Three Honourable Mentions

The results from the 2026 BC Historical Federation Writing Awards competition are in! Thank you to all the authors and publishers who submitted their historical works this year. Our adjudication committee was highly impressed!

Three authors were selected to receive Honourable Mention. They are:

• Larry Grant and Scott Steedman for Reconciling: A Lifelong Struggle to Belong (ECW Press)
• Patricia E. Roy for John Hart: A Businessman in British Columbia Politics (UBC Press)
• Jim Wolf for Craigdarroch Reconstruction: The Story of the Castle’s Design and Construction (Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum Society)

Larry, Scott, Jim, and representatives from UBC Press (on Patricia’s behalf) accepted their certificates in person at the BCHF Awards Gala in Vancouver on May 30th.

Reconciling is a personal and historical story of identity, place, and belonging from a Musqueam-Chinese Elder caught between cultures. Through a series of conversations between Larry and writer Scott Steedman as they visit pivotal geographical places together, Larry tells the story of his life, including his thoughts on reconciliation and the path forward for First Nations and Canada. His life echoes the barely known story of Vancouver and spans key events of the last two centuries.

Diplomacy works better than bluster, as John Hart knew well. Hart, an Irish immigrant with a talent for compromise and a famously winning smile, was at the heart of BC politics during the first half of the twentieth century. Drawing on government records, politicians’ papers, and newspaper reports, John Hart illuminates his remarkable achievements.

Craigdarroch Reconstructed delves into the mysteries surrounding the design and construction of the Castle and its estate. It uses the stories of its owners, architects, contractors, and suppliers to piece together Craigdarroch’s lost history.

Congratulations to the authors!