortlisted stories on CBCBooks.ca. The winner of this year’s prize will be announced on Oct 1.
The jurors for this year’s CBC Nonfiction Prize are Yasuko Thanh, Bill Gaston and Robyn Doolittle.
Yasuko Thanh is the author of Mistakes to Run With, a memoir about how she went from living on the street to becoming an award-winning writer. She is also the author of the historical novel Mysterious Fragrance of the Yellow Mountains, which won the 2016 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and was nominated for the Amazon Canada First Novel Award.
Bill Gaston is a fiction writer and memoirist. He has won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, a National Magazine Award, a ReLit Award and been shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award and Giller Prize. In 2003, he received the Timothy Findley Award, which recognizes a mid-career author for their entire body of work. His latest book, the memoir Just Let Me Look at You was shortlisted for the 2019 RBC Taylor Prize. He won the CBC Short Story Prize in 1998.
Robyn Doolittle is a Globe and Mail investigative journalist. Her reporting on Mayor Rob Ford for the Toronto Star won the Michener Award for public service journalism. Her bestselling book on the topic, Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story, won the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. Her Unfounded series investigated how police services handle sexual assault cases. In 2017, she was named journalist of the year by the National Newspaper Awards. Her latest book, Had It Coming, looks at how attitudes around sexual harassment and assault are changing in the #MeToo era. Had It Coming is currently on the 2020 RBC Taylor Prize shortlist.
In addition to a cash prize of $6000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Grand Prize winner will receive a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and will be published on the CBC Books website. The four other finalists will each receive $1000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and will be published on CBC Books.
For more information on the CBC Literary Prizes, please visit CBCBooks.ca.
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About CBC Books
Home to Canada Reads, Writers & Company with Eleanor Wachtel, The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers, Canada Writes and the CBC Literary Prizes, CBC Books connects Canadians with books, encouraging a shared love of reading and writing. For book news, writing challenges, reading lists, book recommendations and more, visit www.CBCbooks.ca.
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic and Chinese, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
About Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s public arts funder.
The Council’s grants, services, initiatives, prizes, and payments contribute to the vibrancy of a creative and diverse arts and literary scene and support its presence across Canada and abroad. The Council’s investments foster greater engagement in the arts among Canadians and international audiences.
The Council’s Public Lending Right (PLR) program makes annual payments to creators whose works are held in Canadian public libraries.
About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a learning organization built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and creative development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to inspire everyone who attends our campus – artists, leaders, and thinkers – to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to society through cross-disciplinary learning opportunities, world-class performances, and public outreach.
For further information, contact:
Frances Bedford
Public Relations, CBC
frances.bedford@cbc.ca
416-205-7673
Diane Hargrave
Diane Hargrave Public Relations
dhprbks@interlog.com
416-467-9954
