The jury for the 2008 PEI Book Award has released the shortlist of titles for the prestigious award.
This year, for the first time, awards will be given in three categories: fiction, non-fiction and poetry. The jury received many volumes of high quality poetry submissions and determined that a special category for poetry would be a suitable addition to the Book Award program. The addition of the poetry category for this year was approved by the Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour.
“We were very impressed with the range and quality of books submitted,” said Carolyn Bertram, Minister of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour. “The jury had many good titles to choose from. I am very happy to see that Prince Edward Island’s literary culture is thriving.”
The 2008 Book Award will honour the best volumes published in 2006 and 2007. In addition to a cash prize the winner of each category will receive a commemorative work of art by Sergio and Marcela Golod of Royal Glass Design.
Winners in each of the three categories will be announced at the Prince Edward Island Book Awards to be held on September 10, 2008, Confederation Centre Public Library, 7 p.m. Copies of all of the finalist volumes can be found in Island bookstores.
BACKGROUNDER - Finalists:
Fiction:
• Shape of Things to Come by Richard Lemm - Acorn Press
• And My Name Is: Stories from the Quilt by Margie Carmichael - Acorn Press
• Bounce and Beans and Burn by Shannon Murray - Acorn Press
Non-fiction:
• La Mi-Carême en Acadie by Georges Arsenault - La Grande Marée
• Chasing the Shore by David Weale - Tangle Lane Publishing
• Sex After Baby: Why There is None by Kathleen Hamilton - Acorn Press
Poetry:
• The Enchanted House by Beth Janzen - Acorn Press
• The Taste of Water by Frank Ledwell - Acorn Press
• Beautiful Veins by Joseph Sherman - Acorn Press.