Lifetime Achievement Award
George Woodcock (1912-1995) has been variously described as “quite possibly the most civilized man in Canada,” “Canada’s Tolstoy,” “by far Canada’s most prolific writer,” “a regional, national and international treasure” and “a kind of John Stuart Mill of dedication to intellectual excellence and the cause of human liberty.” His unrivaled productivity as British Columbia’s foremost man of letters was achieved in concert with consistent political ideals and humanitarian actions ever since he and Ingeborg Woodcock arrived in B.C. to build a cabin in 1949.
For a documentary film on the life and times of George Woodcock, visit George Woodcock: Anarchist of Cherry Street.
An introduction to George Woodcock’s wide-ranging career as a public intellectual can also be found at www.abcbookworld.com [type his name in the opening menu] or visit the GEORGE WOODCOCK section of this site. It includes a comprehensive bibliography and an interview/conversation that occurred between Alan Twigg and George Woodcock, founding editor of Canadian Literature, in 1994.
The GEORGE WOODCOCK LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD annually honours an outstanding literary career in British Columbia. Since 1995, the City of Vancouver (Mayor of Vancouver’s office), the Vancouver Public Library and Pacific BookWorld News Society (BC BookWorld, founded in 1988) have been working in partnership to jointly sponsor and present an annual $5,000 prize to a B.C. author whose enduring contribution to society spans several decades. The Writers Trust of Canada and Yosef Wosk have contributed partnership since 2009.
Download the Woodcock Award Information Kit (2010) here.
For more information about the George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award, contact 604-736-4011. To nominate a candidate for the award, send a brief letter or postcard to George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award, c/o BC BookWorld, 926 West 15th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 1R9
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