Harbour and Nightwood at the BC Book Prizes

The 2024 BC and Yukon Book Prizes have been announced, and three books from Harbour Publishing are finalists for the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Book Prize. 

• The Wild Horses of the Chilcotin: Their History and Future by Wayne McCrory
• The Best Loved Boat: The Princess Maquinna by Ian Kennedy
• This Place Is Who We Are: Stories of Indigenous Leadership, Resilience, and Connection to Homelands by Katherine Palmer Gordon

The Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize is awarded to the author(s) of the book which contributes the most to the enjoyment and understanding of British Columbia and/or Yukon. It is supported by Mosaic Books and SFU Creative Writing.

The Wild Horses of the Chilcotin: Their History and Future draws upon two decades of research to make a case for the protection of the Chilcotin’s wild horses—a population that is seen by government policy as an intrusion, competing for range land with native species and domestic cattle. McCrory argues that the horses are a resilient part of the area’s balanced prey-predator ecosystem while chronicling the Chilcotin wild horses’ genetic history and significance to the Tŝilhqot’in.

Wayne McCrory is a registered professional biologist specializing in the study of wild horses, bears and western toads. He has published more than ninety scientific reports on wildlife and conservation, including two technical reports on wild horses in BC and Alberta and, with horse genetics expert Dr. Gus Cothran, two reports on the genetics of wild horses in the Chilcotin. McCrory lives on a small farm in Hills, BC, with his wife, conservationist and journalist Lorna Visser.

The Best Loved Boat: The Princess Maquinna brings to life the history of the  Canadian Pacific Railway's ship, Princess Maquinna, which steamed up and down the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island during a time when this remote part of British Columbia was alive with mines, canneries and now-forgotten settlements. 

Ian Kennedy is the author of several books about BC history including Sunny Sandy Savary (Kennell Publishing, 1992) and he co-authored Tofino and Clayoquot Sound (cloth edition, 2014; paperback edition available in fall 2023). For many years, he has also served as one of Canada’s few rugby journalists and has written for numerous magazines around the world. He currently lives in Comox, BC.

This Place Is Who We Are: Stories of Indigenous Leadership, Resilience, and Connection to Homelands profiles Indigenous communities in central and northern coastal BC that are reconnecting to their lands and waters—and growing and thriving through this reconnection.

Katherine Palmer Gordon is the author of eight books of non-fiction, including several BC Bestsellers. She is also an award-winning freelance journalist and lives on Gabriola Island, BC.

As well, the BC and Yukon Book Prizes has recognized two poetry books from Nightwood Editions. The Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize and Bill Duthie Booksellers Choice Award. 

• Dream House: A Poem by Cathy Stonehouse, is a finalist for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize
• Crushed Wild Mint by Jess Housty is also a finalist for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize as well as the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award

And the Nightwood has one finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction prize as well: 

• Beautiful Beautiful by Brandon Reid

For more information about these books, go to www.nightwoodeditions.com.

The Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize is awarded to the author(s) of the best work of poetry, and is supported by International Web Express. Dorothy Livesay was a writer of journalism, short fiction, autobiography and literary criticism, but is best known as a strong, sensitive poet dealing as capably with public and political issues as with personal and intimate emotion and reflection. 

The Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award is presented to the originating publisher(s) and the author(s) of the book that is the most successful in terms of public appeal, initiative, design, production and content. The prize is shared by the publisher(s) and the author(s). BC/Yukon booksellers determine the winner by ballot vote. It is Supported by Ampersand, Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia, BC Booksellers Association, and Laughing Oyster Bookshop and is named for the founder of the Duthie’s Books.

The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize is awarded to the author(s) of the best original work of literary fiction and is supported by Friesens.

The winners of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes will be announced at an Awards Gala on Saturday, September 28th, 2024 at the University Golf Club in Vancouver. Tickets will go on sale later this spring.

There will be a soirée to celebrate the finalist authors and publishers on Thursday, May 16th at 6:30PM at Book Warehouse in Vancouver (632 W Broadway). This event is free and open to the public.