By Cynthia Vukets
A local writer and musician has some extra cash in his pocket thanks to increased funding to the Ottawa Book Awards.
This year, for the first time since the awards were founded two decades ago, 15 finalists from the Ottawa area, such as Alex Mortimer, received a cash prize for their accomplishment.
“At a local level, I think this kind of thing is great,” says Mortimer.
In previous years, book award winners received $2,500 and the finalists enjoyed a publicity boost. Now, each finalist gets a cheque for $1,000 and the winners collect $5,000.
There is another bonus for writers this year. For the first time, the Ottawa Book Awards partnered with the Writers Festival. As the festival’s opening event, the book awards received more publicity than usual, says Faith Seltzer, the City of Ottawa administrator for the Ottawa Book Awards.
The increased cash prizes have two results, says Seltzer. Writers benefit from extra money, as it allows them time to write and think without having to worry about paying the bills. But a larger prize also increases publicity and appreciation of the arts in the city.
“The award shines the spotlight on the local writing community. It’s encouraging the writers themselves and it’s encouraging the public to read the books,” Seltzer says.
The new prizes were possible due to increased funding made available when city council passed the “Arts Investment Strategy” earlier this year, she says.
Mortimer, a long-time Centretown resident and business owner, says he was surprised to hear his book, The Quitter, had been nominated for this year’s honours. The idea for the book, which is a collection of essays, stemmed from a column he used to write for Xpress.
Each week, he would go out and try something new and write about it, but he says he always gave up after a while. “I think quitting is the wrong word,” he says of his numerous failed endeavours. “It’s not quitting, it’s just choosing something you’re better at.”
The Quitter was nominated for the English non-fiction category and was up against Beyond the Hippocratic Oath by John B. Dossetor, Lumber Kings and Shantymen by David Lee, and Sorry I Don’t Speak French by Graham Fraser. Charlotte Gray won the non-fiction award for Reluctant Genius: The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell
“It’s a remarkable achievement to be shortlisted,” says Seltzer. She says each year over 30 writers are nominated. Once that list has been cut down to five finalists, the jury always has a difficult time choosing a winner. The new cash prizes for finalists recognize just how good all the shortlisted books are, she adds.
In the past, what Mortimer now calls a supportive writing community was much weaker and local writers were not as well known. The need for more exposure for Ottawa writers prompted Sean Wilson and his father, Neil, to found the Writers Festival in 1997. They wanted to provide a forum for local writers and to foster the growth of a respected writing community in the city, says Wilson.
He is now the event’s artistic director and is employed full time organizing the festival, held twice a year in the spring and fall.
Through the festival, “we’re raising the profile of great writing in the local community and internationally,” he says.
“Ottawa’s best [writers] are among the best in the world.”
In an effort to promote local writers, the city has organized a travelling display of all winning and nominated books from this year’s awards, says Seltzer.
Some local bookshops will also be featuring the books, along with posters and bookmarks providing information about the authors and the awards.
The books will be on tour until June. More information about the books and authors will be available at City Hall, local bookshops and libraries.
For Mortimer, his award is more about encouragement than money.
“It reaffirms that what [local writers] are doing has merit.”