The descendants of a Canadian publishing house founder have launched an annual $10,000 prize for Canadian science writing, it was announced today.
Hollister Doll and Sharon Fitzhenry, directors of the Fitzhenry Family Foundation, unveiled the Lane Anderson Prize in a press release.
"We want to honour the very best science writing in Canada today, both in the adult and young reading categories," they said in a joint statement. "Each award will be determined on the relevance of its content to the importance of science in today's world, and the author's ability to connect the topic to the interests of the general trade reader."
According to the press release, "the annual Lane Anderson Award will honour two jury-selected books, in the categories of adult and young reader, published in the field of science, and written by a Canadian." Each winner will receive $10,000.
The deadline for submissions for books published in 2009 is April 30, and the shortlist will be announced on Aug. 16. The winners will be announced (and the members of the two three-person juries will be revealed) at an event in Toronto on Sept. 15.
The Fitzhenry Family Foundation was established in 1987 by Canadian publisher Robert I. Fitzhenry (1918-2008), one of the founding partners of Fitzhenry & Whiteside.
The name of the prize was designed to honour the maiden names of Fitzhenry's mother, Margaret Lane, and his wife, Hilda Anderson Fitzhenry
For more information, visit the award's website at www.laneanderson.ca. (Please note: The site will not be operational until Monday, March 15, according to the award's publicist.)