PEI

2016 P.E.I. Book Award nominees announced

The P.E.I. book awards, handed out every second year, recognize the best publications by Island authors, editors and book producers. This year there are nine finalists.

Nine finalists in poetry, fiction and non-fiction vye for awards

Nominees for the P.E.I. Book Awards are out.
Education Minister Doug Currie congratulates Jillianne Hamilton for making the short list for the P.E.I. Book Awards with her book Molly Miranda: Thief For Hire. (Government of Prince Edward Island)

The short list of nine candidates for the Prince Edward Island Book Award represent an wide array of Island writers.

The book awards handed out every second year, recognize the best in publications by Island authors, editors and book producers. The books must be created or edited by an Island resident, and there are three categories: fiction, non-fiction and poetry. 

"We have a number of high quality books up for consideration, and I encourage all avid Island readers to consider adding these titles to their reading lists," said Education Minister Doug Currie in a written release. 

And the nominees are:

Non-fiction

  • Those Splendid Girls: The Heroic Service of P.E.I. Nurses in the Great War by Katherine Dewar.
  • The Bastard of Fort Stikine by Debra Komar.
  • Samuel Holland: His Work and Legacy on Prince Edward Island by Earle Lockerby and Doug Sobey.

Fiction

  • Molly Miranda: Thief for Hire by Jillianne Hamilton.
  • Somewhere I Belong by Glenna Jenkins.
  • Dead Letter by Finley Martin.

Poetry

  • Conversation with Crows by Judy Gaudet.
  • Keeping Late Hours by David Helwig.
  • Identity Dreams and Memory Sounds by J.J. Steinfeld.

Nominees are judged by an independent jury for content, quality of design and production.

Shortlisted authors take part in special events at P.E.I. public libraries throughout the month of April and winners receive a cash prize and a handmade P.E.I. item.

The awards will be presented at a gala event on May 7 in partnership with the Island Literary Awards and Reading Town PEI, a week-long literary festival from April 30 to May 8 that promises dozens of public events across the Island.