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The Governor General's Award

© Diana Adams

"Writing is such a despised occupation that any award helps. It is the only profession which does not have a reasonable scale for rewarding work based on talent"-------------Juror, Austin Clarke.

It seems there are no shortage of writers despite the difficulties of a career in letters. A total of 755 books were in submitted to the English Language categories. The Nominees were announced yesterday for the prize of $15,000 will be awarded on November 14. Two of the fiction nominees are poised for the prize Jane Urquhart for The Stone Carvers, and Richard B. Wright for Clara Callan. Readers will be familiar with Urquhart's book as it was long listed on the Booker Prize, and both authors are in the running for The Giller Prize.

Once again the buzz is centered on Alice Munro. It comes as a huge shock to all that her new collection of short stories, Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage did not make the cut. Jurors commented that it was an agonizing decision, but that they 'came to the conclusion that the five they did select were interesting and strong and going in interesting directions.'

A small-press wonder hit the nominee list, Tessa McWatt's Dragon's Cry was published this year by Riverbank Press. Riverbank is a very small press indeed with only three books issued per annum. Dragon's Cry is a story about a Toronto couple dealing with the death of a family member, while trying to conceive a child.

The Governor General's Award is offered in 14 categories, seven in English and seven in French. The categories are: fiction, poetry, drama, non-fiction, children's literature (text), children's literature(illustration), and translation.

Fall is the season for literary awards. There will be many suprises and dissapointments for our writers who toil in pursuit of excellence. Literary Prize Winners will be watching and remarking on the books that shape our world. Read below for the nominees in fiction, poetry and non-fiction. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fiction

• Yann Martel, Montreal, for Life of Pi.
• Tessa McWatt, Toronto, for Dragons Cry.
• Jane Urquhart, Stratford, Ont., for The Stone Carvers.
• Thomas Wharton, Edmonton, for Salamander.
• Richard B. Wright, St. Catharines, Ont.,forClara Callan.

Poetry

• Anne Carson, Montreal, for Men in the Off Hours.
• George Elliott Clarke, Toronto, forExecution Poems
• Phil Hall, Toronto, for Trouble Sleeping
• Robert Kroetsch, Winnipeg, for The Hornbooks of Rita K.
• Steve McCaffery, Toronto, for Seven Pages Missing.

Non-fiction

• Susan Crean, Toronto, for The Laughing One: A Journey to Emily Carr.
• Thomas Homer-Dixon, Toronto, for The Ingenuity Gap.

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