Oscar Peterson, Terry Fox, and Alan Thicke were among eight Canadians inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame today. The program celebrates “Canadians who have excelled in music, sport, film, television as well as the literary, visual, performing arts, science, and innovation.” There may not be a cash prize, but recipients do get their names engraved on plaques cemented into the sidewalk along Toronto’s theatre district.

In the 15 years since CWOF was established, there have been 151 inductees, but only six have been authors, including Pierre Berton* (1998), Timothy Findley (2002), Robert Munsch (2009), and Farley Mowat (2010). Mordecai Richler received a posthumous nod in 2011 and Margaret Atwood, the only woman on the list, was added in 2001.

According to CWOF, honourees are selected from public votes, with nearly 30,000 people from 130 countries submitting nominations this year. Nominees must have been born in Canada, or spent some part of their “formative or creative years” here, and have at least 10 years of experience in their field “ which means that Leonard Cohen, Alice Munro, Carol Shields, and Michael Ondaatje are all eligible.

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Correction, June 25: In an earlier version of this post, Pierre Berton’s name was spelled incorrectly.