RBC TAYLOR PRIZE Announces Partnership with EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL

RBC TAYLOR PRIZE Announces Partnership with EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL - Channel 167 Sirius XM

TORONTO, Jan. 25, 2016 /CNW/ - The RBC Taylor Prize is pleased to announce its partnership with the show EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL on the Canada Talks Channel on Sirius XM.  RBC Taylor Prize sees this new partnership as a natural fit since almost all award winning non-fiction books in Canada do come down to politics.

Listen to EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL each Wednesday (6-7pm)  for interviews of RBC Taylor Prize shortlisted authors and organizers of Canada's most prestigious non-fiction prize. First up was a feature interview with Noreen Taylor, the engaging and erudite founder of the Prize.  This Wednesday (January 27, 2016) short-listed author/journalist David Halton  

All five 2016 RBC Taylor Prize finalists will be featured:

• David Halton for Dispatches from the Front: Matthew Halton, Canada's Voice at War, published by McClelland & Stewart;
• Ian Brown for This is Sixty: The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning?, published by Random House Canada;
• Camilla Gibb for This Is Happy, published by Doubleday Canada;
• Wab Kinew for The Reason You Walk, published by Viking Canada; and
• Rosemary Sullivan for Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva, published by HarperCollins Publishers.

About Everything is Political

The show is heard Wednesdays from 6 pm to 7 pm (EDT) on SiriusXM's Canada Talks, channel 167.  The programme was launched last summer by journalist / broadcaster Evan Solomon.  Mr Solomon is the executive producer of the show, the host this Wednesday will be Sun political reporter David Akin.

Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. (TSX: XSR) operates as SiriusXM Canada. SiriusXM Canada, with more than 2.7 million subscribers, is the country's leading audio entertainment company and broadcasts more than 130 satellite radio channels featuring premier sports, news, talk, entertainment and commercial-free music.

About the RBC Taylor Prize:

Established biennially in 1998 by the trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation, 2016 marks the fifteenth awarding of the Prize, which commemorates Charles Taylor's pursuit of excellence in the field of literary non-fiction. Awarded to the author whose book best combines a superb command of the English language, an elegance of style, and a subtlety of thought and perception, the Prize consists of $25,000 for the winner and $2,000 for each of the remaining finalists, as well as promotional support to help all of the nominated books to stand out in the media, bookstores, and libraries.  All authors are presented with a custom leather bound version of their shortlisted book at the awards ceremony. The trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation are: Michael Bradley, Vijay Parmar, David Staines, Edward Taylor, Nadina Taylor, and Noreen Taylor.

To download high-resolution images of the finalists and their book covers, please go to www.rbctaylorprize.ca/2016/2016_shortlist.zip

To download high-resolution images of the trustees and the jury please go to: www.rbctaylorprize.ca/2016/2016_trustees_and_jury.zip

SOURCE RBC Taylor Prize

For further information:

Media contact: Stephen Weir & Associates, Stephen Weir: 416-489-5868, cell: 416-801-3101, stephen@stephenweir.com

A one-of-a-kind survey of internationally acclaimed First Nations artists opens in Brampton

James Simon Mishibinijma Thunder Spirits (detail), ca 2009

PAMA PRESENTS FROM THE HEART OF TURTLE ISLAND: CONTEMPORARY ART FROM MANITOULIN ISLAND

Brampton, ON. (Jan. 18, 2016) – A one-of-a-kind survey of internationally acclaimed First Nations artists opens at the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA) on January 24. All are welcomed to the opening celebration, featuring many of the exhibited artists, contemporary dancers and remarks from the curatorial team on Sunday January 31^st from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

From the Heart of Turtle Island: Contemporary Art from Manitoulin Island features the work of more than 30 Manitoulin artists, including the legendary Carl Beam, Anne Beam, Leland Bell, Mary Pheasant and many more. Through vivid paintings, drawings, prints and other art forms, the classic Woodlands style of painting is represented alongside other contemporary styles emerging from the island.  

“This exhibit offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience the scope of artistic expression on Manitoulin Island in a single exhibition,” said Thomas Smart, Supervisor & Curator of the Art Gallery and Education Services at PAMA. “It is a powerful reflection of the First Nations experience in Canada, including the significant cultural and traumatic issues indigenous people still face across our country, as recently detailed in the report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.”

The exhibition is presented by a curatorial team comprised of artists, curators and arts administrators, Nikki Manitowabi and  Mike Cywink; artist, musician and curator Mark Seabrook; curator and arts administrator Anne Benness; and PAMA’s Thomas Smart.  

“This exhibition demonstrates PAMA’s commitment to working collaboratively to tell the stories of our extended community, including Canada’s First Nations upon whose traditional lands PAMA is built,” said PAMA Manager Marty Brent.

PAMA partnered with several organizations to bring this exhibition to life including the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation, the Wiikwemikoong Art Gallery, the Wikwemikong Development Commission and the Wikwemikong Board of Education. The exhibition received valuable assistance from the Clifford and Lily Fielding Charitable Foundation, Fisher Wavy Inc., and the Ontario Arts Council through its Annual Operating Grant Program for Public Art Galleries.

The exhibition will be on view at PAMA from January 24 until March 20. It will then tour to venues in northern Ontario.

Running concurrently with the exhibition are Carl Beams’ Selected Prints, highlighting the dynamic innovation of one of Canada’s most significant artists, and Spiritual Connections, an exhibition exploring the themes of spirit, myth and folklore.

PAMA is a place to explore and learn about Peel Region’s culture and heritage, as well as use conversation, questions and stories to help make new and fascinating connections to the surrounding community. Throughout the year, PAMA offers a variety of workshops and programs for all ages, families and adults. With so many different programs to choose from, PAMA has something for everyone. Operated by the Region of Peel, PAMA is located at 9 Wellington St. E. in Brampton. Visit pama.peelregion.ca to learn more.

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Contact:

Erin Fernandes Marketing Co-ordinator Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives 905-791-4055, ext. 7596 erin.fernandes@peelregion.ca

Lesley Hudson Communication Specialist Region of Peel 905-791-7800, ext. 4478 lesley.hudson@peelregion.ca

Issued for the Peel Art Gallery By:

STEPHEN WEIR
Stephen Weir & Associates | stephen@stephenweir.com
109 Castlefield Avenue, Toronto, ON
CANADA. M4R 1G5
Tel: 416-489-5868 | cell: 416-801-3101
www.stephenweir.com twitter: sweirsweir 

Jury Recognizes the Five Best Canadians in Literary Non-Fiction

Wednesday, January 13, 2016 • Toronto, Ontario
RBC Taylor Prize 2016 Shortlist Announced
During a standing-room-only press conference at the Omni King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto, Jurors Susanne Boyce, Joseph Kertes, and Stephen J. Toope announced five finalists and shared their shortlist citations for the fifteenth awarding of the RBC Taylor Prize. To select these five finalists, the jury read and evaluated 120 books written by Canadian authors and submitted by 39 Canadian and international publishers.

The finalists for the 2016 RBC Taylor Prize are:

Ian Brown for Sixty: The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning? Published by Random House Canada

Of the book, the jury said: “Henry James once said that we should “grant the artist his donnée”—in other words judge writers only on what they have set out to do and how well they have achieved this aim. In Sixty, Ian Brown opens up his diary to us, reflecting on what it means to have entered his seventh decade, nothing more, nothing less. The result is a smart, witty compendium of his thoughts and those of others. Ian Brown is, by turns, hilarious and sad, and the result is both engaging and moving.”


Camilla Gibb for This Is Happy, published by Doubleday Canada

Of the book, the jury said: “Camilla Gibb grew up with a remote and steely mother and a father whose mental illness displayed itself in cruelty. After her own bipolar diagnosis, Gibb searched desperately for stability in her nuclear family. That dream collapsed. How can a writer find ‘happy’ in a messy, unravelling life? Through writing, of course, and by haphazardly building a new family only partly defined by blood. The memoir of a time of salvation, This Is Happy, is exquisitely taut. Through raw, often agonizing writing, we are surprised by a kind of ‘happy’ that flows quietly from companionship.”

 
David Halton for Dispatches from the Front: Matthew Halton, Canada’s Voice at War, published by McClelland & Stewart 

Of the book, the jury said: “Seventy years ago, Matthew Halton was a household name in Canada. While he was a student in England, Lady Nancy Astor befriended him, providing entry to the political elite. He parlayed access into vital journalism, reporting in the 1930s from Germany where he foretold Hitler’s march to war; then from the battle sites of Al Alamein, Sicily, and Normandy. His vivid personal style gave authority to his work, mesmerizing CBC radio audiences. No hagiography, David Halton’s Dispatches from the Front is a loving but honest account of a father’s triumphs and failings, written in lucid, urgent prose.”


Wab Kinew for The Reason You Walk, published by Viking Canada

Of the book, the jury said: “Brutally honest, original, funny, uncomfortable, and compelling, Wab Kinew’s memoir explores the personal reconciliation of a father and son and that of a country searching for healing and a way forward. When Wab Kinew’s father was diagnosed with cancer, he decided to reconnect and in so doing learned about his dad’s terrifying childhood at residential schools. The reader is transported into an extraordinary world of truth and reconciliation. As he explains: “during our time on earth, we ought to love one another, and that when our hearts are broken, we ought to work hard to make them whole again.”


Rosemary Sullivan for Stalin’s Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva, published by HarperCollins Publishers

Of the book, the jury said: “Combining exacting research with brilliant storytelling, Rosemary Sullivan tells us what it means to be the daughter of Joseph Stalin. As terrifying and mystifying as Stalin was to the Soviets and to the rest of the world, he was doubly so to Svetlana. The result for her was, of course, tragic. The achievement of Rosemary Sullivan’s Stalin’s Daughter is that in this portrait we see the inescapability of tyranny, when the tyrant’s rule is not only political but also personal.”


Noreen Taylor, founder of the Prize and chair of the Charles Taylor Foundation, expressed her delight at the shortlist, stating: “Having read each of the books on the longlist, I know how difficult it must have been to arrive at today’s decision. The jury had to choose between a dozen excellent books, with subjects spanning the deeply personal to the poetic and a quality of writing that is uniformly strong. Hearing now the titles on their shortlist, I am once again impressed by the calibre of our fifteenth jury: their selections reflect the impressive range and passion that is synonymous with the best traditions of literary non-fiction.”

Vijay Parmar, President of RBC PH&N Investment Counsel, shared Mrs. Taylor’s enthusiasm and commented: “RBC Wealth Management is proud to be the longtime presenting sponsor of the RBC Taylor Prize, working in partnership with the Charles Taylor Foundation to bring these thought provoking books to the reading public.”

The RBC Taylor Prize recognizes excellence in Canadian non-fiction writing and emphasizes the development of the careers of the authors it celebrates. All finalists will be supported with extensive publicity and promotional opportunities over the next two months.

Public events already confirmed include a free 90-minute Round Table Discussion in the Atrium of the Toronto Reference Library in downtown Toronto on Thursday, March 3rd, presented by the Toronto Public Library and Harbourfront Centre’s International Festival of Authors; and the Ben McNally/ The Globe and Mail Authors Brunch on Sunday, March 6th at 10:00 a.m. at the Omni King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto (for tickets, please contact Ben McNally Books at (416) 361-0032 or visit benmcnallybooks.com).

On Monday, March 7th the finalists will be celebrated and the fifteenth winner announced at the annual RBC Taylor Prize gala luncheon at the Omni King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto. The winner will receive a $25,000 cash prize and a crystal trophy; the remaining four finalists will each receive $2,000.


About The RBC Taylor Prize
Established biennially in 1998 by the trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation, 2016 marks the fifteenth awarding of the RBC Taylor Prize, which commemorates Charles Taylor’s pursuit of excellence in the field of literary non-fiction. Awarded to the author whose book best combines a superb command of the English language, an elegance of style, and a subtlety of thought and perception, the Prize consists of $25,000 for the winner and $2,000 for each of the remaining finalists, as well as promotional support to help all of the nominated books to stand out in the media, bookstores, and libraries. All authors are presented with a custom leather bound version of their shortlisted book at the awards ceremony.

Sharing a commitment to emerging Canadian talent, The Charles Taylor Foundation and RBC will also grant the third annual RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Writers Award. Shortly after the March 7th announcement of the 2016 Prize winner, he or she will name their choice of emerging author to receive this award.

The trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation are: Michael Bradley, Vijay Parmar, David Staines, Edward Taylor, Nadina Taylor, and Noreen Taylor.

The presenting sponsor of the RBC Taylor Prize is RBC Wealth Management. Its media sponsors are The Globe and Mail (exclusive newspaper sponsor), CNW Group, The Huffington Post Canada, Maclean’s magazine, and Quill & Quire magazine; its in-kind sponsors are Ben McNally Books, Event Source, IFOA, The Omni King Edward Hotel, and the Toronto Public Library Board.

For General information about the prize visit: www.rbctaylorprize.ca.

Follow us on on Twitter at www.twitter.com/taylorprize and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RBCTaylorPrize.

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Media contact: Stephen Weir & Associates
Stephen Weir: 416.489.5868 | cell: 416.801.3101 | stephen@stephenweir.com

To download high-resolution images of the finalists and their book covers, please go to www.rbctaylorprize.ca/2016/2016_shortlist.zip.

To download high-resolution images of the longlisted authors and their book covers please go to: www.rbctaylorprize.ca/2016/2016_longlist.zip.

To download high-resolution images of the trustees and the jury please go to: www.rbctaylorprize.ca/2016/2016_trustees_and_jury.zip