Oct 16: Vancity 2002 Book Prize Winner
Vancity Shows Hearty Appetite for Local Author's Simple Recipies
Vancouver, October 16, 2002 - Local author Madeleine Thien is the winner of the 2002 Vancity Book Prize for her debut work, Simple Recipes, a collection of short stories about fractured families in Vancouver.
Published by McClelland & Stewart, the seven stories in Thien's collection explore the emotionally charged territory of family relationships and the alienation and conflict that can develop among different generations and cultures.
Thien, 28, is a graduate of the University of British Columbia's Creative Writing Program. Since publishing Simple Recipes, she has written a children's book and is currently working on her first novel.
The $4,000 Vancity Book Prize was founded in 1992 and is one of the most lucrative literary awards in BC. It is sponsored by Vancity with support from the Vancouver Public Library, the BC Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services and BC BookWorld. The prize is designed to raise awareness of women's issues while recognizing women's contributions to BC's literary community.
Winners receive a $3,000 prize from Vancity, along with a $1,000 donation to a women's organization of the author's choice from the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services. Thien's donation will go to Women Against Violence Against Women: The Rape Crisis Centre.
Honourable mentions for the Vancity Book Prize went to Jean Swanson for Poor Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion and Connie Fife for Poems for a New World.
Vancity is Canada's largest credit union, with $7.5 billion in assets, 282,000 members, and 39 branches throughout Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Victoria. Vancity owns Citizens Bank of Canada, serving members across the country by telephone, ATM, and the Internet. Both Vancity and Citizens Bank are guided by a commitment to corporate social responsibility, and to improve the quality of life in the communities where we live and work.