The Alberta Literary Awards shortlist has been announced and out of twenty-three finalists, nine are from the Edmonton area. Those writers nominated are Lynn Coady, Tim Bowling, Michael Penny, Alice Major, Nicole Moeller, Mieko Ouchi, Lisa Martin-DeMoor, Dolly Dennis and Janine Edwards. The winners in nine categories will be announced on June 9. Winners receive cash prizes of $1500 or $700, depending on the specific award.
The Alberta Literary Awards are a presentation of the Writers Guild of Alberta. The Guild was founded “in 1982 to recognize excellence in writing by Alberta authors. Entries are judged by an independent jury recruited by the WGA. Submissions are evaluated on originality, creativity, and quality of writing,” There normally are nine categories but the Jan Whyte Memorial Essay Prize will not be awarded this year.
Lynn Coady is nominated for the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction for her novel The Antagonist. Nicole Moeller and Mieko Ouchi are both nominated for the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama. Tim Bowling and Michael Penny are nominated for the Stephan G. Stepansson Award for Poetry. Alice Major is nominated for the Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Nonfiction. Lisa Martin-DeMoor, Dolly Dennis and Janine Edwards are all nominated for the James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction.
The remaining categories are:
• R. Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature
• Amber Bowerman Memorial Travel Writing Award
• Howard O’Hagan Award for Short Story
Winning this award can be a real coup for an author; it’s definitely something for the Edmonton nominees to mention on their next business card printing order. Writers are almost always judged on what they last wrote and what awards they have won, a business card is a great place to announce new awards.
