New award to recognize Yukon's literary community: The Borealis Prize

A new literary award called The Borealis Prize will be dedicated to the Yukon's writer and literary community.

The prize will be awarded to writers, volunteers, publishers, editors and literary community builders who work in Yukon, Commissioner Anglique Bernardsaid in a statement.

The award will be administered byBC and Yukon BookPrizes.

BC and Yukon BookPrizes currently administers 10 prizes for writing and publishing, including the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence and the Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes.

• Why Governor General's Award-winner Don Gillmor wrote about tragedy on the Yukon River

Sean Cranbury the executive director of BC and Yukon BookPrizes says that the aim of The Borealis Prize is to recognise both the Yukon's best writingand the community that supports the region's literary talent.

"[The] Yukon's writing community is a strong, multifarious, unique group that has a long and proud history," Cranbury said to CBC Books in an email.

"They have long deserved a prize recognizing the work that gets done every year by valuable individuals to sustain, promote and build that community."

• A guide to Canadian literary festivals

The prize will be adjudicated by three leading members of the Yukon writing and publishing community.

Winners will receive $500, a certificate and an original art piece.

The Borealis will be awarded at the Dawson Daily News Print and Publishing Festival in Dawson City each year going forward.

They are also planning an accompanying tour around the region.

"We're just trying to stay a little bit ahead of the imminent Yukon Literary Renaissance," Cranburysaid. "We hope to expand the tour stops to include places like Old Crow, Mayo and some of the more remote communities."

• How working in a copper mine in the Yukon shaped Kate Pullinger

The inaugural award will be presented at the Dawson Daily News Print and Publishing Festival between May 28 and 31, 2020.

The deadline for nominations for The Borealis Prize is March 31, 2020.