David Johnston, Elizabeth Hay, Darrel J. McLeod, Terese Marie Mailhot make 2019 RBC Taylor Prize longlist
Ten books make up the longlist of the 2019 RBC Taylor Prize, an annual $30,000 literary award that celebrates the best Canadian nonfiction of the year.
Former Governor General David Johnston is on the list for Trust: Twenty Ways to Build a Better Country, which is billed as a guide for all Canadians on how to strengthen a democratic society.
Johnston's joined on the longlist by author Elizabeth Hay, winner of the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Nonfiction Prize for memoir All Things Consoled, as well as the winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction, Darrel J. McLeod for his memoir Mamaskatch.
- Elizabeth Hay makes peace with her mother's food and father's anger
- How writing about his difficult childhood helped Darrel J. McLeod heal — and help others in the process
Terese Marie Mailhot is also on the longlist for her critically acclaimed memoir Heart Berries. The book is about Mailhot's coming of age on Seabird Island in British Columbia.
The complete longlist is:
- Son of a Critch by Mark Critch
- Just Let Me Look at You by Bill Gaston
- Jan in 35 Pieces by Ian Hampton
- Lands of Lost Borders by Kate Harris
- All Things Consoled by Elizabeth Hay
- Trust: Twenty Ways to Build a Better Country by David Johnston
- Seeking the Fabled City by Allan Levine
- Power, Prime Ministers and the Press by Robert Lewis
- Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot
- Mamaskatch by Darrel J. McLeod
The jury, comprised of writers Camilla Gibb, Roy MacGregor and former chief justice Beverley McLachlin, read over 100 books to create the longlist.
The shortlist will be revealed on Jan. 9, 2019, followed by the winner on March 4, 2019.
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