Alix Ohlin’s Dual Citizens, Steven Price’s Lampedusa, Julie Flett’s Birdsong, Chantal Gibson’s How She Read, and Ivan Coyote’s Rebent Sinner are among the titles shortlisted for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes.

The value of seven prizes has increased this year from $2,000 to $3,000 per award. Additionally, the Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes will be presented for the first time this year. The $5,000 prize is endowed by the estate of Jim Deva, the late owner of Vancouver’s Little Sister’s bookstore.

The prizes celebrate writers and publishers from B.C. and Yukon. Winners will be announced at the B.C. and Yukon Book Prizes Gala on  April 25 in Vancouver. The full shortlists follow.

Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes 

• Rebent Sinner, Ivan Coyote (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• On/Me, Francine Cunningham (Caitlin Press)
• How She Read, Chantal Gibson (Caitlin Press)
• Little Blue Encyclopedia (For Vivian), Hazel Jane Plante (Metonymy Press)
• Mistakes to Run With, Yasuko Thanh (Penguin Canada)

Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize

• Greenwood, Michael Christie (McClelland and Stewart)
• Aria, Nazanine Hozar (Knopf Canada)
• Dual Citizens, Alix Ohlin (House of Anansi)
• Lampedusa, Steven Price (McClelland and Stewart)
• Rue des Rosiers, Rhea Tregebov (Coteau Books)

Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize 

• Rebent Sinner, Ivan Coyote (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• Changing Tides: An Ecologist’s Journey to Make Peace with the Anthropocene, Alejandro Frid (New Society)
• In My Own Moccasins: A Memoir of Resilience, Helen Knott (University of Regina Press)
• Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada, Jonathan Manthorpe (Cormorant Books)
• Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference, and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Jessica McDiarmid (Doubleday Canada)

Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize (book that contributes most to the enjoyment and understanding of British Columbia) 

• Greenwood, Michael Christie (McClelland and Stewart)
• The Great Bear Rainforest: A Giant-Screen Adventure in the Land of the Spirit Bear, Ian McAllister and Alex Von Tol (Orca Book Publishers)
• A Year on the Wild Side: A West Coast Naturalist’s Almanac, Briony Penn (Touchwood Editions)
• At the Bridge: James Teit and the Anthropology of Belonging, Wendy Wickwire (UBC Press)
• Carpe Fin: A Haida Manga, Michael Nicholl Yahgulanaas (Douglas and McIntyre)

Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize 

• Hymnswitch, Ali Blythe (Goose Lane)
• Dunk Tank, Kayla Czaga (House of Anansi)
• SH:LAM (The Doctor), Joseph A Dandurand (Mawenzi House Publishers)
• How She Read, Chantal Gibson (Caitlin Press)
• Sonnet’s Shakespeare, Sonnet L’Abbe (McClelland and Stewart)

Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize

• Bad Boys of Fashion: Style Rebels and Renegades Through the Ages, written by Jennifer Croll, illustrated by Aneta Pacholska (Annick Press)
• Birdsong, written and illustrated by Julie Flett (Greystone Kids)
• It Began With a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way, written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad (Tundra Books)
• The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota’s Garden, by Heather Smith, illustrated by Rachel Wada (Orca Book Publishers)
• The Ranger, written and illustrated by Nancy Vo (House of Anansi)

Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize

• Nevers, Sara Cassidy (Orca Book Publishers)
• Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali, Sabina Khan (Scholastic)
• Mystery of Black Hollow Lane, Julie Nobel (Sourcebooks)
• My Body, My Choice: The Fight for Abortion Rights, Robin Stevenson (Orca Book Publishers)
• What the Eagle Sees, Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger (Annick Press)

Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award (best book in terms of public appeal, initiative, design, production, and content, as voted on by booksellers)

• Cedar and Salt: Vancouver Island Recipes from Forest, Farm, Field, and Sea, DL Acken and Emily Lycopolus (TouchWood Editions)
• Voices from the Skeena: An Illustrated Oral History, Robert Budd and Roy Henry Vickers (Harbour Publishing)
• Vancouver After Dark: The Wild History of a City’s Nightlife, Aaron Chapman (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• Insights, Tips, and Suggestions to Make Reconciliation a Reality, Indigenous Relations (Page Two Strategies)
• I Saw Three Ships, Bill Richardson (Talonbooks)