The Manitoba Book Awards were announced last night at the Centre culturel franco-manitobain. As always, I had a blast hanging out and talking to the local writers and literary folks. Host Drek Daa was funny and the evening went very smoothly (meaning of course, that the bar line moved quickly). Susie Moloney, winner of the inaugural Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction (I can finally state that I was a juror on this award. It was an honour and a privilege and I’m sure Michael would be pleased with both the shortlist and the winner), delivered a touching and funny speech via Armin Wiebe.

There was no one dominant book among the winners this year (J.R. Léveillé won two awards) which is nice, but I was rooting at least a little for my editor, Wayne Tefs to have a big night (partly because I wanted him in a good mood when I turned in my edits, but mostly because he’s a damn fine writer).

Without further ado, congratulations to all the winners and nominees!

Aqua Lansdowne Prize for Poetry
Prix Lansdowne de poésie

Poème Pierre Prière by J. R. Léveillé, Les Éditions du Blé

Best Illustrated Book of the Year
Meilleur livre illustré de l’année

David’s Trip to Paraguay: The Country with Amazing Colours / Davids Reise in das Land der vielen Farben, story and design by Miriam Rudolph, CMU Press

Manuela Dias Book Design of the Year
Prix Manuela-Dias de conception graphique en édition

Poème Pierre Prière parJ. R. Léveillé, graphiste Bernard Léveillé, publié par Les Éditions du Blé

Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book

A Large Harmonium by Sue Sorensen, Coteau Books

Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award
Prix littéraire Carol-Shields de la ville de Winnipeg

Ravenscraig by Sandi Krawchenko Altner, Heartland Associates

Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction

The Thirteen by Susie Moloney, Random House Canada

Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction

The Girl in the Wall by Alison Preston, Signature Editions

Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-Fiction
Prix Alexander-Kennedy-Isbister pour les études et essais

King: William Lyon MacKenzie King: A Life Guided by the Hand of Destiny by Allan Levine, Douglas and McIntyre Publishers Inc.

John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer

Jennifer Still

Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher
Prix Mary-Scorer pour le meilleur livre par un éditeur du Manitoba

Butterfly Winter by W.P. Kinsella, Enfield and Wizenty (an imprint of Great Plains Publications)

McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award
YOUNGER CATEGORY:

S is for Science: A Discovery of Alphabet by Larry Verstraete, Sleeping Bear Press

OLDER CATEGORY:

Tori by Design by Colleen Nelson, Great Plains Teen Fiction

McNally Robinson Book of the Year

Not Being on a Boat by Esmé Claire Keith, Freehand Books (an imprint of Broadview Press)