Biography of HBC co-founder claims RBC Taylor Prize

Mark Bourrie’s Bush Runner: The Adventures of Pierre-Esprit Radisson was named the winner of the RBC Taylor Prize for excellence in literary non-fiction at an event held early in March.

It had earlier been announced that this would be the last edition of the Taylor Prize, initially awarded in 2000 in honour of Canadian writer Charles Taylor. Bourrie’s biography of Pierre-Esprit Radisson, a Hudson’s Bay Company co-founder, was excerpted in the June-July 2019 issue of Canada’s History magazine. You can read the excerpt online.

Early in April, finalists were announced for the 2020 J.W. Dafoe Book Prize for the best book on Canada, Canadians, or Canada’s place in the world — and they include three Canadian history titles: Canada on the United Nations Security Council: A Small Power on a Large Stagelink opens in new window, by Adam Chapnick; The Good Fight: Marcel Cadieux and Canadian Diplomacylink opens in new window, by Brendan Kelly; and Moved by the State: Forced Relocation and Making a Good Life in Postwar Canadalink opens in new window, by Tina Loo.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Historical Association has announced the finalists for the CHA Best Scholarly Book in Canadian History Prize, and Loo’s book Moved by the Statelink opens in new window is included on that list.

The other recognized books are: Radical Medicine: The International Origins of Socialized Health Care in Canada, by Esyllt W. Jones; Assembling Unity: Indigenous Politics, Gender, and the Union of BC Indian Chiefslink opens in new window, by Sarah A. Nickel; Wounded Feelings: Litigating Emotions in Quebec, 1870–1950link opens in new window, by Eric H. Reiter; Courtiers et entrepreneurs: Le courtage financier au Québec, 1867–1987link opens in new window, by Marc Vallières; and At the Bridge: James Teit and an Anthropology of Belonginglink opens in new window, by Wendy Wickwire.

Michael Layland’s In Nature’s Realm: Early Naturalists Explore Vancouver Islandlink opens in new window has won the Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Book on British Columbia, while Diane Pinch received the George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature for her book Passion & Persistence: Fifty Years of the Sierra Club in British Columbialink opens in new window.