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B.C. Book Prize’s northwest tour stops in Terrace

The two authors spoke to students at Caledonia Secondary School and Thornhill Elementary on Thursday
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Paul Watson, a BC Book Prize finalist for the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction category, took a photo on April 26 with willing volunteers after speaking to 70 students at the Caledonia Secondary School in Terrace. (Contributed photo)

Two finalists for the BC Book Prize stopped in Terrace this morning as part of their week-long tour visiting communities throughout Northwest B.C. from April 23-27.

Norma Charles, who was shortlisted for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize, spoke about her novel Runner: Harry Jerome, World’s Fastest Man, to students at Thornhill Elementary School on Thursday morning.

She is the author of several books for young readers, including See You Later, Alligator, and Run, Marco Run, which won the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award for pre-teen novels in 2012.

Paul Watson, a 1994 Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist whose novel was shortlisted for the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize, spoke to 70 students at Caledonia Secondary School about his work. He is also a Canadian-American marine wildlife conservation and environmental activist and founded the Sea Shepard Conservation Society in 1977.

His novel, Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition, explores the fate of Sir John Franklin’s doomed voyage, whose ships and 128 crew members mysteriously disappeared in the Arctic tundra more than 170 years ago.

In the end, searchers uncovered enough clues to show that Franklin’s two ships, Erebus and Terror, had become locked in crushing sea ice, setting in motion a grim and fascinating story about what led to the expedition’s dissolution.

“Both schools were very engaged and had great questions,” said Bryan Pike, executive director of the BC Book Prize and tour bus driver.

Pike said a lot of the students were familiar with the story of the Franklin expedition and were eager to ask Watson questions. The teachers at Caledonia also nudged in a couple inquiries, eager to speak with someone with first-hand experience venturing into the Arctic.

He said the two authors were greatly impressed by students at both schools.

“It was a real inspiration for these guys see how engaged the young people were,” Pike said. “And it’s not every day that students get to speak with a Pulitzer Prize winner.”

The tour is already in Prince Rupert but will travel back to Kitimat tonight to speak at the city’s public library at 7:00 p.m. Afterwards, they’ll head back to the airport and catch a flight to Vancouver before the BC Book Prize’s tour starts another leg of the trip to the province’s Sunshine Coast.


 


brittany@terracestandard.com

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