Just a quick Newsy Bits post for those interested in Canadian publishing. I love watching the awards unfold and seeing the difference even a longlist nomination can make for an author and the publisher.

Rogers Writers’ Trust of Canada Fiction Prize

The Writers’ Trust of Canada has several annual literary prizes, and earlier this week they announced the 2012 shortlist the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, awarded to the best novel or short story collection. Five works were selected for the shortlist and include Tim Bowling (The Tinsmith), Tamas Dobozy (Siege 13), Rawi Hage (Carnival), Alix Ohlin (Inside), and Linda Spalding (The Purchase). The winner will be announced on November 7, 2012.

The Journey Prize

The Writers’ Trust of Canada and McClelland & Stewart also announced the 2012 Journey Prize. The $10,000 annual prize is awarded to “an emerging and developing writer of distinction for a short story published in a Canadian literary publication.” One thing I didn’t know about The Journey Prize, which I find neat is that it was initially created from James A. Michener’s royalty earnings from his 1988 novel, Journey.

McClelland & Stewart publishes an annual anthology, entitled The Journey Prize Stories, with the year’s nominated works. I really enjoyed reading last year’s (#23) but didn’t blog about it. This year’s anthology (#24) was released on September 18, 2012. The shortlist will be announced on October 3, and the winner revealed on November 7 (with the Rogers Writers’ Trust of Canada Fiction Prize).

City of Victoria Butler Book Prize

Just a hop and skip (or a short ferry ride) over to Vancouver Island and you’ll reach BC’s capital city, Victoria. Founded in 2004, the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize is awarded annually to a Victoria-based author of adult literature.

The 2012 finalists are Esi Edugyan (Half-Blood Blues), William Deverell (I’ll See You in My Dreams), Madeline Sonik (Afflictions and Departures), Mark Zuehlke (Breakout from Juno: First Canadian Army and the Normandy Campaign), and trio Rachel Fisher, Heather Stretch, and Robin Tunnicliffe (All the Dirt: Reflections on Organic Gardening). The winner will be announced on October 10, 2012.

Bolen Books Children’s Book Prize

The Victoria Book Prize Society who administers and facilitates the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize also manages the Bolen Books Children’s Book Prize. Since 2008, the prize has been awarded annually to a Victoria-based author for a work of children’s literature.

This year’s finalists are Caitlyn Vernon (Nowhere Else on Earth: Standing Tall for the Great Bear Rainforest), Kit Pearson (The Whole Truth), and Pamela Porter (I’ll Be Watching). The winner will be announced on October 10, 2012.

The ReLit Awards

The ReLit Award has three categories—novel, short fiction, and poetry. The 2012 longlist, for books published in 2011, was released on September 4, 2012. The prize doesn’t have a monetary award and the tagline for the prizes is “Ideas, Not Money”.

(I’m never quite sure what to make of the ReLit Awards. I love that they celebrate “the best new work released by independent publishers”, but the ridiculously long Longlist seems counter-intuitive. That’s just a personal feeling and it doesn’t really matter what I think anyway.)

The Scotiabank Giller Prize

Also announced on Tuesday, September 4, 2012 was the 2012 Giller Prize longlist. The Scotiabank Giller Prize is one of the big CanLit prizes, awarding $50,000 to the winner. The longlist includes 13 authors from across the country, and only one has been nominated before. There are several West Coast authors which is great to see, and a nice representation from independent presses too.

The Giller shortlist will be announced on October 1, and the winner revealed on October 30, 2012.

And in other book-award related news:

  • There is a new CanLit prize: The Burt Award will recognize excellent and culturally-significant YA (young adult) literature by First Nations, Métis and Inuit authors. [Read more on Quill & Quire]
  • UK Prize recognizes Vancouver writer: “Vancouver psychiatrist Harry Karlinsky’s debut novel, The Evolution of Inanimate Objects, has been nominated for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize longlist” reports Quill & Quire.
  • Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Non-Fiction: The 2nd annual $60,000 prize shortlist will be announced on Tuesday, September 25, 2012. The winner will be announced on November 20, 2012.