B.C. non-fiction prize being replaced with yet-to-be-announced award program

VANCOUVER – The British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction is being replaced.

The British Columbia Achievement Foundation made the announcement Friday, noting “the award’s goals are being met.”

The foundation said it wants to create an award program with a more B.C.-focused lens.

Now in its 14th year, the non-fiction award was billed as one of Canada’s major national book prizes and the only one to originate in B.C.

Veteran journalist Carol Off won this year’s $40,000 prize, for “All We Leave Behind: A Reporter’s Journey into the Lives of Others” (Random House Canada).

During its run, the non-fiction award recognized 56 writers and invested over $500,000 in prize money.

The British Columbia Achievement Foundation said it will continue to offer several other awards. They are: the B.C. Community Achievement Award; the B.C. Creative Achievement Award for Applied Art and Design; the B.C. Creative Achievement Award for First Nations Art; and the B.C. Indigenous Business Award.

The foundation added that it remains “focused on its core mandate to celebrate excellence in art, culture, citizenship and enterprise throughout British Columbia.”