We are thrilled to announce that BEYOND THE PALE: Folklore, Family, and the Mystery of Our Hidden Genes (HarperCollins) by Emily Urquhart has been shortlisted for the 2016 BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, which carries one of Canada’s largest book prizes! The shortlist was selected by a jury comprising of Anne Giardini, Richard Gwyn, and Hal Wake, who considered over 137 books submitted by over 35 publishers. The winner will receive $40,000. The jury will announce the winner at a ceremony in Vancouver on February 4, 2016.
The Jury Citation:
“Emily Urquhart’s memoir opens with this sentence: ‘My daughter was born with a genetic condition I knew nothing about.’ The condition was albinism and Emily Urquhart’s voyage of discovery in her book Beyond the Pale becomes our own. Harnessing her experience as a folklorist, she tells a moving and personal story with forays into history, science, culture and politics. The many insights of this powerful and sometimes harrowing story are beautifully woven together with prose that is graceful and honest. Ultimately it is a story about being different – how it can define us and how we can learn to understand and accept differences.”
We would like to offer a huge congratulations to Emily Urquhart and the publisher, and all the other authors who have been shortlisted!
For further information about the BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction please visit www.bcachievement.com. To view the shortlist, please visit http://www.bcachievement.com/media/news.php?id=133.