Mary Ito to host: 2012 Charles Taylor Prize Winner Announcement Today!

Mary Ito

The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction

Mary Ito to host: 2012 Winner Announcement

TORONTO, March 5, 2012 /CNW/ -  

Monday, March 5 

Reception 11:30 a.m.  │  Luncheon 12:00 p.m.  │ Winner Announcement 1:30 p.m.

Le Meriden King Edward Hotel
Sovereign Ballroom
37 King Street East, Toronto

Finalists: 
Wade Davis        Charlotte Gill        JJ Lee        Madeline Sonik      Andrew Westoll

CBC radio broadcaster Mary Ito (Fresh Air) will host this year's Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction.  The annual book award is presented by RBC Wealth Management; with major support from Windfields Farm.   Media partners are CNW Group, CBC Books, The Globe and Mail, The Huffington Post, Maclean's and Quill & Quire.  In-Kind Sponsors are: Ben McNally Books, Event Source, Indigo Books and Music, Kobo Canada Inc., The International Festival of Authors (IFOA) and Le Meridien King Edward Hotel.

To view the event LIVE on March 5^th at 1:30 p.m. ET via webcast click on the following link:

http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=410884&s=1&k=42CBFEB39AAA7CA664D62A6D12B49E52

To host the live webcast on your website, have your webmaster use the embed code in the following PDF - [see below]. The stream will begin ten minutes prior to the start of the event, but can be placed on your site before this time. The title, date, and time of the event will show in the iframe until the stream starts, at which point the video window will automatically replace the text. If you have difficulties embedding the code your webmaster can call 1-877-377-1234 and ask for a Multimedia Producer to help.

PDF with caption: "Embed Code". PDF available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2012/03/01/20120301_C9022_DOC_EN_10670.pdf

www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca

*Working media are welcome to cover. Limited seating. Please indicate if seating required by Thursday, March 1st.  Greenroom lunch available for video/film crews.

For further information: Media are requested to confirm their attendance with Stephen Weir & Associates:

Stephen Weir:
416-489-5868
cell: 416-801-3101
stephen@stephenweir.com

Linda Crane:
905-257-6033
cell: 416-727-0112
cranepr@cogeco.ca

Toronto Irony: Braving the fences and the police to hear about an assocation dedicated to breaking down walls

Awards Given Out By Toronto Community Foundation

Underneath the boom box singers and after-school chefs, there is indeed a statue of Glen Gould! This morning, behind 10 ft tall fences and under the watchful eyes of thousands of G10 security officers, the Toronto Community Foundation held an awards event in the CBC's downtown Glen Gould Theatre. The Toronto Community Foundation connects philanthropy with community needs and opportunities in order, according to the TCC "to make Toronto the best place to live, work, learn, and grow."
IT is one of the largest of Canada's 165 community foundations. Established in 1981, the TCC has over $225 million in assets and works with hundreds of concerned Torontonians and high-impact community organizations.
This morning's event - Vital Toronto 2010 - saw the presentation of 26 awards to people and groups who make a difference in the city. The children, pictured above, take part in Beyond 3.30, an after-school programme at a number of city schools including Rockcliffe Middle School and Lawrence Heights Middle School.
Beyond 3.30 gets kids involved in meaningful (and fun) projects immediately after school classes end, Monday to Friday.The Toronto Community Foundation gives funding to the project.
Some of the children enrolled in Beyond 3.30 took part in the morning TCF event - cooking food, putting on drumming demonstrations and performing Beat Box on the Glenn Gould stage.
Matt Galloway, host of CBC Radio's Metro Morning,was the MC for the 2-hour event. His special guest was outgoing mayor, David Miller.

This is the fortnight to launch ... anything. Keep that suit pressed and the black tie knotted!

When should you hold an event to get the maximum media coverage? Don't hold you event too late in December. Unless your story has Santa Claus or kittens, the Christmas Rush will rush right past you.
And here in Toronto don't hold any press event during the first two weeks of September unless you have Tom Cruise as your spokesperson - yes the Toronto Film Festival eats up every TV camera and every reporter in city during it's two week run. And don't hold it anytime after that for the rest of September - worn out reporters are off using up all that overtime that earned.
Summer is out unless you are looking after Caribana, the Indy or Pride. The CBC shuts down for the summer, so do the community channel and most regular radio programming. Veteran reporters with weeks of earned holidays have long since left the city with July and August roll around. Most of the copy produced in the summer is being handled by Mr and Mrs Phil Inn and summer interns.
January is out ... Post Boxing Day advertising revenues have gone south and the media has NO space to spend on covering a non-news event. Frankly the big guess in January is the weather, it is so unpredictable that even if your well planned event is newsworthy it could be whited out.
No, November and the first week in December is that MAGIC time. This is no big secret, every camera lusting publicist knows it well. Look at some of the events that I or one of my associates have attended in over the past fortnight or so:

The Giller Prize
McMichael Canadian Art Collection launches 50 year Cape Dorset Collection exhibition
Kipling Gallery launches Nordic/Inuit sculpture exhibition
King Tut at the AGO
New CBC newsroom and its stand-up new look
Writer's Trust
Body World 3 at the Science Centre
Canada Reads Launch at the CBC
Grenada Hosts Toronto chapter TMAC (travel writer's association)
The Launch of Harry Potter at Ontario Science Centre
The Santa Claus Parade

... and the list goes on from there!


CUTLINES

Top: Stone Cape Dorset statue, part of the Inuit Cape Dorset retrospective at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The gallery is located in Kleinburg, Ontario.
Second from top: It is fitting that eveyone is standing. It is the launch of CBC's brand new National News look, where everyone stands up. Press launch held in Toronto's downtown CBC headquarters.
Third from top: Joy Lapps, plays the steel pan at a November meeting of the Travel Media Association of Canada. The get-together was sponsored by the Grenada Tourist Board and held at a downtown Toronto restaurant. Ms. Lapps and Grenadian-Canadian award winning Calypso singer Redman, provided the Caribbean content.
Third from bottom: Jian Ghomeshi, the host of Radio Q, was the MC at the Writer's Trust Award evening. Despite his star power and the fact that over $100,000 was given out to Canadian authors, there was little coverage of the event.
Second from bottom: Jian Ghomeshi again. This time in the lobby of the CBC building with the authors and participants in this year's Canada Reads radio series.
Bottom: Ontario Science Centre CEO Lesley Lewis announces that a new traveling Harry Potter exhibition will be coming to Toronto in April. The exhibition which will include costumes and sets from the Harry Potter movie series. The announcement was made at a glitzy Hollywood style press conference held at the Ontario Science Centre on Tuesday December 8th.
Below Bottom: Cell phone picture of the jam packed luxurious King Tutlaunch held last month at the Art Gallery of Ontario.