Stories of war and peace and history and identity were honoured at the Victoria Book Prize Society Awards ceremony this week.
Salt Spring Island writer received the Bolen Books ChildrenB次元官网网址檚 Book Prize for and Victoria writer took home the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize for her debut novel, Mysterious Fragrance of the Yellow Mountains.
Stepping Stones: A Refugee FamilyB次元官网网址檚 Story
As a writer of almost 40 childrenB次元官网网址檚 stories, Ruurs said sheB次元官网网址檚 always thrilled to be included for book prizes or festivals and being recognized publicly is cause for celebration.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 difficult to use few words, thatB次元官网网址檚 the challenge when writing poetry or picture books,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 exciting for me to see that a book [like that] can have such an impact.B次元官网网址�
The writing process for Stepping Stones: A Refugee FamilyB次元官网网址檚 Story, was an unusual one, Ruurs explained. Normally her publisher pairs her with an illustrator for an idea already brewing, but this time it was Syrian artist Nizar Ali BadrB次元官网网址檚 images that Ruurs stumbled upon online that inspired her words.
B次元官网网址淚 thought kids would love to see pictures made from stones like that,B次元官网网址� Ruurs said, though it took her three months to track Badr down in war-torn Syria. B次元官网网址淗e gave me permission to use the photos and so I arranged some of those into what I felt was a story about war and peace and people having to flee their homes to find peace.B次元官网网址�
The proceeds of the book are providing Badr with an income and Ruurs is donating her royalties to refugee causes.
Mysterious Fragrance of the Yellow Mountains
Yasuko Thanh is no stranger to awards, Floating Like The Dead, her collection of short stories won the Journey Prize in 2009 and Mysterious Fragrance of the Yellow Mountains was also shortlisted for the Amazon.ca First Novel Award.
Thanh calls her recent win B次元官网网址渁 message from the muses to put your butt in the seat and get to workB次元官网网址� and work these days, is final edits on a memoir tentatively titled Mistakes To Run With.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 always been the thing thatB次元官网网址檚 walked next to me,B次元官网网址� Thanh said of her writing, B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 been the one constant throughout my life.B次元官网网址� And sheB次元官网网址檚 always dreamed of bringing to life the story of a family saga set in Vietnam, inspired by her paternal lineage (ThanhB次元官网网址檚 mother is German).
Even though her debut novel has impressed upon the literary elite, itB次元官网网址檚 not unheard of to find Thanh editing her words, red pen in hand, while onstage at readings, despite the book being long since published. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 so painful to read those sentences sometimes,B次元官网网址� she said with a sigh. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think itB次元官网网址檚 ever finished.B次元官网网址�
