Jolly Wins 2017 Toronto Book Awards

TORONTO, Ontario, October 17, 2017 — Last Thursday night, B. Denham Jolly won the 2017 Toronto Book Awards, which was presented at the Toronto Reference Library, for his memoir, “In the Black: My Life”, published by ECW Press.

Established by Toronto City Council in 1974, the Toronto Book Awards honour authors of books of literary or artistic merit that are evocative of Toronto. The annual awards offer $15,000 in prize money: finalists receive $1,000 and the winning author is awarded $10,000.

The other finalists were: “I Hear She’s a Real Bitch” by Jen Agg (Doubleday Canada); Catherine Hernandez’s “Scarborough”, published by Arsenal Pulp Press; “Life on the Ground Floor” by James Maskalyk (Doubleday Canada); and “Any Other Way: How Toronto Got Queer”, edited by Jane Farrow, John Lorinc, et al. (Coach House Books).
Next Wednesday, October 25, at 7:00 p.m. Jolly and Rachel Manley, author of “The Black Peacock”, will be at the UofT Scarborough Campus, 1265 Military Trail, as part of the International Festival of Authors (IFOA) activities in Scarborough.

Jolly’s memoir was launched in Miss Lou’s Room at the Harbourfront Centre on February 11, while Manley’s novel was launched at A Different Booklist Cultural Centre on October 4.