Current Award Winners

The 2009 winner is Nino Ricci, Toronto, for The Origin of Species (Doubleday Canada). Prize: $2500 and a silver medal.

Nino Ricci's first novel, Lives of the Saints, won the Governor General's Award for Fiction, the SmithBooks/Books in Canada First Novel Award, and the F.G. Bressani Prize. A long-time national bestseller, it was followed by the highly acclaimed In a Glass House and Where She Has Gone, which was shortlisted for the Giller Prize, and the national bestseller Testament, which won the Trillium Book Award in 2002. His most recent novel, The Origin of Species, won the Governor General's Award for Fiction. Nino Ricci lives in Toronto.

Contact Information

For interviews or information about Nino Ricci, contact Bhavna Chauhan:

• T 416 957 1569
• F 416 975 9334
• E

The 2009 winner is J.M. Bumsted, Winnipeg, for Lord Selkirk: A Life (University of Manitoba Press). Prize: $2500 and a silver medal.

J.M. Bumsted is the author of many books on Canadian history, including The People's Clearance, The Fur Trade Wars, The Red River Rebellion, and the widely used textbook, A History of the Canadian Peoples. After teaching Canadian history at the University of Manitoba for nearly thirty years, Jack Bumsted now owns a mystery bookstore in Winnipeg.

Contact Information

For interviews or information about J.M. Bumsted, contact Cheryl Miki:

• T 204 474 9998
• F 204 474 7566
• E

This award is made possible through the generosity of the Playwrights Guild of Canada and Playwrights Canada Press.

The 2009 winner is Vern Thiessen, Long Island, NY/Edmonton, Alberta, for Vimy (Playwrights Canada Press). Prize: $2500 and a silver medal.

Vern Thiessen is one of Canada's most produced playwrights. His work has been seen across Canada, the United States, and Europe, including Shakespeare's Will, Apple, Einstein's Gift, Blowfish, Vimy, and The Resurrection of John Frum. Vern is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Outstanding New Play, the City of Edmonton Arts Achievement Award, the University of Alberta Alumni Award for Excellence, the Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition and the Governor General's Literary Award, Canada's highest honour for playwriting. Vern received his B.A. from the University of Winnipeg and an M.F.A. from the University of Alberta. He currently lives in Long Island, New York.

Contact Information

For interviews or information about Vern Thiessen, contact Blake Sproule:

• T 416 703 0013
• F 416 408 3402
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The 2009 winner is Elise Partridge, Vancouver, for Chameleon Hours (House of Anansi Press Inc.). Prize: $1000 and a silver medal.

Elise Partridge's poems have appeared in Canadian, American, British, and Irish journals, including The Fiddlehead, Maisonneuve, The Malahat Review, The Walrus, The New Yorker, Poetry, The Southern Review, and Slate. Her first book, Fielder's Choice, was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award; her second, Chameleon Hours, was shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize and won the Canadian Authors Association Poetry Award. She has taught literature and writing at several universities and worked as an editor. Currently she lives in Vancouver.

Contact Information

For interviews or information about Elise Partridge, contact Kate McQuaid:

• T 416 363 4343, ext. 29
• F 416 363 1017
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This award is made possible through the generosity of BookTelevision, Canada's only television station dedicated to writing in all its forms.

The 2009 winner is James Cummins, Montreal, for Ambrosia: About a Culture (Clark-Nova Books). Prize: $500 and a silver medal.

James Cummins is a writer, journalist and composer of classical music. This is his fourth book and his second on the topic of Electronica—he was also the co-author of the autobiography of House music inventor Jesse Saunders House Music…The Real Story. He has a BA in philosophy with a minor in political science from Concordia University and currently resides in Montreal. Originally from Alberta, James attended the Victoria School of Performing and Visual Arts in Edmonton.

Contact Information

For interviews or information about James Cummins, contact Troy Cunningham:

• T 905 876 6516
• E

The 2009 Allan Sangster Award winner was announced at the association's annual literary awards gala banquet at the Metropolitan Hotel in Toronto on Saturday, June 6th.

The Allan Sangster Award honours one of the CAA's own members for extraordinary service to the Association. Learn more about this award and its history

The 2009 winner is Frank Wade, Vancouver.

Vancouver member Frank Wade has been honoured for his more than 30 years of service to the Canadian Authors Association. In his absence, President Anthony Dalton accepted the award on Frank's behalf. A suitable ceremony will follow in Vancouver later this summer.