Submissions are now being accepted for the $5,000 City of Victoria Butler Book Prize and the $5,000 City of Victoria Children’s Book Prize.
The City of Victoria Butler Book Prize is awarded to a local author for the best book of fiction, literary non-fiction or poetry published in the preceding year. Now in its twentieth year, this prize is a partnership between the City of Victoria and Brian Butler of Butler Brothers Supplies.
The City of Victoria Children’s Book Prize is awarded to an author or illustrator of literature for children or youth. It was established in 2008 by the late Mel Bolen and has been sponsored by the City of Victoria since 2020.
For the 2023 prizes, books submitted must have been published between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023. They must not have been submitted previously and must be a new work, not a reissue or a revision of a previous work. The deadline for submissions is Friday, May 19, 2023. The awards will be presented at a gala this October.
The Victoria Book Prize Society is a volunteer-run organization that establishes the policy and criteria for the prizes, appoints the juries and administers the competitions. Two independent juries composed of representatives from the literary arts community review and assess the submissions.
Last year Esi Edugyan won the Victoria Butler Book Prize for Out of the Sun: On Race and Storytelling and Wendy Proverbs won the Victoria Children’s Book Prize for Aggie and Mudgy: The Journey of Two Kaska Dena Children.
The Victoria Book Prize Society would like to thank and acknowledge the following organizations for their support: the City of Victoria, Brian Butler of Butler Brothers Supplies, the Union Club of British Columbia, the Magnolia Hotel and Spa, Chateau Victoria, the Inn at Laurel Point, Friesens Corporation, CBC Radio, Island Blue Print Co. and the Greater Victoria Public Library.