Wayson Choy was a Canadian novelist. Publishing two novels and two memoirs in his lifetime, he is considered one of the most important pioneers of Asian Canadian literature in Canada, and as an important figure in LGBT literature as one of Canada's first openly gay writers of colour to achieve widespread mainstream success.
Francis Chalifour is a contemporary Canadian writer.
Edna Staebler was a Canadian writer and award-winning literary journalist, best known for her series of cookbooks, particularly Food That Really Schmecks which is currently available in e-book form. While the book contains Mennonite recipes, the content also includes stories and anecdotes about life and home cooking in the rural areas of the Waterloo Region.
The Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction is an annual literary award recognizing the previous year's best creative nonfiction book with a "Canadian locale and/or significance" that is a Canadian writer's "first or second published book of any type or genre". It was established by an endowment from Edna Staebler, a literary journalist best known for cookbooks, and was inaugurated in 1991 for publication year 1990. The award is administered by Wilfrid Laurier University's Faculty of Arts. Only submitted books are considered.
Michael "Mike" Poole was a Canadian film maker and author. He began his career as a copy runner for the Vancouver Sun before becoming a reporter. He earned a journalism degree in the U.S. state of Virginia, started in the film business in the 1960s and went on to be a television producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for ten years. He then worked as a freelance filmmaker, spending two decades producing documentaries with the well-known Canadian environmentalist, David Suzuki. His books are Romancing Mary Jane: A Year in the Life of a Failed Marijuana Grower, Ragged Islands: A Journey by Canoe Through the Inside Passage and Rain Before Morning, a novel about Canadian draft dodgers during World War I. In his retirement Poole lived full-time on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, Canada with his wife Carole and his two beloved Labradors. He won the Edna Staebler Award, a Canadian literary award for creative nonfiction, in 1999 for Romancing Mary Jane: A Year in the Life of a Failed Marijuana Grower. He died of prostate cancer at the age of 74 in 2010.
Most of Me: Surviving My Medical Meltdown is a non-fiction memoir, written by Canadian writer Robyn Michele Levy, first published in September 2011 by Greystone Books. In the book, the author chronicles her plight from symptoms, to medical diagnosis, and coping with simultaneous illnesses.
A Very Capable Life: The Autobiography of Zarah Petri is a non-fiction memoir of his mother by the Canadian television host Johnnie Walters, written under his real name John Leigh Walters and published in January 2010 by Athabasca University Press. It re-tells the stories his mother described to him regarding her immigration to Canada in the 1920s. Walters gives his first person account using humor, and intrigue, to share his mother's expressed regards about her depression era experiences.
Lakeland: Journeys into the Soul of Canada is a nonfiction book, written by Canadian writer Allan Casey, first published in November 2009 by Greystone Books. The book celebrates Canada's uniquely lake-rich landscape and explores the relationship that both the author and all Canadians have with this "Lakeland". In the book, the author chronicles his summer vacations to ten Canadian lakes. His tale begins at the cabin his father built on Saskatchewan's Emma Lake in 1960 and continues on a journey through ten of Canada's scenic lakes, extenuating their increasingly fragile existence as pristine lakes of Saskatchewan. It has been called an "extraordinary piece of writing", earning accolades of literary recognition.
Burning Down the House: Fighting Fires and Losing Myself is a non-fiction memoir, written by Canadian writer Russell Wangersky, first published in April 2009 by Thomas Allen Publishers. In the book, the author chronicles his experiences as a volunteer firefighter in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
Lost: A Memoir is a non-fiction memoir, written by Canadian writer Cathy Ostlere, first published in May 2008 by Key Porter Books. In the book, the author chronicles her feelings of guilt associated with her brother and his fiancée being declared "lost at sea". Ostlere had promised her brother not to divulge his plans for a sea voyage, and when his birthday in 1995 passed without the family receiving a call, she felt it was not particularly unusual of his character, and choose not to mention their secret. After weeks of no word, Ostlere admitted to her parents that she had knowledge of the seafaring plans. Soon after admitting this, it was determined that the couple were officially "lost at sea".
Stardust is a non-fiction collection of memoirs and essays, written by Canadian writer Bruce Serafin, first published in October 2007 by New Star Books. The book, contains 20 writings from Serafin's youth; compiled after the authors death in 2007. Primarily the prose dishes harsh criticism at the establishment; in the authors style of candid and frank discourse. Serafin was honored posthumously for his work.
The Only Snow in Havana is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Elizabeth Hay, first published in September 1992 by Cormorant Books. In the book, the author chronicles an eight-year sojourn in which she traveled to Mexico, and through Cuba and Latin America, settling in New York until her return to Ottawa in 1992. Hay was homesick throughout her time away, and every new experience of her travels invoked reflections of home, which she recorded in her journal. Hay's journals resulted in a trilogy of books, of which, The Only Snow in Havana is the second.
Sharing a Robin's Life is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Linda Johns, first published in July 1993 by Nimbus Publishing. In the book, the author writes in first person prose; describing when she and a robin, she had nurtured from peril, cohabited; and shared their life and home. The judges who awarded Linda Johns the "Edna Staebler Award" called the book; "a remarkable" read, saying it "challenges our preconceptions" about the "natural world around us."
Mrs. King: The Life and Times of Isabel Mackenzie King is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Charlotte Gray, first published in 1997 by Penguin Books. In the book, the author chronicles the life of William Lyon Mackenzie's daughter; the mother of Canada's longest serving prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. Her son portrayed her as the "ideal woman, the epitome of motherhood and an angel of goodness and light." His biographers have her portrayed as "an ambitious, grasping manipulator who pushed her eldest son into politics and then contrived to keep him a bachelor so that he could support the rest of his family." Wilfrid Laurier University's Faculty of Arts panel called Mrs. King an "outstanding example of creative non-fiction", further stating, "Charlotte Gray has written a biography with the narrative power of a fine novel."
Romancing Mary Jane: A Year in the Life of a Failed Marijuana Grower is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Michael Poole, first published in 1998 by Greystone Books. In the book, the author chronicles the regrettable consequences of his decision to cultivate marijuana on a commercial level. Goodreads called the book, an "engaging blend of metaphysics, marijuana, and midlife crisis." A panel of Wilfrid Laurier University judges called Poole's writing, "sheer competence".
Sacré Blues: An Unsentimental Journey Through Quebec is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Taras Grescoe, first published in 2000 by Macfarlane Walter & Ross. In the book, the author narrates his candid recollections of moving to Quebec in 1996. In describing "the rituals, eccentricities and customs of his new home", Kathryn Wardropper, award administrator for the Edna Staebler Award said, "It may infuriate some, but it is a landmark book that portrays the challenges and opportunities for modern Quebec."
Rolling Home: A Cross Canada Railroad Memoir is a non-fiction memoir, written by Canadian writer Tom Allen, first published in October 2001 by Penguin Books. In the book, the author chronicles his travels across Canada on a train. Allen includes his interviews with passengers, engineers, cooks, and porters. Rolling Home has been called an "evocative cross-country tour of Canada by train," by Staebler award administrator Kathryn Wardropper.
The Last Island: A Naturalist's Sojourn on Triangle Island is a non-fiction memoir, written by Canadian writer Alison Watt, first published in September 2002 by Harbour Publishing. In the book, the author chronicles her return to Triangle Island, a bird sanctuary off the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Watt spent four months studying tufted puffins with her mentor Anne Vallee, returning 16 years later after Vallee's death. The Last Island is written in "beautiful language combined with watercolour paintings" with the power to "transport the reader to the island".
Into the Blue: Family Secrets and the Search for a Great Lakes Shipwreck is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Andrea Curtis, first published in April 2003 by Random House Canada. In the book, the author narrates her family history and their connection to the 1906 shipwreck of the SS J.H. Jones, lost to the late-November swells of Ontario's Georgian Bay, claiming the lives of all on board. The ship's captain, Jim Crawford, left his one-year-old daughter, Eleanor, an orphan who faced a future of poverty. Curtis did not know the stigma her grandmother endured until researching the shipwreck, and discovering its links to her families past. Staebler Award administrator Kathryn Wardropper called the book "a thoroughly credible and enjoyable book".
I'll Tell You a Secret: a Memory of Seven Summers is a non-fiction memoir, written by Canadian writer Anne Coleman, first published in September 2004 by McClelland & Stewart. In the book, the author offers her perspective of Hugh MacLennan, her mentor and well known Canadian literary figure. The voice is described as "uncompromising, perceptive and rich with reflection." Kathryn Wardropper, administrator of the Edna Staebler Award said, "The judges were thrilled with her writing and Edna, herself, was a strong champion of this title."
