'''Ottawa Book Award''' and '''Prix du livre d'Ottawa''' is a Canadian literary award presented by the City of Ottawa to the best English and French language books written in the previous year by a living author residing in Ottawa.<ref name=2011rules>[http://ottawa.ca/rec_culture/arts/awards/book/guidelines_en.html 2011 Guidelines for Authors and Publishers], Ottawa Book Awards website</ref> There are four awards each year: English fiction and non-fiction (the Ottawa Book Awards); French fiction and non-fiction (Prix du livre d'Ottawa). As of 2011 the four prize winners receive $7,500 each and short-listed authors $1,000 each.<ref name=2011rules/> The award was founded in 1986. In its earlier years it was named the '''Ottawa-Carleton Book Awards'''.
From 1986 to 1990, only a single winner was named each year, with the prize alternating between non-fiction in even-numbered years and fiction in odd-numbered years. Beginning in 1991, separate awards were created for English and French literature,<ref name=donovanpoliquin>"Ottawa writers big winners; Top prize split between English, French authors for the first time in Valley festival". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 27, 1991.</ref> although the alternation between non-fiction and fiction titles each year continued until 2004; ever since, four awards have been presented annually for both English and French fiction and non-fiction. Despite being named as "fiction", however, the fiction category is also open to poetry titles.
Each category is presented only if the committee has received at least five eligible submissions within the appropriate eligibility period. If this benchmark is not reached, then no award is presented in that category; instead, any submissions that were received are forwarded for consideration in the following year, while the prize money is rolled back into the city's annual arts granting program.<ref name=sawatsky>Burt Heward, "Sawatsky wins top literary prize; ottawa-Carleton award goes to author who tracked Mulroney's rise to power". ''Ottawa Citizen'', May 2, 1992.</ref> To date, only the French categories have ever been delayed in this manner, with the French non-fiction category impacted much more frequently than the French fiction category.
Although administered separately, the Archibald Lampman Award for poetry is also typically presented at the same time as the Ottawa Book Awards announcements.
==Winners== ===Fiction (1986-1990)=== *1987 - John Metcalf, ''Adult Entertainment''<ref>Burt Heward, "Ottawa author-critic Metcalf wins $2,000 literary award". ''Ottawa Citizen'', May 2, 1987.</ref> *1989 - Maurice Henrie, ''La Chambre à mourir''<ref>Burt Heward, "Festival's top award goes to francophone". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 22, 1989.</ref>
===Non-fiction (1986-1990)=== *1986 - Joan Finnigan, ''Legacies, Legends and Lies'' and Jean Bruce, ''Back the Attack! : Canadian Women During the Second World War''<ref>Burt Heward, "Oral historians share Ottawa-Carleton book award". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 19, 1986.</ref> *1988 - Patricia Morley, ''Kurelek: A Biography''<ref>Burt Heward, "Life of Kurelek top winner". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 23, 1998.</ref> *1990 - Roy MacGregor, ''Chief: The Fearless Vision of Billy Diamond''<ref>Burt Heward, "MacGregor takes top book prize". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 28, 1990.</ref>
===English fiction (1991-present)=== *1991 - Rita Donovan, ''Dark Jewels''<ref name=donovanpoliquin/> *1993 - Rita Donovan, ''Daisy Circus'' and Nadine McInnis, ''The Litmus Body''<ref name=authorsshare>Burt Heward, "Authors share ottawa-carleton fiction awards". ''Ottawa Citizen'', May 1, 1993. pp. 0-F4. Database: ProQuest Newsstand. {{ProQuest|239763990}}</ref> *1995 - John Barton, ''Notes Towards a Family Tree'' and Frances Itani, ''Man Without Face''<ref name=gordon>Charles Gordon, "Ottawa man captures two awards for poetry". ''Ottawa Citizen'', May 6, 1995.</ref> *1997 - Patrick Kavanagh, ''Gaff Topsails''<ref name=jackson>Jenny Jackson, "Author's first novel captures top prize". ''Ottawa Citizen'', May 10, 1997.</ref> *1999 - Alan Cumyn, ''Man of Bone''<ref name=manofbone>Jenny Jackson, "Novelist wins $2000 award". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 25, 1999.</ref> *2001 - Alan Cumyn, ''Burridge Unbound''<ref name=gessell>Paul Gessell, "Cumyn captures book prize -- again". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 27, 2001.</ref> *2003 - Brian Doyle, ''Mary Ann Alice''<ref name=doyle>Paul Gessell, "Doyle wins prize for latest novel: Ottawa Literary Awards presented last night". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 25, 2003.</ref> *2004 - Elizabeth Hay, ''Garbo Laughs''<ref name=icestorm>Paul Gessell, "Ice storm of '98 stars in story chosen as best work of fiction". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 22, 2004.</ref> *2005 - Frances Itani, ''Poached Egg on Toast'' *2006 - John-James Ford, ''Bonk on the Head'' and John Geddes, ''The Sundog Season'' *2007 - Janet Lunn, ''A Rebel's Daughter'' *2008 - Elizabeth Hay, ''Late Nights on Air'' *2009 - Andrew Steinmetz, ''Eva’s Threepenny Theatre'' *2010 - Craig Poile, ''True Concessions''<ref name=poile>"Ottawa Book Awards honour works by Poile, Horrall, Rochon; Authors receive recognition for poetry, non-fiction, French fiction". ''Ottawa Citizen'', October 30, 2010. Database: ProQuest Newsstand. {{ProQuest|761372961}}</ref> *2011 - Gabriella Goliger, ''Girl Unwrapped''<ref>"Old Ottawa South resident awarded for Girl Unwrapped." (2011, November 4). ''Ottawa This Week West'' [Ottawa, Ontario], p. 1. Gale Document Number: GALE|A272194183</ref> *2012 - Jamieson Findlay, ''The Summer of Permanent Wants'' *2013 - Missy Marston, ''The Love Monster'' *2014 - David O'Meara, ''A Pretty Sight'' *2015 - Scott Randall, ''And to Say Hello'' *2016 - Nadine McInnis, ''Delirium for Solo Harp'' *2017 - John Metcalf, ''The Museum at the End of the World''<ref name=patrick>Ryan B. Patrick, [https://www.cbc.ca/books/charlotte-gray-john-metcalf-and-andr%C3%A9e-christensen-win-2017-ottawa-book-awards-1.4372825 "Charlotte Gray, John Metcalf and Andrée Christensen win 2017 Ottawa Book Awards"]. CBC Books, July 13, 2017.</ref> *2018 - Shane Rhodes, ''Dead White Men'' *2019 - Kagiso Lesego Molope, ''This Book Betrays My Brother'' *2020 - Henry Beissel, ''Footprints of Dark Energy'' *2021 - Conyer Clayton, ''We Shed Our Skin Like Dynamite'' *2022 - David O'Meara, ''Masses on Radar''<ref name=omeara>Lynn Saxberg, [https://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/poet-omeara-scoops-two-more-ottawa-book-awards "Poet O'Meara scoops two more Ottawa book awards"]. ''Ottawa Citizen'', October 21, 2022.</ref> *2023 - Jean Van Loon, ''Nuclear Family''<ref name=2023winners>[https://quillandquire.com/omni/tim-cook-and-jean-van-loon-among-winners-of-2023-ottawa-book-awards/ "Tim Cook and Jean Van Loon among winners of 2023 Ottawa Book Awards"]. ''Quill & Quire'', October 13, 2023.</ref> *2024 - Sandra Ridley, ''Vixen''
===English non-fiction (1991-present)=== *1992 - John Sawatsky, ''Mulroney: The Politics of Ambition''<ref name=sawatsky/> *1994 - Penelope Williams, ''That Other Place: A Personal Account of Breast Cancer'' *1996 - Clyde Sanger, ''Malcolm MacDonald: Bringing an End to Empire'' *1998 - Isaac Vogelfanger, ''Red Tempest'' *2000 - Roy MacGregor, ''A Life in the Bush: Lessons From My Father'' *2002 - Anna Heilman, ''Never Far Away'' *2004 - Madelaine Drohan, ''Making a Killing: How and Why Corporations Use Armed Force to Do Business''<ref name=icestorm/> *2005 - Valerie Knowles, ''From Telegrapher to Titan: The Life of William C. Van Horne'' *2006 - Heather Menzies, ''No Time: Stress and the Crisis of Modern Life'' *2007 - Charlotte Gray, ''Reluctant Genius: The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell'' *2008 - Tim Cook, ''At the Sharp End: Canadians Fighting the Great War 1914-1916'' *2009 - Kerry Pither, ''Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror'' *2010 - Andrew Horrall, ''Bringing Art to Life: a Biography of Alan Jarvis''<ref name=poile/> *2011 - Eric Enno Tamm, ''The Horse that Leaps Through Clouds'' *2012 - Ruth B. Phillips, ''Museum Pieces: Toward the Indigenization of Canadian Museums'' *2013 - Michael Petrou, ''Is This Your First War? Travels through the Post - 9/11 Islamic World'' *2014 - Paul Wells, ''The Longer I'm Prime Minister: Stephen Harper and Canada, 2006'' *2015 - Heather Menzies, ''Reclaiming the Commons for the Common Good'' *2016 - Tim Cook, ''Fight to the Finish: Canadians in the Second World War, 1944-1945'' *2017 - Charlotte Gray, ''The Promise of Canada: 150 Years - People and Ideas that Have Shaped our Country''<ref name=patrick/> *2018 - Roy MacGregor, ''Original Highways: Travelling the Great Rivers of Canada'' *2019 - Tim Cook, ''The Secret History of Soldiers: How Canadians Survived the Great War'' *2020 - Beverley McLachlin, ''Truth Be Told: My Journey Through Life and the Law'' *2021 - Suzanne Evans, ''The Taste of Longing: Ethel Mulvany and Her Starving Prisoners of War Cookbook'' *2022 - Fen Osler Hampson and Mike Blanchfield, ''The Two Michaels: Innocent Canadian Captives and High Stakes Espionage in the US-China Cyber War''<ref name=omeara/> *2023 - Tim Cook, ''Lifesavers and Body Snatchers: Medical Care and the Struggle for Survival in the Great War''<ref name=2023winners/> *2024 - Huda Mukbil, ''Agent of Change: My life Fighting Terrorists, Spies and Institutional Racism''
===French fiction (1991-present)=== *1991 - Daniel Poliquin, ''Visions de Jude''<ref name=donovanpoliquin/> *1993 - Maurice Henrie, ''Le Pont sur le temps'' and Gabrielle Poulin, ''Petites fugues pour une saison sèche''<ref name=authorsshare/> *1995 - Andrée Christensen, ''Noces d’ailleurs''<ref name=gordon/> *1997 - Maurice Henrie, ''Le Balcon dans le ciel''<ref name=jackson/> *1999 - Pierre Raphaël Pelletier, ''Il faut crier l’injure''<ref name=manofbone/> *2001 - Nicole V. Champeau, ''Dans les pas de la louve'' and Michèle Matteau, ''Quatuor pour cordes sensibles''<ref name=gessell/> *2003 - Jean Mohsen Fahmy, ''Ibn Kaldoun: l'honneur et la disgrâce'' and Nancy Vickers, ''La Petite Vieille aux poupées''<ref name=doyle/> *2004 - Maurice Henrie, ''Mémoire Vive''<ref name=icestorm/> *2005 - Maurice Henrie, ''Les roses et le verglas'' and Michel Thérien, ''L’aridité des fleuves'' *2006 - Gilles Lacombe, ''Trafiquante de lumière'' *2007 - Daniel Poliquin, ''La Kermesse'' *2008 - Andrée Christensen, ''Depuis toujours, j’entendais la mer'' *2009 - Margaret Michèle Cook, ''Chronos à sa table de travail'' *2010 - Claire Rochon, ''Fragments de Sifnos''<ref name=poile/> *2011 - ''not awarded'' *2012 - Estelle Beauchamp, ''Un souffle venu de loin'' *2013 - Marie-Josée Martin, ''Un jour, ils entendront mes silences'' *2014 - ''not awarded'' *2015 - Blaise Ndala, ''J’irai danser sur la tombe de Senghor'' *2016 - Pierre-Luc Landry, ''Les corps extraterrestres'' *2017 - Andrée Christensen, ''Épines d'encre''<ref name=patrick/> *2018 - Alain Bernard Marchand, ''Sept vies, dix-sept morts'' *2019 - Andrée Christensen, ''L'Isle aux abeilles noires'' *2020 - Véronique Sylvain, ''Premier quart'' *2021 - Monia Mazigh, ''Farida'' *2022 - Michèle Vinet, ''Le Malaimant''<ref name=omeara/> *2023 - Nancy Vickers, ''Capharnaüm''<ref name=2023winners/> *2024 - Sébastien Pierroz, ''Deux heures avant la fin de l’été''
===French non-fiction (1991-present)=== *1992 - ''not awarded''<ref name=sawatsky/> *1994 - Gilberte Paquette, ''Dans le sillage d’Élizabeth Bruyère'' *1996 - Elisabeth J. Lacelle, ''L’incontournable échange. Conversations oecuméniques et pluridisciplinaires'' *1998 - René Dionne, ''Histoire de la Littérature Franco-Ontarienne des origines à nos jours'' *2000 - Patricia Smart, ''Les femmes du Refus Global'' *2002 - Françoise Lepage, ''Histoire de la littérature pour la jeunesse'' *2004 - Mila Younes, ''Ma mère, ma fille, ma sœur''<ref name=icestorm/> *2005 - ''not awarded'' *2006 - Réjean Robidoux, ''D’éloge et de critique'' *2007 - ''not awarded'' *2008 - ''not awarded'' *2009 - Maurice Henrie, ''Esprit de sel'' *2010 - ''not awarded''<ref name=poile/> *2011 - Lucie Joubert, ''L’envers du landau'' *2012 - ''not awarded'' *2013 - ''not awarded'' *2014 - Philippe Bernier Arcand, ''La dérive populiste'' *2015 - ''not awarded'' *2016 - Patricia Smart, ''De Marie de l'Incarnation à Nelly Arcan'' *2017 - ''not awarded''<ref name=patrick/> *2018 - ''not awarded'' *2019 - Yvon Malette, ''Entre le risque et le rêve : Une brève histoire des Éditions David'' *2020 - ''not awarded'' *2021 - Nicole V. Champeau, ''Niagara…la voie qui y mène'' *2022 - ''not awarded''<ref name=omeara/> *2023 - Maurice Henrie, ''La tête haute''<ref name=2023winners/> *2024 - ''not awarded''
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://ottawa.ca/en/liveculture/ottawa-book-awards Ottawa Book Awards]
Category:Awards established in 1986 Category:Canadian non-fiction literary awards Category:Canadian fiction awards Category:Culture of Ottawa Category:Ontario literary awards