Vancouver Author Nina Shoroplova Is a Finalist

Vancouver: The stories of the trees in Stanley Park by Nina Shoroplova—Legacy of Trees: Purposeful Wandering in Vancouver’s Stanley Park—is a finalist for the 2020 Lieutenant Governor’s Historical Writing Awards. It received an honourable mention.

Shoroplova is a historian, researcher, photographer, and author living in Vancouver’s West End.

Heritage House Publishing released Shoroplova’s book in June 2020, describing it as an “engaging, informative, and visually stunning tour of the numerous native, introduced, and ornamental tree species found in Vancouver’s Stanley Park.”

As before, this 38th annual competition for the coveted prize of the B.C. Lieutenant Governor’s medal for historical writing celebrates books that make significant contributions to the historical literature of British Columbia. It is hosted through the British Columbia Historical Federation (BCHF).

Keeping British Columbia’s rich history vibrant and relevant, the seven competition finalists in alphabetical order by surname are

  • Liz Bryan, Pioneer Churches of British Columbia and the Salish Sea: An Explorer Guide, Heritage House Publishing
  • Lara Campbell, A Great Revolutionary Wave: Women and the Vote in British Columbia, UBC Press
  • Catherine Clement, Chinatown Through a Wide Lens: The Hidden Photographs of Yucho Chow, self-published
  • Claudia Cornwall, British Columbia in Flames: Stories from a Blazing Summer, Harbour Publishing
  • Deborah Griffiths, with Christine Dickinson; Judy Hagen, Catherine Siba, Step into Wilderness: A Pictorial History of Outdoor Exploration in and around the Comox Valley, Harbour Publishing
  • Nina Shoroplova, Legacy of Trees: Purposeful Wandering in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, Heritage House Publishing
  • Peter Smith, Silver Rush: British Columbia’s Silvery Slocan 1891-1900, self-published

The Lieutenant Governor’s medal will be awarded together with a $2,500 cash prize to the author whose book makes the most significant contribution to the historical literature of British Columbia. The second-place winner will receive $1,500 and third place will receive $500.

Since 2014, BCHF has also presented the Community History Award to a book that provides sought-after historical information about a specific community or locality within British Columbia. This award recognizes the importance of preserving local histories as well as broader provincial histories.

A new prize category this year is a people’s choice, to be selected by the audience in real time during the awards gala held online on Saturday, June 5 at 7:00 p.m.

For tickets and more information about British Columbia Historical Federation’s 2021 annual conference to be held from June 3 to 5, check out the BCHF website.