September 24, 2022 By Mike Ma
Tonight I attended the BC Yukon Book Prizes Gala on behalf of Between the Lines Books. Catherine Nolin and Grahame Russell’s book, Testimonio, was nominated for the “Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes”. Her book, which was published by BTL Books, was competing against many great BC books that included Spíləx̣m, Dog Flowers, Peyakow, and Border and Rule. Border and Rule was written by the acclaimed activist writer Harsha Walia, and it was her book that won the prize! Congratulations to Harsha! Harsha gave a great acceptance speech that culminated in an invitation to the other competitors to join her on stage to demonstrate that social justice struggles can only be won in unison with others.
I especially enjoyed the event because it reminded me of how small the world is. As I found my seat at my table, i was surprised to see my neighbour, Emilie Smith, sitting right next to the Catherine Nolin! She has a piece in the book and has been working on liberation struggles in Guatemala for years where she first met Catherine Nolin. Who knew!?! I was really blown away.
Mike Ma, Emilie Smith, Harsha Walia, and Catherine Nolin at the BC Yukon Book Prizes Gala
Here is a complete list of this year’s 2022 winners: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/2022/09/24/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2022-bc-and-yukon-book-prizes/
