Recipients of the Prince Edward Island Book awards are to be congratulated for their tremendous talent, says Tourism and Culture Minister Robert Henderson.
“The Prince Edward Island Book Awards celebrate our authors and raise awareness of Island literature,” said the minister. “I know the jury had a difficult task in selecting the winners from the list of nominees.”
The awards were presented in the categories of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. In the poetry category, Dianne Hicks Morrow was the winner with her collection of poems titled What Really Happened is This. The winner for the fiction category was Patti Larson for Run (The Haunted), while the non-fiction award was presented to Marian Bruce for Remembering Old Dan.
The awards were presented at a ceremony at Beaconsfield’s Carriage House. In addition to a cash award, recipients receive a commemorative award handcrafted by Island artisan Susana Rutherford of Firehorse Studios. The pieces were inspired by lines from three Island poets: Lucy Maud Montgomery, Milton Acorn and Joseph Sherman.
The judges for the competition were Grace Dawson, literacy and public services librarian; Ann Thurlow, editor and journalist; and Nancy Smitheram, educator.
The PEI Book Awards are held every two years and are open to authors, editors and book producers resident in the province. In addition to recognizing the quality of publications, the Awards raise the profile of Island books in order to increase sales. The next Prince Edward Island Book Awards will be held in 2014.