Douglas & McIntyre authors shortlisted for the city of Victoria Butler Book Prize

Congratulations to Douglas & McIntyre authors Bill Gaston and Maria Tippett for having been shortlisted for this year’s City of Victoria Butler Book Prize!

The prestigious $5,000 prize is awarded to a Greater Victoria author for the best book published in the preceding year in the categories of fiction, non-fiction or poetry.

One finalist is Bill Gaston, whose engaging short fiction collection, A Mariner's Guide to Self Sabotage, deals with characters who become the architects of their own destruction. Yet somehow, in spite of themselves, they manage to stumble into peace and even wisdom.

Gaston is the acclaimed author of seven novels and six short story collections, as well as poetry, drama, and memoirs. His previous work has been shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

D&M's other nominee is Dr. Maria Tippett. Her latest book, Sculpture in Canada, is an authoritative and long-overdue account of the history of sculpture in Canada. Visually stunning, featuring 130 archival and contemporary photographs, the book not only provides an impressive overview of this most public of art forms, but also describes the lives and works of numerous significant Canadian sculptors.

Tippett has written more than a dozen books on art and cultural history, including Emily Carr: A Biography, which won the Governor General's Literary Award, and Made in British Columbia: Eight Ways of Making Culture, which was a finalist for both the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize and the Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize. She lives on Pender Island, BC.

The winner will be announced at an Awards Gala hosted by CBC’s Gregor Craigie on Wednesday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Union Club of British Columbia in Victoria. Tickets are $20. For more information, please visit www.victoriabookprizes.ca.