Robin Fisher Shortlisted for Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize for biography of Wilson Duff
Vancouver Island author Robin Fisher has been shortlisted for the Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize for Wilson Duff: Coming Back, a Life (Harbour Publishing, 2022). The prize recognizes an outstanding scholarly book about a British Columbian subject and is sponsored, in partnership, by the UBC Library and the Pacific BookWorld News Society.
Wilson Duff: Coming Back, a Life is the origin story of a pioneering BC anthropologist and museologist remembered for his contributions to research involving First Nations cultures of the Northwest Coast. In tracing the story of Wilson Duff, biographer Robin Fisher reveals the evolution of anthropological studies in Vancouver during the Great Depression and war years—and the more recent changes taking place in museum and anthropology studies. Told with insight, and attention to the controversies and complexities of Duff’s life, this story will fascinate anyone engaged in BC history.
Robin Fisher is a Canadian historian and academic. He is the author of Contact and Conflict (UBC Press, 1992), a book tracing Indigenous and settler relationships. Robin is a scholar studying the history of BC—in particular, Indigenous-European relations. Fisher lives in Nanaimo, BC.
Established in memory of Basil Stuart-Stubbs, the annual Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize for Outstanding Book on British Columbia recognizes the best scholarly book published on a British Columbian subject by a Canadian author. This prize was established in 2012 to honour the memory of Basil Stuart-Stubbs, whose many accomplishments included serving as the University Librarian at UBC Library and the Director of UBC’s School of Library, Archival and Information Studies.
The prize is administered by the UBC Library and the Pacific BookWorld News Society. This year, winner of the award was E.J. Hughes Canadian War Artist (TouchWood Editions) by Robert Amos. Chinese Victoria: a long and difficult journey (Victoria: Discover the Past) by John Adams was shortlisted alongside Wilson Duff: Coming Back, a Life.