British Columbia’s National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction - Canada’s largest non-fiction prize - was awarded in Vancouver yesterday to John Vaillant for his book, 
Driving to Fredericton, I had a smile on my face despite that fact that we’d been caught without winter tires in the season’s first snow storm. We’d just returned from a holiday in the tropics, and the world had changed from a place of flaming sunsets, turquoise waters, and yellow hibiscus to a dark world of spinning flakes.
Yet I was filled with delight. That night, I would receive the Lieutenant Governors Award for Excellence in English Language Arts. We passed Old Government House, stately amidst snow-covered lawns, and went to a nearby hotel. Our son and his family soon arrived and checked into the room next to ours. I changed into a jacket appliquéd with gold, scarlet, and pink roses. The men tweaked ties, we women applied lipstick, and together we went down to the dining room. Here we met the other award winners - Calixte Duguay for music, Chantal Cadieux for dance. We ate quietly, without fanfare, as if surrounded by a large family. The room was warm, intimate with low lights. MORE…
