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Thirteenth Annual

Saskatchewan Book Awards

Fact Sheet

Basic Information:

• Friday, November 25, 2005, 5:30 p.m.
• Delta Regina Hotel
• Tickets: $65 Book & Brier  or contact  Janice Hill tickets@bookawards.sk.ca
• Guest Speaker:  Lorna Crozier, winner of the Governor General’s Award for Inventing the Hawk
• Awards will be presented to authors and publishers in 12 categories

Announcement:

We are pleased to announce that Co-operators is the new sponsor for the Book of the Year Award.  Their generous sponsorship has enabled us to increase the value of the award to $3000, making it not only the most prestigious award, but also the most valuable.

The Co-operators which is well known for its philanthropy and community involvement is a group of Canadian companies focusing on home, auto and life insurance, investment products and property management.  The Co-operators Group is owned by 31 Canadian co-operatives and credit unions and was named to the Globe and Mail Report on Business magazine’s 2005 list of “50 Best Employers in Canada”.

New This Year:

• New Sponsor for the Book of the Year:  the Co-operators
• Cash award to Book of the Year increased to $3000
• Day:  Friday evening, 5:30 p.m.
• Location: Delta Regina Hotel
• New Poet Laureate:  Louise Halfe reading a composition
• New Executive Director:  Glenda James
• Centennial Contest – Saskatchewan’s Favourite 100 Books

PROFILE OF SASKATCHEWAN BOOK AWARDS

1.  Mandate

The Mandate stated in the Bylaws of Saskatchewan Book Awards Inc. is:

• to recognize excellence in Saskatchewan writing and publishing;
• to recognize the diversity of Saskatchewan writing and publishing;
• to promote greater awareness of Saskatchewan books and authors.

2. Main goals/artistic objectives

The Saskatchewan Book Awards are intended to raise awareness of Saskatchewan books and authors by celebrating their excellence, recognizing their diversity, and bringing authors and readers together. The awards program was designed to support the efforts of authors and publishers who live and work in the province. It facilitates contact between writers and readers in a range of environments and settings.

3.  Brief history

By the early 1990s Saskatchewan authors were bringing home national and international awards without receiving similar recognition in their own province.  In 1993 the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild, the Saskatchewan Library Association and the Saskatchewan Publishers Group joined forces to establish a provincial awards program.  In the first year four awards were offered. A gala dinner and awards presentation ceremony was organized, with Peter Gzowski as the guest speaker. The program was highly successful, attracting much attention from the media and enthusiastic audiences.

In 1994 Saskatchewan Book Awards became a non-profit charitable entity, governed by a volunteer board and managed by a part-time Executive Director. The awards are sponsored by private corporations, municipal and provincial governments, as well as the academic community.

Over its first decade Saskatchewan Book Awards has grown to be a nationally recognized program that hosts numerous promotional events as well as the annual gala. The number of awards has grown from four to 13, including the First People’s Publishing Award and the Prix du livre français.   In 2005 there were 221 title entries. A recent innovation is the Readers’ Choice ballot, conducted at the gala, whereby guests vote for their favourite short-listed author. 

Saskatchewan Book Awards is the only book award program in Saskatchewan. The fact that it has earned a solid reputation throughout the country helps to build recognition of the entire provincial literary community on the national, provincial and local levels.