The nominees in the seven categories of this year's B.C. Book Prizes were announced today by event organizers. Winners will be named at a gala slated for May 11 at the Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront downtown.

Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize awarded to the author of the best work of fiction:

• • Amber Dawn, Sodom Road Exit (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• • Erin Frances Fisher, That Tiny Life (House of Anansi Press)
• • Alex Leslie, We All Need to Eat (Book*hug Press)
• • Kathy Page, Dear Evelyn (Biblioasis)
• • Eden Robinson, Trickster Drift (Knopf Canada)

Hubert Evans Non‐Fiction Prize awarded to the author of the best original nonfiction literary work:

• • Bill Gaston, Just Let Me Look at You (Hamish Hamilton Canada)
• • Ian Hampton, Jan in 35 Pieces: A Memoir in Music (Porcupine’s Quill)
• • Kate Harris, Land of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road (Knopf Canada)
• • Rob Shaw and Richard Zussman, A Matter of Confidence: The Inside Story of the Political Battle for BC (Heritage House)
• • Lindsay Wong, The Woo-Woo (Arsenal Pulp Press)

Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize to recognize the author(s) of the book that contributes most to the enjoyment and understanding of British Columbia:

• • Council of the Haida Nation, Athlii Gwaii: Upholding Haida Law at Lyell Island (Locarno Press)
• • Sarah Cox, Breaching the Peace: The Site C Dam and a Valley’s Stand Against Big Hydro (UBC Press, On Point Press)
• • Bill Gaston, Just Let Me Look at You (Hamish Hamilton Canada)
• • Darrin Martens, Beau Dick (Figure 1 Publishing)
• • Harley Rustad, Big Lonely Doug: The Story of One of Canada’s Last Great Trees (House of Anansi Press)

 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize awarded to the author of the best work of poetry:

• • Eve Joseph, Quarrels (Anvil Press)
• • Shazia Hafiz Ramji, Port of Being (Invisible Publishing)
• • Laisha Rosnau, Our Familiar Hunger (Nightwood Editions)
• • Fred Wah and Rita Wong, beholden, a poem as long as a river (Talonbooks)
• • Onjana Yawnghwe, The Small Way (Caitlin Press)

Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize presented to the best illustrated book written for children:

• • The Nameless City: The Divided Earth, written and illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks (First Second)
• • Robert Bateman: The Boy Who Painted Nature, by Margreit Ruirs, illustrated by Robert Bateman (Orca Book Publishers)
• • Sir Simon: Super Scarer, written and illustrated by Cale Atkinson (Penguin Random House Young Readers)
• • Sparks!, by Ian Boothby, illustrated by Nina Matsumoto (Scholastic Canada)
• • Sterling, Best Dog Ever, written and illustrated by Aidan Cassie (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize awarded to the best nonillustrated book written for children:

• • Polly Horvath, Very Rich (Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers)
• • Janice Lynn Mather, Learning to Breathe (Simon & Schuster Canada)
• • Susin Nielsen, No Fixed Address (Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers)
• • Lianne Oelke, Nice Try, Jane Sinner (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• • Monique Gray Smith and Richard Van Camp, The Journey Forward, A Novella on Reconciliation: When We Play Our Drums, They Sing! / Lucy & Lola (McKellar and Martin Publishing Group Ltd.)

Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award presented to the originating publisher and author(s) of the best book in terms of public appeal, initiative, design, production, and content:

• • Robert Amos, E.J. Hughes Paints Vancouver Island (TouchWood Editions)
• • Robert Budd and Roy Henry Vickers, One Eagle Soaring (Harbour Publishing)
• • Bob Joseph, 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act (Page Two Strategies)
• • Eve Lazarus, Murder by Milkshake: An Astonishing True Tale of Adultery, Arsenic, and a Charismatic Killer (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• • Darrel J. McLeod, Mamaskatch (Douglas & McIntyre)