Once Known as the Tidewater Book Festival
Now the Whistler Independent Book Awards
This webpage is required reading for Dr. Hanson's course Internet Business II. The relevant topic is the marketing and promotion of awards and ceremonies as a businesses model. Dr. Hanson is a principal in SidewaysUp, the digital marketing agency, recently in the news for their viral campaign "Doggie Doesn't" for a luxury dog bed product launch from GoodNightDog.com, which manufactures and retails high end dog beds sporting designer fabrics and washable covers. The video depicts dogs unable to sleep and then waking their owners until the right bed is found. The course uses his agency business as a teaching model.
In 2014 the Tidewater Book Festival for Independent Authors featured a book fair showcasing BC authors and a full day of essential and informative workshops for writers about successful self-publishing.
By 2016 the Tidewater Book Festival had evolved. This website www.tidewaterfestival.com, now touted the WIBA Awards with the following explanation: Established in 2016 to recognize excellence in Canadian independent publishing, the Whistler Independent Book Awards offers prizes in two categories: fiction and non-fiction. For several years www.tidewaterfestival.com remained the awards website until a new site was created.
Content is from the site's 2014 -2017 archived pages and other outside sources.
The current website for the Whistler Independent Book Awards is found at: http://whistlerwritersfest.com/ where you will find the most up-to-date information about WIBA.
Independent and self-published authors talk about being part of the first Raindance Book Festival for Independent Authors, held in November 2013 at Richmond, B.C., Canada. This book fair also offered practical workshops for writers, and the event was an invaluable opportunity to reach readers and network with fellow authors. See www.raindancebookfestival.com for details about the next Raindance Book Festival, November 201
Tidewater Book Festival follows on from last year’s successful inaugural Raindance Book Festival, held in Richmond, BC. Now a two-day event, it was a full weekend for everyone who loves reading and writing.
On Saturday, Nov.1 and Sunday, Nov.2, 2014 you are invited to participate in the Tidewater Book Festival for Independent Authors in Nanaimo, British Columbia. It promises to be an outstanding two day experience for self published authors, as well as for the public. A full day of 10 workshops is scheduled for Sunday 2 November, offering informative sessions led by publishing professionals on topics ranging from the practicalities of self-publishing, through how to design and edit a book, to how to craft your pitch and sell successfully. These workshops will be held at the Painted Turtle Guesthouse, and a full-day pass is available, as well as the option to pick and choose individual workshops of interest
Tidewater for Independent Authors
Tidewater exists to promote quality in independent publishing and to support writers who have self-published or who are planning to self-publish. Through Meetup in Vancouver, BC, Tidewater offers seminars, networking sessions and promotional opportunities.
About Tidewater
Tidewater began as Raindance in 2013, with the inaugural book festival held in Richmond, BC, in November. It was the first book festival exclusively for independent and self-published authors in western Canada. In 2014, Raindance become Tidewater, but with the same purpose: to showcase independent writers and aspiring authors, and to support excellence in self-publishing. This festival was held in November in Nanaimo, BC.
117 Third Avenue
New Westminster, BC V3L 1L7
1-604-522-6222
info@tidewaterfestival.com
The inspiration for the festival and the Tidewater Independent Author Network came from the experience of the two Vivalogue Publishing principals, Lynn Duncan and Kilmeny Jane Denny, who have years of experience working with independent and self-published authors. Many first-time authors and aspiring writers are unfamiliar with the publishing industry, the pros and cons of existing options for authors considering non-trade publishing, and the requirements necessary to produce a professional-quality book. At existing book festivals, self-published authors (if they are allowed to participate at all) are frequently overshadowed by their trade-published peers. So the idea of creating a book festival with professional workshops exclusively for self-published and independent authors was born.
The Tidewater Book Festival for Independent Authors is a collaborative venture. Participating authors read and review their fellow authors’ books, providing valuable peer feedback that can be used by authors as a marketing tool to promote their work.
2016 PRESS RELEASE
Whistler Independent Book Awards featured in Quill & Quire
vivalogue April 5, 2016 News & Events
The launch of the Whistler Independent Book Awards was featured by Quill & Quire in March. Lynn Duncan, director of Vivalogue Publishing was interviewed by the magazine. The full article can be read online (paid membership required), but here is an extract of the coverage.
First awards for Canadian self-published books to debut at Whistler Writers Festival
The inaugural Whistler Independent Book Awards, jointly produced by the Whistler Writing Society and publishing and editorial services company Vivalogue Publishing, will launch at the Whistler Writers Festival in Whistler, B.C. this fall. The awards are the first to recognize the country’s self-published authors, and offer a $500 prize each in the categories of fiction, non-fiction, crime fiction, and poetry. “Self-publishing has moved from what used to be called 'vanity press' to something increasingly recognized as a viable business decision,” says Lynn Duncan, Vivalogue’s Canadian co-founder and a member of the awards judging team. “Except there’s no way to differentiate books by people that are true professionals and have spent the time and money to craft a professional quality book, from books by the hobby author. There’s no way for consumers to know and there’s no incentive for self-published authors to invest the time.”
… Duncan is one of a three-person team that will determine longlists, after which the Vancouver branch of the Canadian Authors Association will select three finalists in each category.
…The team will also send a personalized evaluation for improvement to each author who doesn’t make the longlist. “One of the challenges for self-published authors is that they don’t get feedback. If you send us something that we don’t think is ready, we will tell you. This is what we think is good and this is where you need to spend your effort.’ Because how are they going to find out otherwise?” Duncan says. “We hope there’s a lot of work ahead of us because we want to recognize authors putting out quality books and having a hard time getting them acknowledged or recognized because of a big sea of undifferentiated titles.
Awards: Inaugural Whistler Independent Book Awards nominees announced
The Whistler Writers Festival
July 4, 2016 By Becky Robertson | quillandquire.com/
The Whistler Writing Society and self-publishing company Vivalolgue have announced the nominees for the first Whistler Independent Book Awards, recognizing Canadian self-published authors writing in four categories.
The shortlists will be selected by members of the Canadian Authors Association, with the winners chosen by a Canadian author relative to each category – Genni Gunn for fiction, J.J. Lee for non-fiction, Linda L. Richards for crime, and Evelyn Lau for poetry – alongside with an appointee of the Whistler Writing Society.
Feedback letters with constructive criticism were sent to all authors who submitted. The winners, who will receive a prize of $500 each, and finalists, who will receive $250, will be revealed at the Literary Cabaret Gala held at Whistler Writers’ Fest on Oct. 14.
The nominees are:
Fiction
- Mark Alexander, Danny, What Are You Doing?
- Bryna Barclay, The House of the White Elephant
- Donna Barker, Mother Theresa’s Advice for Jilted Lovers
- Ev Bishop, Bigger Things
- Mark Cameron, Goodnight Sunshine
- Curran, Kath, Before It Was Easy
- Ron Duffy, Crossed Lives
- Shawn Gale, The Stories That Make Us
- Laurel Hislop, Chitchat
- Caroline Shepard, Unlit Spaces
Non-fiction
- Pamela Roy Bendall, What Was I Thinking? Adventures of a Woman Sailing Solo
- Miji Campbell, Separation Anxiety: A Coming-of-Middle-Age Story
- Graham Clews, The Sound of Silence
- Leslie Hill, Dressed for Dancing: My Sojourn in the Findhorn Foundation
- Monique Layton, The New Arcadia: Tahiti’s Cursed Myth
- Bretton Loney, Rebel with a Cause: The Doc Nikaido Story
- Dawn Service, The Cabin: A Misanthropic Journal
- Oriole Veldhuis, For Elise: Unveiling the Forgotten Woman on the Criddle Homestead
- Megan Williams, Our Interrupted Fairytale
- Maggie Ziegler, The Road to Keringet
Crime fiction
- D.F. Bailey, Bone Maker
- T.G. Brown, O’Henry
- Ruth Donald, Sundown on Top of the World
- Gerry Fostaty, Stage Business
- S.G. Wong, In for a Pound
- Alan Woodland, Out of the Mist
Poetry
- Gloria Barclay, Water Window Mirror
- Connie Braun, Unspoken: An Inheritance of Words
- Rosalind Knight, Songs of Zambia
WHISTLER INDEPENDENT BOOK AWARDS 2016
WINNERS
Fiction: Byrna Barclay (Saskatchewan) for House of the White Elephant
Non-fiction: Miji Campbell (Alberta) for Separation Anxiety: A Coming of Middle Age Story
Crime fiction: Gerry Fostaty (Ontario) for Stage Business
Poetry: Gail Sidonie Sobat (Alberta) for How the Light Is Spent
Fiction finalists
Kath Curran (British Columbia) – Before It Was Easy
Shawn Gale (British Columbia) – The Stories That Make Us
Non-fiction finalists
Oriole A. Vane Veldhuis (Manitoba) – For Elise: Unveiling the Forgotten Woman on the Criddle Homestead
Maggie Ziegler (British Columbia) – The Road to Keringet
Crime fiction finalists
D.F. Bailey (British Columbia) – Bone Maker
R.E. Donald (British Columbia ) – Sundown on Top of the World
Poetry finalists
Gloria Barkley (British Columbia) – Water Window Mirror
Alan Woodland (British Columbia) – Out of the Mist
For Elise: Unveiling the Forgotten Woman on the Criddle Homestead
J. J. Lee judge of 2016 non-fiction Whistler Independent Book Award
Finalist Evaluation
Title For Elise by J.J. Lee
https://vanecriddle.wordpress.com
‘For Elise is a book from a genre that is often difficult to evaluate because the genre has its own criteria and demands. The genre is family and local history. The difficulty is should a work be judged on literary merit when so much of what drives it is the recovery of experience, the reinsertion of artifact and document back into a chronology of a life lived, and the simple reassertion that we or they were here?
The author smartly recognizes the importance of ordinary people’s history and prepares us for the humble, though epic in scale, tale. But the apology is unnecessary because Elise Harrer is a decisively literary, heroic, vital person whose struggle with the frontier has all the elements of a compelling Western tale. . . . ‘
‘The instigation of the author is both real and compelling – witnessing her father honour the grave of a mystery woman from her family’s past. The writer drops us quickly into the whirlwind of action, setting us to sail across the ocean and prairies. It is breathless in a good way, and it is a great bit of wonderfully historical fiction backed by actual historical documentation.’ . . .
‘It is a mammoth accomplishment. The work is admirable for its detail and doggedness. The writer has a great tone and keeps things quite simple – getting out of the way of the story and her source material, a hard thing to do. I think this book will be a valuable resource and an important corrective with regard to this period in time and as a feminist re-history that does so much to honour and restore Elise. The writer’s father may have placed the stone but it is the writer who has carved out the undying epitaph. I won’t forget Elise. That is for certain.’
J. J. Lee, wrote The Measure of a Man: the Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit
Whistler Independent Book Awards 2016: How I Became A Finalist
By Kobo Writing Life, August 29, 2016
By R.E. Donald
I was thrilled when I found out that the fourth novel in my Highway Mysteries series, Sundown on Top of the World, had been selected as a finalist for the 2016 Whistler Independent Book Award in the Crime Fiction Category. I was not only thrilled, but I also felt a great sense of relief.
As many other fiction writers know, confidence in our own work only goes so far. There’s an inexorable, distressing fear that our new novel has fatal flaws which, as the creator, we are just too close to the book to recognize. Releasing a new book, especially as an independent author-publisher doing so without the support of a team of publishing professionals, is taking a leap of faith. We do our best to write a novel that we ourselves would love to read, and trust that it will appeal to other readers with tastes similar to our own. For an actor with stage fright, validation is in the audience’s applause. For writers, that all important validation for our work comes from good reviews and awards.
THE WRITING PROCESS
Creating a novel is more than just sitting at a keyboard and typing. Sundown on Top of the World took much longer to write than I expected. As a reader, I prefer stories and characters that are realistic and believable. As a writer, I strive to create that realism in my novels. Unfortunately for me, my trucker protagonist does not solve mysteries in my own city, nor in a fictitious city I’ve created, nor even in the current century. He lives on the highways of western North America in the late 1990s. Trying to make the settings of place and time as realistic as possible required many hours of research. I pored over books about Alaska and the Yukon, spent many hours doing online searches, and visited countless blogs, websites and images on Google Earth in my effort to get things right.
Although I’ve visited Alaska and the Yukon several times, it was always during the summer months. Happily, I moved to a ranch in the South Cariboo of British Columbia soon after I started writing Sundown. In the Cariboo, I was able to experience for myself what it’s like living in a place that gets very cold in the winter, where the lakes freeze over for months at a time, and where you can’t see your neighbor’s house but can often see a moose or a bear passing through. It became easier for me to visualize life in the far north. For Sundown, the litmus test of the setting’s credibility was receiving positive reviews from readers who live in Alaska and the Yukon.
CREATING MEMORABLE CHARACTERS
Fiction works best if characters come alive for the reader, and in order for that to happen, the characters must first be alive for the writer. Each of my characters is usually an amalgamation of traits from two or three people – actual or fictional – that I’ve encountered in my life. I’ll write a short bio of each major character and refer to it as I write, adding pertinent parts of their personality or history in a timeline of their life as such things become relevant to the story, so that the character becomes real to me and hopefully real to readers.
WRITING POINT OF VIEW
I choose to write in the third person with multiple points of view. Novels with multiple viewpoints give the writer and the reader an opportunity to get inside the heads of several characters that play an important role in the story. I love that experience! I loved getting to know Betty Salmon, the old bush woman who has been treated badly by men all her life and now clings to the one person who has loved her, a young woman named Goldie who is ready to leave home and experience life outside of the Alaskan bush. And I loved experiencing Goldie’s excitement and uncertainty as she gets to know a young man from a distant place called California, a place that she’s only seen in movies. I love exploring the bittersweet memories and emotions of my hero when he revisits places he last saw over twenty years ago before tragedy touched his life.
PLOTTING VS PANTSING
As far as the story goes, my writing process falls somewhere between plotting and ‘pantsing’. (For those not familiar with the term, ‘pantsing’ comes from the expression ‘by the seat of your pants’, meaning you let the story evolve as you write.) Traditional mysteries generally have a murder occurring ‘offstage’, multiple suspects, and a puzzle to solve. Before I start writing, I know who is murdered and who did it, and I choose which characters will be necessary to complicate the investigation or help to resolve it. In spite of the outlined plot, I often let the story change direction as the characters interact with each other and their environment.
RELEASING THE FINISHED PRODUCT
When the Sundown manuscript was completed after a year and a half of researching, writing, revising and editing, I felt proud of the novel I’d created but when I released the e-book on Kobo there was still that uncertainty about how readers would react. Would readers like it as much as I hoped? Would those who enjoyed my earlier books be disappointed with the new offering?
ABOUT THE WHISTLER INDEPENDENT BOOK AWARDS
Established in 2016 to recognize excellence in Canadian independent publishing, the Whistler Independent Book Awards now offers prizes in two categories: fiction and non-fiction. There are three finalists in each category (fiction and non-fiction), with the winners being announced at the annual Whistler Writers Festival.
Whistler Writers Festival
This is an annual event in Whistler, which WWS started in 2002. It is a multi-venue, multi-artist, multi-day event. It involves over half of WWS’ volunteer and financial resources.
Jointly administered by the Whistler Writing Society and Vivalogue Publishing, the Whistler Independent Book Awards (WIBAs) provide independent authors with a unique opportunity to have their work recognized through a juried process typically reserved for trade-published titles.
In supporting independent authors, this competition is unique in that each and every entry receives a valuable, constructive critique of their submission, which can be quoted for publicity and promotional purposes.
Eligibility
- Authors must be either Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada
- The author must have paid costs associated with the production of the book
- All entries must be available for purchase in physical form (ebook-only publications not eligible)
- The book must be copyrighted within the last six years and the author must retain all rights
Prizes
Nominees (shortlisted titles) will receive:
- A certificate confirming their right to brand their title as “Nominated for the Whistler Independent Book Award 2017”
- 100 award stickers suitable for use on the book’s cover
- Inclusion on the Tidewater website with a link to the author’s website
- One review provided by an appointee of the Canadian Authors-Metro Vancouver
Finalists will receive:
- A certificate confirming their right to brand their title as “Finalist for the Whistler Independent Book Award 2017”
- 100 award stickers suitable for use on the book’s cover
- Inclusion on the Whistler Writers Festival and Tidewater websites with a link to the author’s website
- Inclusion in the Whistler Writers Festival official program guide
- An invitation to attend the Finalists’ Reception at the Whistler Writers Festival
- One complimentary ticket to the Literary Cabaret event (Additional tickets will be available for purchase)
- One complimentary ticket to the Speed Dating for Authors Event
- An opportunity to sell their books throughout the Festival (Note: Vivalogue Publishing will process all sales and will retain 25% of the purchase price)
- One review from each of the two final judges
- A cash award of $250
Winners will receive:
- The prizes listed above
- An award presented at the Literary Cabaret by the event sponsor
- An invitation to participate in a reading event during the Whistler Writers Festival
- An opportunity to sell their book through Armchair Books in Whistler until January 15, 2018 (Sales will be on a consignment basis; Armchair Books will retain an industry-standard 40% of the purchase price)
- An additional cash award of $250 ($500 in total)
- Inclusion in a press release distributed to appropriate media
SELECTION PROCESS
Selection Process
Shortlisting
- Books must be submitted in physical form from March 1 to April 30, 2017
- All submissions will be evaluated by a member of the shortlisting committee
- Authors of unsuccessful entries will receive a written evaluation from the selection committee
- Entries deemed to have exceptional merit in each category will be shortlisted
- The shortlist will be announced May 31, 2017
- A small number of outstanding entries in each category that are not shortlisted but are considered to have significant merit, may be recognized with an award of merit by the selection committee.
Finalist selection
- All shortlisted titles will be submitted to Canadian Authors-Metro Vancouver
- Appointees of Canadian Authors-Metro Vancouver will provide a written review of each title and will select three finalists in each category
- Finalists will be announced July 17, 2017
- Finalists will be recognized at a reception hosted by Vivalogue Publishing at the beginning of the Whistler Writers Festival
Final Selection
- Finalist entries will be submitted to a two-person judging panel
- Each judge will provide a written review of each title
- Winning entries will be announced at the Literary Cabaret event held as part of the Whistler Writers Festival
Fee
$100 plus GST per fiction and non-fiction entry (Paypal or cheque made payable to Vivalogue Publishing).
All entries will receive an evaluation from a member of the selection committee.
Judges
The Canadian Authors Association, founded by Stephen Leacock in 1921, is a membership-based organization that offers aspiring, emerging, and professional writers opportunities and resources to hone their writing and business skills, network with others, and thrive in a community of like-minded professionals.
Finalist judges for the fiction and non-fiction categories are:
Fiction – Gail Anderson-Dargatz
Gail Anderson-Dargatz’s novels have been published worldwide in English and in many other languages. Her international bestsellers The Cure for Death by Lightning and A Recipe for Bees were both finalists for the prestigious Giller Prize. Her latest novel, The Spawning Grounds, has just been nominated for the OLA Evergreen Award. Gail mentors writers from around the world on her online forums and offers annual writing retreats on Manitoulin Island, ON, and in the Shuswap region of BC.
Fiction – Darcie Friesen Hossack
Darcie Friesen Hossack is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers and, for eleven years, wrote food memoir for various western Canadian newspapers. Her short story collection, Mennonites Don’t Dance, was a runner-up for the 2011 Danuta Gleed Award, shortlisted for the 2011 Commonwealth Writers Prize, and the 2012 OLA Forest of Reading Evergreen Award for Adult Fiction. She is currently at work on a novel.
Non-Fiction – JJ Lee
JJ Lee is a well-known author, journalist and broadcaster. In 2014, he hosted the CBC radio show, Head to Toe (now available in podcast). His fashion and personal essays are published in ELLE Canada. His memoir piece, “ELLE First: You are beautiful,” tied for GOLD at the 2011 National Magazine Award for Best Short Feature. His debut book, The Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction, the BC Book Prize Huber Evans Non-Fiction Prize and the Hilary Weston Writer’s Trust Prize for Literary Non-Fiction.
Non-Fiction — Sue Oakey Baker
Sue Oakey Baker is a teacher, guide, painter and a writer and holds degrees in French Literature and Language Education. Her photographs and writing have been published in Pique Newsmagazine, the Alpine Club of Canada Gazette and the Canadian Alpine Journal. Her memoir, Finding Jim was published in 2013 by Rocky Mountain Books.
FAQ
What qualifies as non-fiction?
The Non-Fiction category is intended to recognize literary treatment of factual material. Creative non-fiction that uses imagined dialogue or description to enhance a true story is eligible. Manuals and catalogues intended to provide factual information only are not eligible as the judges would have no basis to assess the literary merit of the submission. If you require further clarification.
Is my book eligible if I received grant funding?
Yes, as long as your grant was not specifically intended to cover the costs of publication. If you received grant funding after your book was published, or if your grant was awarded for research purposes, your book is eligible. If you received grant funding in order to pay for printing or other publication costs, your book is not eligible as you did not assume the financial risk normally associated with independent publishing.
What about hybrid publishing?
In general, these book ARE eligible, but the Awards Committee will make a determination on a case-by-case basis..
WIBA Manuscript Competition
New for 2017! Following up on the success of the first Whistler Independent Book Awards, we’re launching a special manuscript competition for Canadian writers. The competition to find the best original, unpublished manuscript is now open. Enter to thave your book published and launched at the 2017 Whistler Writers Festival.
EVERY submission will receive a written assessment including valuable critiques and suggestions for developing the manuscript.
The shortlist will be jointly selected by Vivalogue Publishing and Behind the Book. The winning manuscript will be determined by Byrna Barclay and Miji Campbell, winners of the 2016 Whistler Independent Book Awards for fiction and non-fiction respectively.
2017 WHISTLER INDEPENDENT BOOK AWARDS Entries for the 2017 Whistler Independent Book Awards will open on March 1, 2017.
The shortlist was announced on March 15, 2017. Finalist judges Byrna Barclay and Miji Campbell, winners of the 2016 Whistler Independent Book Award for fiction and non-fiction, determined the winner, which was announced on April 22, 2017.
And the winner is …
- Louis Druehl, The Kawai Scrolls (fiction)
Both judges commended the manuscripts by the two runners-up:
- Amber Cowie, Rapid Falls (fiction)
- Paul Suter, Formerly Known as Paul (non-fiction)
Two excellent submissions deserve recognition and so the Tidewater Evaluation Committee has decided to award Honourable Mentions to:
Jolyon Hallows, A Parkinson’s Life: And a Caregiver’s Roadmap (non-fiction)
John Hurst, The Armature Winder’s Daughter (non-fiction)
The winner will receive professional publishing services, including editing, cover design, interior design and layout. The winning author will publish their book under their own imprint (full assistance provided as needed) and will receive 100 copies of their book. The winning book will receive marketing support and will be officially launched at the Whistler Writers Festival, October 11-15, 2017.
The Whistler Independent Book Prize has been launched to encourage and provide independent authors with professional publishing support. Continuing the inclusive and supportive ethos of the Whistler Independent Book Awards, each entry will receive a valuable and constructive written evaluation from the selection committee.
ELIGIBILITY
Eligibility
- Authors must be either Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada
- The manuscript must be an original, unpublished work
- Fiction and literary non-fiction manuscripts are eligible
See FAQs for additional information.
Prize
The winner will receive:
- Complete editorial services including professional editing, cover design, interior design and layout, proofreading
- Publishing support for the self-publication of the winning manuscript
- 100 printed copies of the completed book
- Book launch at the 2017 Whistler Writers Festival
- Pre- and post-book launch marketing support
- Reviews for promotional and marketing purposes from the judges
- The opportunity to sell their book through Armchair Books in Whistler until January 15, 2018 (Sales will be on a consignment basis; Armchair Books will retain an industry-standard 40% of the purchase price)
SUBMISSION & SELECTION PROCESS
Submission and Selection Process
Shortlisting
- All manuscript excerpts (max 5,000 words) and synopses (max 500 words) must be submitted in Word doc format by February 28, 2017.
- All submissions will be evaluated by a member of the shortlisting committee
- Authors of unsuccessful entries will receive a written evaluation from the selection committee
- Shortlisted authors will be notified by March 15, 2017. All shortlisted authors must submit their manuscript in full no later than March 22, 2017. If the complete manuscript has not been received by this date, the author will be disqualified from the shortlist.
Final selection
- The complete manuscripts of the shortlisted entries will be submitted to the finalist judges
- The finalist judges will provide a written review of each manuscript and will select the winner
- The Winner will be announced on April 22, 2017
Fee
$100 plus GST per fiction and non-fiction entry (Paypal or cheque made payable to Vivalogue Publishing).
All entries will receive an evaluation from a member of the selection committee.
JUDGES
Finalist Judges
Byrna Barclay is an award-winning author of novels, short story collections and a playscript. The House of the White Elephant, loosely based on her paternal ancestry, is her tenth publication and was the Fiction Winner of the 2016 Whistler Independent Book Awards. Byrna has served as president of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild and was editor of Freelance, the Guild’s newsletter, and fiction editor of Grain, its literary journal, and has been vice-chair of the Saskatchewan Arts Board. In 2005, she was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit.
Miji Campbell is a writer and teacher. She has received two National Magazine Award nominations and a literary arts grant from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Born and raised in Calgary, she now lives in Red Deer. Her book, Separation Anxiety: A Coming of Middle Age Story, was the Non-fiction Winner of the 2016 Whistler Independent Book Awards.
WIBA 2017 Shortlist Announced
vivalogue May 31, 2017 News & Events
The shortlist for the second annual Whistler Independent Book Awards was announced today by the WIBA evaluation committee.
Nominated for the 2017 fiction award are:
- Annie Daylon for Of Sea and Seed: The Kerrigan Chronicles, Book 1
- Elen Ghulam for Spoonful Chronicles
- Emma L.R. Hogg for The Fourth Wall
- R.L. Prendergast for The Confessions of Socrates
- John Pringle for Spirals: Stories of Northwest Ontario
- Farida Somjee for The Beggar’s Dance.
The 2017 non-fiction nominees are:
- Marilyn Laura Bowman for James Legge and the Chinese Classics
- John Early for Tales of the Modern Nomad: Monks, Mushrooms and Other Misadventures
- Larissa Fleurette for Becoming Silver Girl
- Monique Layton for Notes from Elsewhere: Travel and Other Matters
- Patricia Sandberg for Sun Dogs and Yellowcake: Gunnar Mines — A Canadian Story
- Paul Shore for Uncorked: My Year in Provence
Evaluation of all the entries for the competition was conducted by Vivalogue Publishing with support from Behind the Book. “We had some very strong entries this year, especially in the fiction category,” said Lynn Duncan of Vivalogue Publishing. “Submissions came from self-published Canadian authors from across the country, and were generally of a consistently high standard.”
The finalists, three in each category, will be selected from the shortlist by judges from Canadian Authors-Metro Vancouver, part of the national Canadian Authors Association which was founded in 1921 to promote and encourage works of literary and artistic merit. The finalists will be announced on July 17, 2017, with the winners’ presentation at the Whistler Writers Festival, October 12-15, 2017.
Determining the winner of the fiction category in 2017 will Canadian author and Giller Prize finalist Gail Anderson-Dargatz and Darcie Friesen Hossack, who has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize. The non-fiction winner will be selected by distinguished West Coast authors J.J. Lee and Susan Oakey-Baker.
Jointly produced by the Whistler Writing Society and Vivalogue Publishing, the Whistler Independent Book Award is now in its second year and is the only juried Canadian award for self-published authors.
FESTIVAL OF THE BOOK 2017
Saturday, July 1, 2017, Fort Langley, BC.
10:00am to 3.00pm
Fort Entrance
The Fort Langley Festival of the book is a celebration of local independent authors, sponsored by the Langley Writers’ Guild and Vivalogue Publishing. This family event and book fair showcases books and writing and the people who make them possible. Register hereto participate as an author.
Schedule
| 9:00am | Author welcome and table set-up (parking and assistance provided) |
| 10:00am | Festival of the Book opens to visitors |
| 10:00am—3.00 | Meet and greet with authors and publishers |
| Author readings | |
| Children’s story time | |
| Canada Day Writing Competition | |
| Face Painting | |
| 3.00pm | Writing Competition winner announced. Festival of the Book ends |
WIBA 2017 Winners Announced
Press from www.vivalogue.com
The winners of the Whistler Independent Book Awards 2017 were announced on Friday at the 16th Annual Whistler Writers Festival. The winner of the 2017 Fiction Award was Farida Somjee for her novel, The Beggar’s Dance. Paul Shore was named the non-fiction winner for his memoir, Uncorked: My Year in Provence. The Whistler Independent Book Awards were established to recognize excellence in Canadian self-publishing. They are the only juried awards for self-publishing in Canada, with each nominee being individually assessed by judges from the Canadian Authors Association (Metro Vancouver), and the finalists selected by a distinguished team of judges.
“The Beggar’s Dance is a challenging and captivating novel,” said Gail Anderson-Dargatz, a Giller Prize finalist and judge of the Fiction Award. “The real strength of this novel is in Somjee’s portrayal of the secondary characters’ heartache and joy, and how Juma, unwittingly or with purpose, orchestrates change within his community.”
“In Uncorked, Shore’s use of the game of Pétanque as a point of entry to address areas of personal alienation is a great literary and narrative choice,” said, J.J. Lee, one of the judges for the Non-Fiction award, and CBC radio host, author, and Governor General’s Literary Award finalist. “This memoir made me laugh; especially Paul’s foil Hubert, who is a star. And its funny and illuminating stories contain a soul that is touching too!”
Established in 2016 to recognize excellence in Canadian self-publishing, the Whistler Independent Book Awards offers prizes in two categories: fiction and non-fiction. Jointly administered by the Whistler Writing Society and Vivalogue Publishing, the Whistler Independent Book Awards (WIBAs) provide independent authors with a unique opportunity to have their work recognized through a juried process typically reserved for trade-published titles.
Whistler Writers Festival Director Stella Harvey with WIBA 2017 winners Farida Somjee (fiction) and Paul Shore (non-fiction)