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2021 Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards

2021 Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards

And the 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award winners are…

• The 2021 Non-Fiction Award: A Long Journey: Residential Schools in Labrador and Newfoundland by Andrea Procter
“Tragic, illuminating, and poignant, A Long Journey: Residential Schools in Labrador and Newfoundland is a fascinating and heartbreaking examination of the boarding schools in North West River, Cartwright, Makkovik, Nain and St. Anthony.” – MUN Gazette

 

• The 2021 E.J. Pratt Poetry Award:
Crow Gulch by Douglas Walbourne-Gough
“In his debut poetry collection, Douglas Walbourne-Gough reflects on the legacy of a community that sat on the shore of the Bay of Islands, less than two kilometres west of downtown Corner Brook … Walbourne-Gough lyrically sifts through archival memory and family accounts, resurrecting story and conversation, to patch together a history of a people and place.” – Goose Lane
The winning authors will receive $1,500, while the two runners-up per category will receive $500. Congratulations to our shortlisted authors – Lindsay Bird and Michelle Porter for Poetry, and Gemma Hickey and Ursula Kelly for Non-Fiction.
Thanks as well to WANL Vice President Ainsley Hawthorn for hosting, and our esteemed jury!

(September 17, 2021) – The Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador is so excited to announce the shortlist for the 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards (NLBAs).

This year’s Award categories are: the Non-Fiction Award, sponsored by WANL, and The E.J. Pratt Poetry Award, sponsored by the family of E.J. Pratt.
Shortlisted authors are listed alphabetically by last name below.

2021 marks the 25th year that WANL has offered the NLBAs – check out our social media channels throughout September for throwbacks to previous Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards and snippets from WANL newsletters from our younger years.

Here’s to another 25 years of celebrating phenomenal writers in our ever-evolving and always-amazing local literary scene!


The 2020 NLBA Non-Fiction Award Shortlist
Sponsored by WANL

Almost Feral by Gemma Hickey

• The Foresters’ Scribe by Ursula Kelly


The E.J. Pratt Poetry Award Shortlist
Sponsored by the family of E.J. Pratt

• Boom Time by Lindsay Bird

• Inquiries by Michelle Porter

• Crow Gulch by Douglas Walbourne-Gough


Catch the excitement: Tune into the 2021 NLBAs!

Virtual readings by the finalists and winner announcements will take place on the WANL Facebook page and YouTube as follows:

• The Non-Fiction Award readings + winner announcement will take place on Wednesday, September 29 at 7 p.m.
 The E.J. Pratt Poetry Award readings + winner announcement will take place on Thursday, September 30 at 7 p.m.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards are held annually by the Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador (WANL) to recognize excellence in writing by authors residing in Newfoundland and Labrador.


Media Contact:
WANL Executive Director Jen Winsor: director@wanl.ca


WANL Announces Longlist for the  2021 Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards

(September 10, 2021) – The Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador is ecstatic to announce to the longlist for the 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards (NLBAs).

This year, we are honouring two categories – the Non-Fiction Award, sponsored by WANL, and The E.J. Pratt Poetry Award, sponsored by the family of E.J. Pratt.

Longlisted authors are listed alphabetically by last name below.

2021 marks the 25th year that WANL has offered the NLBAs – check out our social media channels throughout September for throwbacks to previous Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards and snippets from WANL newsletters from our younger years.

Here’s to another 25 years of celebrating phenomenal writers in our ever-evolving and always-amazing local literary scene!


The 2020 NLBA Non-Fiction Award Longlist
Sponsored by WANL

The E.J. Pratt Poetry Award Longlist
Sponsored by the family of E.J. Pratt

• Boom Time by Lindsay Bird
• New and Collected Poems by Tom Dawe
• Narrow Cradle by Wade Kearley
• Inquiries by Michelle Porter
• An Unorthodox Guide to Wildlife by Katie Vautour
• Crow Gulch by Douglas Walbourne-Gough

Catch the excitement: Tune into the 2021 NLBAs!

Virtual readings by the finalists and winner announcements will take place on the WANL Facebook page and YouTube as follows:

• The 2021 NLBAs Shortlist will be announced on Friday, September 17.
• The Non-Fiction Award readings + winner announcement will take place on Wednesday, September 29 at 7 p.m.
 The E.J. Pratt Poetry Award readings + winner announcement will take place on Thursday, September 30 at 7 p.m.

Both events will take place virtually on WANL’s Facebook and YouTube.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards are held annually by the Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador (WANL) to recognize excellence in writing by authors residing in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Media Contact: WANL Executive Director Jen Winsor: director@wanl.ca


Call for Submissions: 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards!

We are SO excited about 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards (NLBAs) this fall, and we cannot wait to begin receiving your submissions – few things look as good as a stack of new books by local authors!

Our qualified jury of bibliophiles are sure to share in our excitement, as they crack open that brand new novel, smell the fresh ink and feel the crisp pages between their fingers…

This year, the awards are:
The Non-Fiction Award
+
The E.J. Pratt Poetry Award

The NLBAs celebrate and honour excellence in writing by authors in Canada’s easternmost province and are made possible by the generous support of sponsors.

The author of the winning book in each category (Non-Fiction and Poetry) will receive $1,500. Two runners-up per category will be selected.
Each runner-up will receive $500.

Submission Deadline: 
Received by Friday, June 11 at 5 PM (or postmarked by June 4)


Residency Requirement: 

The awards are open only to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.
For the purposes of these awards, a resident is defined as a person who has lived in Newfoundland and Labrador for the 12 months immediately prior to the date of publication
OR 
who has lived in Newfoundland and Labrador in any combination of 36 of the last 60 months.

The residency period for the 2021 awards is the five calendar years of 2015-2020.
An award may be presented posthumously to an author who has met the residency requirement.


Eligibility: 

– Books published between January 1st, 2019, and December 31st, 2020.

– Books must be single-authored.

– Either the author or the publisher may enter a title.

– Books must be in English.

– Books that have been translated are eligible. However, in the case of a translated book, the award is to go exclusively to the author.

– Self-published books are eligible provided they are professionally produced (i.e. printed and bound by a commercial printer).

– Collected or selected works by a single author are eligible provided at least 50% of the text is previously unpublished material.

– Books that contain other media in addition to writing (e.g. photos, CDs, graphics, illustrations) are eligible; however, the award will be given only to the author of the book’s text and only for the writing.

– Books containing material not written by the author (e.g. letters, diaries, memoirs, blogs, oral histories, selected writings) are eligible provided at least 50% of the text is written by the author (e.g. introduction, exposition, commentary, reporting, narrative, footnotes, epilogue).

– The following are not eligible for the NL Book Awards: anthologies with more than one author: audiobooks; unpublished manuscripts; textbooks; self-help or how-to books; manuals or guidebooks on any subject (e.g. travel, nature, cooking); dictionaries; encyclopedias.

– Revised editions will be considered when the following conditions are met:
a) The book has not been previously submitted to the Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards; and
b) In the opinion of the Literary Awards Committee, the book contains new material to the extent that it is not merely a re-issue of a previous publication

– Current members of WANL’s Literary Awards Committee are not eligible for the NL Book Awards.

– Final decisions on the eligibility of submitted entries remain with WANL’s Literary Awards Committee.

– WANL reserves the right not to present the award should there not be enough entries for competitive adjudication


 Assessment Process: 

– Assessment of all eligible submissions to the NL Book Awards will be adjudicated by independent juries recruited and facilitated by the Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador.

– A jury with appropriate literary expertise will be convened for each award.

– The independent jury for each award will submit a longlist of six books, a shortlist of three books, and a winning book from that shortlist.

– The paramount consideration is excellence in writing. Jurors should reflect on creativity, wordsmithing, and originality.

– A juror must disclose any conflict of interest. WANL defines conflict of interest in terms of whether a juror stands to gain any financial benefit through association with a submitted title, or if the juror stands to gain from any moral or intellectual rights, or if the juror has a significant personal relationship with the author of a submitted title. If there is a conflict of interest, the juror will be asked to step aside.

– The decisions made by the NL Book Award juries are final.


Submission Procedures: 

– Include four (4) non-returnable, professionally printed and bound copies of each book.

– Include a signed letter stating the category entered and confirming that all submission requirements have been met. Please also note your total word count, and page count.

– Include the non-refundable entry fee that applies to you:
• Free submission for WANL members paying full membership fee
• $15 submission fee per title for WANL members paying $25 membership fee
• $40 submission fee per title for non-WANL members

Submit your books to:
Newfoundland & Labrador Book Awards
c/o Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador
223 Duckworth Street, Suite 202
St. John’s, NL A1C 6N1

Drop off hours:
Applicants can drop off their submissions to the WANL office in person every Tuesday from 12-5 p.m. Masks must be worn upon entering the building. Please note that the WANL office is not accessible.
Curb-side pick-up is also available by calling 709-739-5215. Please pull up outside of the building, call the number listed above, and a WANL representative can pick up your submissions from the trunk of your car.

PLEASE NOTE:
• Ineligible and/or incomplete submissions will not be returned, and entry fees will not be refunded.
• All books and materials submitted become the property of the Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador and will be used for jury members, sponsors, and promotional activities.
• Late submissions will not be accepted.
Submission Deadline: 

Received by Friday, June 11 at 5 PM (or postmarked by June 4)