By William Doyle-Marshall
The 2019 Winner of the RBC Taylor Prize is Kate Harris (Atlin, BC) for her book Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road, published by Knopf Canada.
Kate Harris has written for numerous publications including The Walrus, Canadian Geographic, and The Georgia Review. A Rhodes scholar (Oxford – History of Science) with degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and UNC Chapel Hill, she was named one of Canada’s top modern-day explorers and has won several awards for her nonfiction writing. She lives off-grid in a log cabin in Atlin, BC. Lands of Lost Borders is her first book.
The $30,000 award was announced in early March by Prize founder and Chair Noreen Taylor during a gala luncheon celebrating this year’s finalists at the Omni King Edward Hotel, downtown Toronto. In addition to the cash prize, Harris received a crystal trophy and a leather-bound version of her book. This is the 18th annual prize being awarded by the foundation.
For the tenth anniversary the foundation brought back the Inaugural Year Jurors to select the finalists. They included national of Trinidad and Tobago Neil Bissoondath, Eva-Marie Kroller & David McFarlane. That year organizers celebrated Canada’s literary voices, recognizing the exceptional authors and journalists who captivate us with their stories, insights and writing style.
Another Caribbean author nominated for a Charles Taylor Award is Lorna Goodison who has been widely acclaimed and has won numerous awards for her work including the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, the Musgrave Gold Medal for Jamaica and the Henry Russel Award for Exceptional Creative Work from the University of Michigan. Her poetry has been included in numerous anthologies and she has also published several short story collections and a memoir – From Harvey River – which explores her identity as a Jamaican and her struggles to define herself as a poet and an individual.
Among the 2018 nominees for the Emerging Writers Mentorship Program was another Caribbean national, Antonio Michael Downing of Trinidad and Tobago who grew up in Northern Ontario. He is now a musician, writer and activist based in Toronto. His 2010 debut novel, Molasses, was published to critical acclaim. His nonfiction manuscript, Buttahfly, is a memoir of his obsession for radical identity transformations and how a tragic fire forced him to invent his ‘“baddest, boldest self: John Orpheus“
In congratulating the 2019 winner Noreen Taylor acknowledged “in an increasingly complex and volatile time, Kate Harris chose to look beyond the challenges of the here-and-now, and instead, remind us to care for one another, to care about the world we live in and to care about what makes living most rewarding.” She considered that a much-needed message, superbly told.
Vijay Parmar, president of RBC PH&N Investment Counsel, presenting sponsor of the award, also congratulated Harris on achieving this distinguished honor and in joining an illustrious list of writers who have all meaningfully contributed to Canadian literature with their distinctive voices. Parmar said his company is proud to partner with the Charles Taylor Foundation in its continued efforts to support Canadian non-fiction writers by providing a platform to showcase their exceptional talent, gain international exposure and advance their careers.
In its citation of the winning book, the jury notes from Harris’ vantage point as a student of the history of science, explorer and adventurer, she presents a rare and unique vision of the world, and explores the nature of boundaries. Unable to realize her childhood dream of travelling to Mars, the jury observes the author decides to trace Marco Polo’s Silk Road by bicycle. Vivid descriptions of the places and people she meets inspire deep and eclectic reflections on the nature of the world, wilderness, and the struggle of humans to define and limit them. “This is a book that changes how one thinks about the world and the human compulsion to define it,” the jury observes.
The other finalists each received a $5,000 honorarium, a leather-bound version of their book, and extensive publicity. They include Just Let Me Look at You: On Fatherhood by Bill Gaston (Victoria BC), published by Hamish Hamilton/Penguin Canada; Jan in 35 Pieces: A Memoir in Music by Ian Hampton (Vancouver, BC), published by Porcupine’s Quill; Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age by Darrel J. McLeod (Sooke, BC), published by Douglas & MacIntyre and All Things Consoled: A Daughter’s Memoir by Elizabeth Hay (Ottawa, ON), published by McClelland & Stewart.
Sharing a commitment to emerging Canadian talent, the Charles Taylor Foundation and RBC will also grant the sixth annual RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Writers Award. Shortly after the announcement of the 2019 Prize, its winner will name their choice of emerging author to receive this $10,000 award.
The trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation are: Vijay Parmar, David Staines, Edward Taylor, Nadina Taylor, and Noreen Taylor. The Prize Manager is Sheila Kay.
The presenting sponsor of the RBC Taylor Prize is RBC Wealth Management. Its media sponsors are The Globe and Mail, CBC Books, CNW Group, Quill & Quire magazine, CIUT Radio and Open Book; its in-kind sponsors are Ben McNally Books, Event Source, TIFA, and the Omni King Edward Hotel.