Here are some exciting facts about the white trillium flower. It’s a genus of perennial flowering plants native to temperate regions of North America and Asia. Excited yet? How about this doozie! It serves as the emblem and official flower of Ontario and is an official symbol of the Government of Ontario. Not fired up yet? Well, the large white trillium is also the official wildflower of Ohio, and because of their shared connection to the trillium, Major League Soccer teams in Toronto and Columbus compete with each other for the Trillium Cup. Wowzers!
Actually, the more exciting fact tied to this very pretty flower is that it’s the symbol of the Trillium Book Award/Prix Trillium. Yes, even our awards can be bilingual in Canada! In any case, nominations were announced yesterday and, I’m pleased to announce, authors from independent publishers dominated the nominee list.
Created in 1987, the Trillium Book Award is the real deal. Winners in both the English and French book categories get $20,000 each (with the publisher receiving $2,500), while winners of the poetry collection award in both languages get $10,000 each (and publishers a cool $2,000).
Congratulations to all the nominees and their respective publishers. Click here to see this year’s English- and French-language book/poetry nominees. Winners will be announced on June 22.
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Richard H. Harris 