Bull-Bransom Award Finalists Announced

The names of five finalists for the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s 2013 Bull-Bransom Award have been announced. The annual award honors illustrators’ unique takes on wildlife, and this year’s special five range from tiny mouse to friendly moose.



The award is presented annually by the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and is in place to recognize excellence in

Nobel Winner Walcott Protests

Nobel Prize-winning author Derek Walcott is mad as hell, and he’s not going to take it anymore. According to Caribbean Book Blog:


If there’s one thing that pisses off Derek Walcott, it’s the Caribbean governments’ blatant disregard for the development of the literary arts and their seeming indifference to the plight of the region’s writers and artistes.
This isn’t a new theme for Walcott. He

Charles Taylor Prize 2013 Shortlist Announced

The shortlist for the prestigious Canadian Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction were announced in Toronto yesterday. According to the organization:

The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction recognizes excellence in Canadian non-fiction writing and emphasizes the development of the careers of the authors it celebrates. All five finalists will be supported by extensive publicity

Will Ferguson Wins 2012 Giller

Though until now he has perhaps been best known for his debut work, 1997’s Why I Hate Canadians, Will Ferguson has been given the nod for the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize, Canada’s richest literary award.

Ferguson wins for his novel, the thriller 419 (Viking Canada/Penguin Canada). The announcement was made at a nationally televised dinner and awards ceremony hosted by CBC personality Jian

The Birth of a Literary Prize

There are times in life when we are galvanized by inequity. So it was for a group of women who were touched by a panel at the recent Vancouver Writers Festival and determined to do something to right a perceived wrong.

The Writers Festival panel looked at facts: since 1901, the Nobel Prize for Literature has only been taken home by a woman a dozen times. In Canada, the prestigious Stephen

Mantel’s Sequel Sets New Man Booker Record

The second book in Hilary Mantel’s trilogy fictionally chronicling the life of 16th century English statesman Thomas Cromwell has become the first sequel to ever win a Man Booker.

The first installment, Wolf Hall, won three years ago. This year’s winner, Bring Up the Bodies, drew fine praise from the Man Booker judges. From The Guardian:

The chairman of the Booker judges, Sir Peter Stothard,

Orange Prize Shortlist Represents Wide Field

The shortlist for the rich and prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction was announced in London yesterday and both new and established authors were represented. Among the nominees were Ann Patchett who was nominated this year for State of Wonder. Patchett won the Orange Prize in 2002 for Bel Canto.“This is a shortlist of remarkable quality and variety,” commented bestselling novelist and Orange Prize

No Fiction Pulitzer Prize for 2012: Judges “Couldn’t Agree”

For the first time since 1977, no Pulitzer Prize will be awarded in the coveted fiction category because, according to The Daily Beast, judges “couldn’t agree” on the winner.The field wasn’t large, with only three books making the finals: Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson, Swamplandia! by Karen Russell and David Foster Wallace’s posthumous The Pale King.Since the the Pulitzer prizes began in 1918,

Authors on the Stump, Lookin’ for Love

It’s pretty well understood that, on the whole, Canadians are an intensely literate people. Last year the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development released the results of a study that revealed, among other things, that 37 per cent of Canadian adults do not read for pleasure. What they failed to point out, of course, was that the number indicated that 63 per cent of Canadians do.Not

Governor General’s Literary Award Winners Announced

The names of the 2011 winners of Canada’s most prestigious literary prize, the Governor General’s Literary Award, were announced this morning. The 14 winners -- one French, one English in seven categories -- each take home $25,0000.In addition to the monetary award, each winner will receive a specially-bound copy of the winning book, created by Montreal bookbinder Lise Dubois. The publisher of

Esi Edugyan Wins Canada’s Richest Literary Prize

Esi Edugyan has won the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize for her novel Half-Blood Blues (Thomas Allen).The announcement of the largest annual literary prize in Canada was made at a black-tie dinner and award ceremony hosted by Jian Ghomeshi and broadcast live on CBC. The Scotiabank Giller Prize awards $50,000 to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English and

Scorned National Book Award Hopeful Felt “Gutted”

In a Vanity Fair exclusive with Brett Berk, scorned National Book Award hopeful, Lauren Myracle said she felt “gutted and ashamed” when she heard she was nominated, then un-nominated, then nominated again, only to have it all taken away. “The novel in question,” writes Berk, “Shine (Abrams, 2011), concerns a violent hate crime against a small-town gay youth, the ensuing cover-up by local

Bookies’ Favorite Wins International Prize

Julian Barnes, the bookmakers’ favorite, has been named the winner of the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for The Sense of an Ending (Jonathan Cape). Barnes has been shortlisted for the award three previous times -- for Arthur and George (2005), England, England (1998) and Flaubert's Parrot (1984). This is his first win.When Barnes’ place on the Man Booker shortlist was announced, judge Gaby

Swedish Poet Wins Nobel Prize for Literature

Tomas Tranströmer was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature yesterday, recognition that former U.S. poet laureate Rita Dove told the Washington Post was “long overdue” the 80-year-old Swede.In a press release, the Swedish Academy, who awards the prize, said that Tranströmer, who is widely considered to be one of Sweden’s most important writers, was recognized “because, through his condensed,