Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize

Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize
Awarded for English-language Canadian works of biography, autobiography or memoir
Country Canada
Presented by Writers' Trust of Canada and Claire Drainie Taylor
First awarded 1999
Last awarded 2006

The Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize was a Canadian literary award, presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada to a work judged as the year's best work of biography, autobiography or personal memoir by a Canadian writer.[1]

Created in 1998, the award was named in honour of Nathan A. Taylor, one of the country's leading entertainment impresarios, and actor John Drainie.[1] Writer and actor Claire Drainie Taylor, the award's benefactor, was married to Drainie from 1942 until his death in 1966, and was subsequently married to Taylor until his death in 2004.[1]

The first award was presented in November 1999.[2] For the remainder of the award's existence, however, the award was presented in the spring of the year following the year in which the eligible works were published. The final award was presented in March 2006 to honor works published in 2005.[3]

The award was discontinued after 2006,[4] in favour of an expanded prize package for the Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

Nominees and winners

Year Winner Nominated
1999 Blue ribbon François Ricard (author) and Patricia Claxton (translator), Gabrielle Roy: A Life[2]
2000 Blue ribbon Trevor Herriot, River in a Dry Land: A Prairie Passage[6]
  • Irena F. Karafilly, The Stranger in the Plumed Hat[7]
  • A. B. McKillop, The Spinster & the Prophet: Florence Deeks, H.G. Wells and the Mystery of the Purloined Past[7]
2001 Blue ribbon Ken McGoogan, Fatal Passage[8]
2002 Blue ribbon Warren Cariou, Lake of the Prairies: A Story of Belonging[10]
2003 Blue ribbon Geoffrey Stevens, The Player: The Life and Times of Dalton Camp[11]
2004 Blue ribbon Peter C. Newman, Here Be Dragons: Telling Tales of People, Passion and Power[13]
2005 Blue ribbon Nelofer Pazira, A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of My Afghanistan[3]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "$10,000 biography award launched". Ottawa Citizen, September 26, 1998.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Ricard wins biography prize". National Post, November 10, 1999.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Boyden, Vaillant win Writer's Prize". Calgary Herald, March 2, 2006.
  4. "Don't close the door on Berton House". The Globe and Mail, August 18, 2007.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Biography Prize nominees". National Post, October 19, 1999.
  6. "Respect at last for non-fiction: winner". The Gazette, March 7, 2001.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Fiction, biography nominees announced". The Globe and Mail, February 2, 2001.
  8. "Seven authors win big prizes ; Levine, Blaise, Hay among those honoured in T.O.". Toronto Star, March 6, 2002.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "Fatal Passage makes list". Calgary Herald, February 13, 2002.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 "Writers' Trust doles out prizes". The Globe and Mail, March 7, 2003.
  11. "Writers' Trust announces winners". The Globe and Mail, March 4, 2004.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 "Literary awards announce finalists". The Globe and Mail, February 4, 2004.
  13. "Munro, Engel, Newman honoured". The Telegram, March 10, 2005.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Bishop nominated for literary prize". Edmonton Journal, February 2, 2006.