Paper Shadows: A Chinatown Childhood is a memoir written by the Canadian writer Wayson Choy, first published in October 1999 by Viking Press. In the book, the author chronicles his experience growing up as an immigrant in Vancouver's Chinatown in the 1940s and 1950s. Paper Shadows received shortlist honours for the 2000 Vancouver City Book Award and won the 2000 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction.
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.
Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives through the Secret World of Stolen Art is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Joshua Knelman, first published in September 2011 by Douglas & McIntyre. In the book, the author chronicles his four-year investigation into the world of international art theft. Knelman traveled from Cairo to New York City, London, Montreal, and Los Angeles compiling his book; which has been called "A major work of investigative journalism", and "a globetrotting mystery filled with cunning and eccentric characters."
Letters from the Lost: A Memoir of Discovery is a non-fiction memoir, written by Canadian writer Helen Waldstein Wilkes, first published in December 2009 by Athabasca University Press. In the book, the author chronicles her discoveries after reading a box of letters she had never before seen. Her Jewish parents had fled Czechoslovakia in April 1939 to seek haven in Canada. Once in place, they corresponded with family and friends, encouraging them to escape the mounting peril that Hitler had envisioned as the Final Solution. Wilkes would learn that shortly after her parents migration, the ability to flee had been curtailed; and that each letter, compounded the historical anguish the writers were forced to endure.
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.
The Riverbones: Stumbling After Eden in the Jungles of Suriname is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Andrew Westoll, first published in October 2008 by McClelland & Stewart. In the book, the author chronicles civil strife in Suriname. Westoll describes the modern struggles for human rights, ecological preservation, and the economic needs of the Suriname people. The Riverbones is called "a spellbinding tale of survival, heartbreak, mystery and murder".
Baptism of Fire: The Second Battle of Ypres and the Forging of Canada, April 1915 is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Nathan M. Greenfield, first published in April 2007 by HarperCollins. In the book, the author recounts "The Second Battle of Ypres", called an "heroic battle" of World War I. The battle poised skilled German soldiers armed with chlorine gas against the entrenched 1st Canadian Division who managed to prevail, against odds. In defeating the Germans, and overcoming the effects of the first chemical attack of the modern era, Greenfield tells a "gripping" tale for anyone seeking to understand Canadian history or her military past.
French Kiss: Stephen Harper's Blind Date with Quebec is a non-fiction book written by Chantal Hébert, a Canadian writer and columnist for the Toronto Star and Le Devoir, first published by Knopf Canada in April 2007. In the book, the author recounts the 2006 general election in the province of Quebec and the surprisingly strong performance of the Conservative Party in that region. Hébert describes the outcome as a "combination of Harper's tactical brilliance and Paul Martin's political ineptitude." The book presents complex issues in "clear and concise" prose. Hébert's enduring quality throughout the telling is objectivity, an increasingly rare trait amongst journalists.
The Red Wall: A Woman in the RCMP is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Jane Hall, first published in July 2007 by General Store Publishing. In the book, the author chronicles her personal experiences as the first woman accepted in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Nitassinan: The Innu Struggle to Reclaim Their Homeland is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Marie Wadden, first published in December 1991 by Douglas & McIntyre. In the book, the author chronicles the plight of the Innu people, indigenous inhabitants of an area they affectionately call "Nitassinan" which means "our land" in the Innu language.
White Lies (for My Mother) is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Liza Potvin, first published in March 1992 by NeWest Press. In the book, the author chronicles her "lost" childhood, as an incest victim, and the subsequent years of emotional turmoil, leading to recovery.
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."
The Guns of Normandy: A Soldier's Eye View, France 1944 is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer George G. Blackburn, first published in October 1995 by McClelland & Stewart. In the book, the author renders a firsthand account of the Normandy invasion from within the Canadian Forces. The narrative account was called "gripping", given in "the most graphic and authentic detail". The panel of judges who awarded the "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction" called The Guns of Normandy "an outstanding example" of the genre.
Timely Death: Considering Our Last Rights is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Anne Mullens, first published in May 1996 by Knopf Canada. In the book, the author chronicles medical advances and increased longevity in the context of the right to a dignified death. The book has been called a "well-researched and comprehensive book, written with compassion and clarity." Anne Mullens, covered the Sue Rodriguez story as a journalist for The Vancouver Sun and later for the Toronto Star. This was Mullens's inspiration for writing the book and she said "her attitude towards death changed during the course of writing it".
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."
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.
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."
After is a non-fiction book written by Canadian writer Francis Chalifour, first published in October 2005 by Tundra Books. In the book, the author narrates his pain and confusion as he grieved his father's death by suicide. Judith Miller, an award judge for the Edna Staebler Award called After, "deeply moving" saying, "We enjoyed the lyricism of his language and his strong sense of character."
