Writers' Union Affirms Peer Jury Independence for Governor General's Award
– Prize decision controversy should not affect process –
February 5, 2015 – Following reports of an online petition calling for revocation of the 2014 Governor General's Award for Children's Literature, The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC) wishes to stress its unwavering support for the GG Awards, the Canada Council for the Arts process that administers them, and for the independence of the peer jury that made the decision in this case.
"It is essential the Canada Council and its juries remain independent from this kind of after-the-fact pressure,” said TWUC Chair, Harry Thurston.
The petition objects to what it calls the "offensive and graphic nature" of the winning book, Raziel Reid's "When Everything Feels Like the Movies", which is also one of the five books currently under consideration on CBC Radio's Canada Reads program. The petition asks that the award be revoked and given instead to another book on the original shortlist.
"Fortunately, in Canada we’re free to publicly agree or disagree with the results of a literary award competition,” added Thurston. “TWUC believes, however, that the independence of the peer jury system in the arts is also a freedom we must respect and protect.”
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The Writers’ Union of Canada is our country’s national organization representing more than 2,000 professional authors of books. The Union is dedicated to fostering writing in Canada, and promoting the rights, freedoms, and economic well-being of all writers.
www.writersunion.ca
For additional information:
Harry Thurston, Chair
chair@writersunion.ca
John Degen, Executive Director
416.703.8982 Ext. 221
jdegen@writersunion.ca
