Margaret McWilliams Award: 2020 Nominees

The following are the 2020 nominees for Margaret McWilliams Awards, one of the oldest literary awards in Canada, named in honour of writer Margaret McWilliams. Books nominated for this award have been published in the 2020 calendar year.

Award recipients were presented in June 2021 during the Annual General Meeting of the Manitoba Historical Society.

SCHOLARLY HISTORY	Politics, Personalities and Persistence: One Hundred Years of Psychiatric Nursing Education in Manitoba by Beverley Clare Williams Hicks Friesen Press Politics, Personalities, and Persistence tells the story of the evolution of registered psychiatric nursing in the province of Manitoba. This comprehensive account traces the distinct profession’s transition from the asylums of Manitoba, where for seventy years psychiatric nurses had cared for the mentally ill when few others were interested in them, to the halls of academia in Brandon University in 1986, the first university in Canada to grant a baccalaureate degree to psychiatric nurses. Civilian Internment in Canada: Histories and Legacies by Rhonda Hinther and Jim Mochoruk, editors University of Manitoba Press Civilian Internment in Canada initiates a conversation about not only internment, but also about the laws and procedures—past and present—which allow the state to disregard the basic civil liberties of some of its most vulnerable citizens. Exploring the connections, contrasts, and continuities across the broad range of civilian internments in Canada, this collection seeks to begin a conversation about the laws and procedures that allow the state to criminalize and deny the basic civil liberties of some of its most vulnerable citizens. It brings together multiple perspectives on the varied internment experiences of Canadians and others from the days of World War One to the present. Ours by Every Law of Right and Justice: Women and the Vote in the Prairie Provinces by Sarah Carter UBC Press Many of Canada’s most famous suffragists—from Nellie McClung and Cora Hind to Emily Murphy and Henrietta Muir Edwards—lived and campaigned in the Prairie provinces, the region that led the way in granting women the right to vote and hold office. Manitoba enfranchised women in January 1916, and Saskatchewan and Alberta quickly followed in March and April. In Ours by Every Law of Right and Justice, award-winning author Sarah Carter challenges the myth that grateful male legislators simply handed western settler women the vote in recognition that they were equal partners in the pioneering process. Suffragists worked long and hard to overcome obstacles, persuade doubters, and build allies.
LOCAL HISTORY	The Lesser Known: A History of Oddities from the Heart of the Continent by Darren Bernhardt Great Plains Publications In The Lesser Known, Darren Bernhardt shares odd tales lost in time paired with archival images, such as The Tin Can Cathedral, the first independent Ukrainian church in North America; the jail cell hidden beneath a Winnipeg theatre; the bear pit of Confusion Corner; gardening competitions between fur trading forts and more. Fire, Folly and Fiasco: Why it took 100 Years to Build the Manitoba Museum by James A. Burns Woolly Mammoth Publishing It is startling, even shocking, that a province as rich and deep in history as Manitoba would not have boasted a splendid, stand-alone provincial museum soon after it became a province on July 15, 1870. But it took Manitoba precisely 100 years to finally get there on July 15, 1970. Why did it take so long? Fire, Folly and Fiasco, by veteran museum curator Dr. James A. Burns, weaves together a tragic tale of frustration and failure leavened by the heroic stories of Manitobans who kept the dream of a provincial museum alive—for 100 years. Faces & Places: Trailblazing Women of Manitoba by Judy Waytiuk Nellie McClung Foundation Buried in many of the monuments and murals in Manitoba are the stories of women who helped make Manitoba’s history, whose achievements were critical to the development of this province. One of the mandates of the Nellie McClung Foundation is to promote and support awareness of the struggle for rights for women and girls. We hoped to develop a history book/guide that promotes visiting the places, seeing the faces and remembering the stories of Manitoba women who have made history—and whose lives so well-lived proved that, by working together and supporting one another, we can all make change for the better. On 28 January 2020, which coincided with the 104th anniversary of some Manitoba women becoming the first in Canada to get the vote, Faces & Places: Trailblazing Women of Manitoba was launched.
LOCAL HISTORY - MEMOIRS	Vignettes From My Life by Tannis M. Richardson Heartland Associates Tannis Richardson and her late husband George have for years been supporters of many of Winnipeg’s arts and cultural institutions. Despite its philanthropy, however, the family cherishes its privacy. Vignettes From My Life, written and published when Tannis was in her mid-90s, gives readers a glimpse into the everyday life of the Richardson family, which has long been among Manitoba’s largest employers. It includes chapters on the canoe trip she, her twin brothers and their parents, Dr. and Mrs. Thorlakson, took down the Nelson River, with wonderful Cree guides, when Tannis was 13; amusing stories about university, her first years as a mother and her early volunteering jobs. Serendipity: My Path Through Life and the Law by Jack R. London Heartland Associates Serendipity is the story of Jack London’s peripatetic journey through various careers in law. Once described by Paul Sullivan in the Globe and Mail as “an issues poet”, he employs his recollections as opportunities to comment on some of Canada’s most important social issues. London is a believer in honest recollection, and shares his ups and downs, his ethical challenges and his strengths and weaknesses. Throughout, he suggests that existence precedes reason and that luck is often more important than intelligence. He concludes by recounting his myriad experiences with Indigenous peoples and his belief in reconciliation—which he sees as the key social issue of our time. Peculiar Lessons: How Nature and the Material World Shaped a Prairie Childhood by Lois Braun Great Plains Publications Part memoir, part social history, this collection of ten essays explores the various physical and natural elements that form the backdrop to Braun’s memories of growing up mid-20th century on a farm in southern Manitoba. From blackboard chalk to curling rocks, from mirages to straight-line winds, she reflects on her interactions with the elements as a child and how her responses influenced her evolution into adulthood. Braun includes intriguing tidbits about the science and history behind each element as it pertains to life in her unique location on our planet. The book highlights the value and beauty of the simple components of our surroundings that we take for granted growing up, exposes their true complexity, and reveals how the fascination with a “simple” thing can become a lifelong pursuit that sustains one’s artistic and spiritual needs. Trailblazer in First Nations Education: Duzahan Mani Win, Doris Dowan-Pratt by Doris Dowan-Pratt and Leona Devuyst In Trailblazer, the late elder Doris Pratt shares the proud heritage of her Dakota People, damaging government policies, and the need to reclaim Dakota language and culture. Though denied higher education in the residential school system, Elder Pratt (Walks Fast Woman) rose to become an education director and writer of Dakota resources.
POPULAR HISTORY	Historic Photographs of Portage la Prairie by James Kostuchuk, edited by Matthew D. Lacroix Portage la Prairie Heritage Advisory Committee Historic Photographs of Portage la Prairie presents a visual chronicle of the city from the oxcart trails of 1870 to the arrival of King George VI in 1939. This curated collection of high quality photographs includes visuals from public and private collections. Over the space of two years, hundreds of images were collected, scanned, and analyzed by heritage committee members. The photographs, and captions, provide a fresh perspective on one of Western Canada's oldest cities. Treasures of Winnipeg’s Historic Exchange by George Mitchell Heritage House Treasures of Winnipeg’s Historical Exchange is a sumptuous visual feast for residents and visitors. With stunning photography highlighting the impressive scale and intricate detail of the Exchange’s imposing banks, sprawling warehouses, and commercial towers, this book will amaze and delight anyone interested in Winnipeg’s history and architecture. In addition, the book captures the renewed energy, creativity, hospitality, and entrepreneurial spirit that have invigorated the Exchange in recent years, making it one of Canada’s most vibrant up-and-coming neighbourhoods. Once Removed by Andrew Unger Turnstone Press Timothy Heppner is a frustrated ghostwriter struggling to make ends meet in Edenfeld, a small Mennonite community bulldozing its way towards modernity. A member of the Preservation Society but desperate to keep his job with the mayor’s Parks and “Wreck” department, Timothy finds himself in an awkward position when he is hired to write an updated version of the town’s history book. Fuelled by two warring loyalties, the threat of personal bankruptcy, and a good deal of fried bologna, Timothy must find his own voice to tell the one story that could make—or break—him. Honest and laugh-out-loud funny, Once Removed explores the real cost of progress in this new Canadian classic.

Page revised: 12 March 2021