April 22, 2011
Adventures In Solitude Wins BC Book of the Year
With the gang from Harbour Publishing
It will be a long time before I forget the week of April 17 – 22, 2011. Several of my favourite passions collided, including my hockey team the Flying Vees winning our division championship, my other favourite team the Canucks going up 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the BC Book Awards last night.
Everything but the Canucks has worked out pretty well so far.
The BC Book Awards was held at the Kay Meek Centre, a sparkling new theatre located not only in my hometown, but actually attached to my old high school, West Van Secondary (I went to both Hillside and West Van highs).
Before I even arrived at the theatre, a few signs pointed to possible good things ahead. A listener/reader/fan in Newfoundland tweeted me her new tattoo: “Amor Fati”, the credo of Russell the Hermit in Adventures in Solitude, meaning love your fate.
A few minutes after 7pm, my inbox was flooded with people from across the country saying that Ron McLean, host of Hockey Night In Canada, had given huge pre-game shout outs to Said the Whale, my wife Jill and her new album Mischievous Moon, and to me! Outrageous! Sadly, the only full moon over the Canucks game would be that ominous “0” on the scoreboard…
But those random acts of ink and kindness boded well at the BC Book Awards, when the last award of the night was read for the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award for the BC Book of the Year… and Adventures in Solitude won!
The certificate says “Adventures in Solitude merits distinction as the most outstanding work published in BC this year in the opinion of the judges of the BC Book Awards”.
Since I was in my old high school I made sure to thank my favourite creative writing teacher Mr. Weinberg, (“if a book isn’t good after the first 50 pages, toss it… and somebody flip the Pink Floyd record, please?!”) and my favourite English teacher Mrs. Martin. Also, Harbour Publishing, all of the incredible bookstores across BC and Canada who have been so supportive of this book, as well as my family, my wife, all my friends at CBC, and all of you for your unbelievable kindness.
I’ll be celebrating on Savary Island this weekend. Happy Easter!
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Wonderful and well-deserved!! 🙂
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I’ve said it more than once you you, I am not at all surprised by this, Grant. Not in the least.
Even though I consider us to be friends and that I am a fan of your radio show, I still if I didn’t know anything about the author of Adventures in Solitude, I would have – I guarantee – still loved this book.
It was a great read that was impossible to put down. From the first crack of the spine, to the last words of the book, I read this cover to cover in three and a half days. I couldn’t put it down.
And I would go so far as to say that this book is good because like in everything else you do, your ‘voice’ comes through – the voice of someone who cares greatly about music, being Canadian, having a brown pop or two, and being outdoors. Pretty much what we Canadians all feel.
I have a feeling this isn’t your last award.
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Bought your book for my husband for Xmas. He read it three days and enjoyed it, so I had to read it also.
Amazing. The best book I’ve read in a long time. Easy reading. You have a great sense of humour. Loved it.
I took up fishing a couple of years ago after my family grew up. Can’t get enough of it. We hope to make it up to Lund next summer to check it out as my husband has a daughter and son living in Powell River.
Hope you write more. And oh I will be listening to you on CBC.
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