It’s that time of the month again. Yes, you guessed it, our next installment of Beyond the Lobby is here. Okay, so maybe you didn’t guess it, you were probably way off but nonetheless, this month we’ve decided to focus on something that’s consuming many a book publisher in North America and possibly around the world: Awards!
Knopf Random House Canada intern, Leona Burlew, has the insider scoop on news and happenings on the biggest awards of the season. Here’s her take:
The onset of Fall means many things: the start of a new school year; a change of wardrobe for colder, wetter weather; and the transformation of the landscape into vibrant reds, oranges and yellows. In the publishing industry, too, it’s the time of year for major literary festivals and awards. They bring deserving attention to our talented Canadian authors, with awards often bestowing large monetary rewards to the winners; and festivals providing a chance for the public to interact with their favourite authors and discover new treasures.
One of the reasons that the Fall season turns into such a flurry of activity for publishers is because most awards have a deadline for application. If a book is published after a certain deadline, it is no longer eligible to win a long list of prestigious awards. The arrival of Christmas adds additional importance to publishing books in the Fall season because as we all know, books make excellent gifts, especially if penned by popular authors such as John Grisham, Justin Cronin, Salman Rushdie, and many more. Awards and festivals are one way of bringing public awareness to these titles, and are a driving force behind holiday gift purchases.
Well-known international festivities include the announcement of winners of the Man Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature, but there are many more within Canada that are significant. Apart from increasing our ever-growing “to be read” list, keeping track of Fall award winners and festivals across the country is the best way to stay on top of industry news and can often offer volunteer opportunities that can help you meet industry professionals. If you’re interested in getting more involved in Canadian publishing, read on to learn about major Fall happenings!
National Awards
The Scotiabank Giller Prize boasts one of the largest monetary rewards of the Fall season, awarding the best Canadian novel or short story collection a whopping $50,000. Even runners up come out on top with $5,000 apiece. The longlist and shortlist announcements are eagerly awaited at the beginning of the Fall, and the finalists participate in a reading event at the International Festival of Authors (IFOA). The announcement, made this year on October 30, 2012, is also the publishing social event of the year.
Random House of Canada 2012 Finalist: Ru by Kim Thúy
The Writers’ Trust Awards distribute over $100,000 to Canadian writers in the categories of fiction, published short fiction, children’s literature, and distinguished writing careers. The awards were created to recognize and promote the rich writing community in Canada, and the awards this year will be announced on November 7. The Hilary Weston Writers Prize for Non-Fiction holds an invite-only gala event to announce the winner of $60,000 on November 12, 2012.
Random House of Canada 2012 Finalists:
Non-fiction: The Measure of a Man by JJ Lee, Solar Dance by Modris Eksteins
Fiction: The Purchase by Linda Spalding
The Governor General’s Literary Awards consist of seven different categories for both English- and French-language titles: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, translation, and text and illustrations in children’s literature. Also known as the GGs, the jury searches out books that have “a Canadian voice.” Each winner receives a handsome $25,000 and a copy of their book, specially bound. Their publisher, too, receives $3,000 to contribute to the book’s promotion. Runners up pocket $1,000. The finalists appeared to read at the IFOA this year, and the winner will be announced on November 13, 2012.
Random House of Canada 2012 Finalists:
Fiction: The Headmaster’s Wager by Vincent Lam, The Purchase by Linda Spalding
Non-fiction: Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King
Children’s Lit-Text: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielson
Children’s Lit-Ill: House Held Up by Trees by Ted Kooser and illustrated by Jon Klassen, In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps it Up by Monica Kulling, illustrated by David Parkins
Trans French-English: Ru by Kim Thúy and translated by Sheila Fischman, Mafia Inc. by Andre Cedilot and Andre Noel and translated by Michael Gibson.
The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction is named after the late Globe and Mail correspondent and overall active member of the arts community. The prize is awarded to a literary non-fiction book by a Canadian author published within the previous year that embodies Taylor’s belief in a well-written and well-researched style. The winner receives a remarkable $25,000, with the runners up receiving $2,000. While the prize was announced in March this year, the winning author is usually asked to read at the IFOA in Toronto, and the longlist for the next year’s prize is set to come out in early December.
Random House of Canada 2012 Finalist: The Measure of a Man by JJ Lee
National Festivals
Word on the Street festival occurs every year in September across the country in Vancouver, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Kitchener, Toronto and Halifax. Booths are filled by literacy programs, magazines, publishers, booksellers, writers associations, with an entire section devoted to children and families. Events feature author readings and writing workshops. It’s amazing for meeting authors in person and getting in on free swag and fun contests, and there are many opportunities to help out with different aspects of the festival. As an exhibitor marketplace coordinator at the festival in Toronto this year, I spoke directly with exhibitors regarding set-up procedures and acted as a troubleshooter. It meant an early wake-up for the morning shift, but the rest of the day was spent exploring other booths and discovering the variety of impressive literary programs and publications in my city.
Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre holds literary events throughout the year, but huge crowds come out for their International Festival of Authors in late October. As a forum for Canadian authors to be celebrated on the same level as international ones, it is invaluable to our publishing industry. It also means running into Michael Ondaatje and Michael Chabon in the same room. Events include readings from national award finalists, roundtable discussions on different aspects of writing, and publisher parties. IFOA Ontario expands their reach to tours in Burlington, London, Parry Sound, Windsor, and many more cities across the province. Volunteer positions are available, but shelling out for tickets is definitely worth the price!
While the televised gala event is attended by the finalists and their publishers, the Scotiabank Giller Light Bash is the same-day soirée in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver and Halifax where editors, sales representatives, marketers and publicists gather to support their finalists. Lucky enough to be in the Random House of Canada offices this year, I definitely sensed the anticipation that surrounds this award. On Tuesday afternoon, the publisher and senior editors suddenly appeared in fancy dress and whisked themselves off to the gala. As a volunteer for the Giller Light in Toronto this year, I arrived early to the venue and found amazing raffle prizes, a buffet of ice cream, and contests to guess the prize winner. Industry professionals mingled with interns and others hopeful of soon entering the industry themselves. The gala’s announcement was broadcast live and congratulations for the winning publisher were shared before people retired to the buffet or the dance floor and its talented DJs to end the night.
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