| Article | September 16, 2010
Mayor David Miller announces finalists of the 2010 Toronto Book Awards
Mayor David Miller announced the five finalists of the 2010 Toronto Book Awards today at the Toronto Reference Library, honouring authors of books of literary or artistic merit that are evocative of Toronto. The shortlist nominees’ books represent a unique view of Toronto and made a great impression on the jury members.
The finalists for the 2010 Toronto Book Awards are:
• Seán Cullen for his novel, The Prince of Neither Here Nor There, published by Puffin Canada
• Cary Fagan, for his novel, Valentine’s Fall, published by Cormorant Books Inc.
• Lauren Kirshner, for her novel, Where We Have to Go, published by McClelland & Stewart Ltd.
• Mark Sinnett, for his novel, The Carnivore, published by ECW Press, and
• Dragan Todorovic, for his novel, Diary of Interrupted Days, published by Random House Canada
This year marks the 36th anniversary of the Toronto Book Awards. Established by Toronto City Council in 1974, the Toronto Book Awards honour authors of books of literary or artistic merit that are evocative of Toronto. The annual awards offer $15,000 in prize money. Each finalist will receive $1,000 and the winning author receives the remaining prize money.
"I want to congratulate all of the finalists of this year's Toronto Book Awards," said Mayor David Miller. "These exceptional books truly reflect Toronto's diversity and help tell our dynamic story. I encourage all Torontonians to join me in reading all of this year's shortlisted books and experience our great city through the eyes of these authors."
“Toronto Public Library is very pleased to join with the City of Toronto in promoting this unique literary award,” said City Librarian Jane Pyper. “We hope these books will engage everyone in exploring our city through great literature. Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors.”
The City of Toronto and the Toronto Public Library are inviting Torontonians to “get a new read on Toronto” with many opportunities for the community to embrace and explore this year’s shortlisted books.
The shortlisted authors, along with past Toronto Book Award finalists and winners, will read from their books at The Word On The Street book and magazine fair. The event takes place on Sunday, September 26 in the City of Toronto Tent at Queen’s Park.
There is also a group reading by the shortlisted authors at Toronto Public Library’s Yorkville Branch at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 5. The winner of the 2010 Toronto Book Awards will be announced on Thursday, October 14 at the Toronto Reference Library. Members of the public are encouraged to come out and celebrate at the evening gala, hosted by CBC’s Matt Galloway.
The 2010 Toronto Book Awards Committee is made up of volunteer members, Marsha Chesley, Alexander Greer, Angela Rebeiro, Kristine Thornley, and Karen Tisch. For more information about the awards and what the jury members said, visit http://www.toronto.ca/book_awards.
The Toronto Public Library is the world's busiest urban public library system. Every year, more than 17.5 million people visit its 99 branches and borrow more than 31 million items. To learn more about the Toronto Public Library, visit the website at http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca or call the Answerline at 416-393-7131. |
