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2016 City of Vancouver Book Award finalists announced

Wayde Compton, one of the finalists for the 2016 Vancouver Book Awards
Wayde Compton along with Renee Sarojini Saklikar are finalists for the 2016 Vancouver Book Awards for editing The Revolving City, co-published by Anvil Press and SFU Public Square. Photo courtesy Wayde Compton's website.

Three books that reflect Vancouver's unique character, culture, and history have been selected as finalists for the 2016 City of Vancouver Book Award.

The 28th annual City of Vancouver Book Award will be presented at the Mayor's Arts Awards ceremony at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre on October 3, 2016.

2016 shortlist

This year's shortlist is an eclectic collection:

  • Non-fiction memoir
  • Poetry
  • An art exhibition catalogue

Each book reveals the complicated vision of a city coming to terms with its past and a desire to better itself.

2016 finalists

Wayde Compton and Renée Sarojini Saklikar for editing The Revolving City

51 Poems and the Stories Behind Them (Anvil Press and SFU Public Square), an exquisite collection of poetry that invites an intimate exploration of our complex city through the eyes of a diverse range of poets.

Lorimer Shenher for That Lonely Section of Hell (Greystone Books)

A first-hand account of the systemic failures that shrouded Vancouver's infamous Missing and Murdered Women Investigation.

Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Karen Duffek and Tania Willard for Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun: Unceded Territories (Figure 1 Publishing and Museum of Anthropology at UBC)

A provocative art book that celebrates Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun's artwork as expression of Indigenous rights in the unceded territory known as Vancouver.

About the jury

The three shortlisted titles were chosen by an independent jury that included:

  • Shirley Lew, Dean, Library, Teaching and Learning Services at Vancouver Community College and Secretary of The Vancouver Writers Festival Board of Directors
  • Zoey Leigh Peterson, author and librarian
  • Mary Schendlinger, writer, editor, publishing teacher, and co-founder of Geist magazine
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