One Book One Kootenay 2012 nominees announced
By Contributor
Everyone’s favourite book club is back.
One Book, One Kootenay (OBOK) is a region-wide book club that celebrates the work of the talented writers living in the Kootenay Boundary. Once again, readers from across the Kootenay region will read and vote for the book they feel all Kootenay booklovers should read.
Three Kootenay authors share the spotlight for the fourth annual One Book, One Kootenay award. The 2012 nominees are (drum-roll): Yes Sister, No Sister by Jennifer Craig, The Third Crop: A personal and historical journey into the photo albums and shoeboxes of the Slocan Valley 1800s to early 1940s by Rita Moir, and Boundary Country by Tom Wayman.
Jennifer Craig’s semi-autobiographical novel, which made the London Times bestseller list and has sold in excess of 100,000 copies, is a funny, engaging story of a group of trainee nurses in the 1950s in Leeds, England. It’s rife with long hours, bodily fluids, good-natured camaraderie, and Craig’s trademark Yorkshire humour.
Tom Wayman’s Boundary Country is a tour of this neck of the woods and beyond through a collection of stories that explore boundaries human and geographical to which Wayman brings his gift for insightful observation and wry humour. A multiple award-winner, Wayman has penned more than 20 books of poetry, essays, and fiction.
Rita Moir’s The Third Crop isn’t just about the Slocan Valley, rich though that valley may be. Full of photographs and down-to-earth prose, we can laugh and cry with these country-dwellers and apply their challenges and triumphs to any rural landscape. Moir’s previous works of non-fiction have all been shortlisted or have won awards for nonfiction, including BC’s Hubert Evans Award.
One Book, One Kootenay shortlisted books are chosen by a panel of learned librarians. Now, it’s up to readers; all of the OBOK shortlisted books are available in your local library. Readers are invited to discuss the books, either with friends or on-line. For more information go to the Kootenay Library Federation website at obok.ca, where you can find out more about the authors and their books, look for literary events near you, and engage in online conversations or post comments.
Ballot boxes will be at Kootenay libraries, including the Beaver Valley, Trail and Rossland Libraries from April 1 to August 10. Winners will be announced September 8, on International Literacy Day.
OBOK is public library supported program initiated by the Kootenay Library Federation.
