National Business Book Award Winner Announced
TORONTO, MAY 7, 2009 – This year’s National Business Book Award winner is Gordon Pitts for his book Stampede! The Rise of the West and Canada’s New Power Elite, published by Key Porter Books. The announcement was made this afternoon at an award luncheon in Toronto.
In his book, Pitts presents the concept of Calgary and Alberta becoming the financial and corporate centres of Canada. He investigates how this could be achieved and which players might make it happen. He also profiles the issues, personalities and societal and cultural nuance that will define this new order.
Pitts points out that Canada is becoming increasingly resource dependant while value-added manufacturing erodes across the country. The book succinctly captures Canada on the cusp of a profound socio-economic change.
In its 24th year, the National Business Book Award is considered one of Canada’s most prestigious and respected literary awards. Co-sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and BMO Financial Group, the National Business Book Award honours the author of an outstanding Canadian business-related book with a $20,000 prize.
“As the award approaches its 25th year, we continue to celebrate the talent and integrity of Canada’s business writers and the publishing community,” said Gino Scapillati, National Managing Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Books have the ability to help us reflect on the past, learn lessons from the lives of others, stimulate our thinking, and navigate the future.”
“This year’s finalists gave us a look at the lives of Canada’s business pioneers and in-depth analyses of the Canadian economy,” said Richard Rudderham, Senior Vice-President, Institute for Learning, Human Resources Division, BMO Financial Group. “Business books - and the authors who write them - deserve special recognition for their contribution to Canadian culture and the business world. We are proud to have this opportunity to honour these talented writers.”
This year’s jury is chaired by Roger Martin, Dean, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. The jury includes: Jane Cooney, President, Books for Business; William Dimma, Chairman Emeritus, Home Capital Group Inc.; Peter Mansbridge, Chief Correspondent, CBC Television Network; Deirdre McMurdy, Vice-President, Public Policy Forum; and The Honourable Pamela Wallin, Senator.
Gordon Pitts is a bestselling author, public speaker, and senior writer for The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business, focusing on management, entrepreneurship and family business. In 1989 he was a press fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge University, during which time he wrote his first book, Storming the Fortress, a finalist for the National Business Book Award in 1990. He also has been a finalist for his three subsequent books: In the Blood: Battles to Succeed in Canada’s Family Businesses, Kings of Convergence: The Fight for Control of Canada’s Media, and The Codfathers: Lessons of the Atlantic Business Elite.
Finalists for this year’s National Business Book Award:
- Margaret Atwood, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth, published by House of Anansi Press
- Peter C. Newman, Izzy: The Passionate Life and Turbulent Times of Izzy Asper, Canada’s Media Mogul, published by HarperCollins
- Ted Rogers with Robert Brehl, Relentless: The True Story of the Man behind Rogers Communications, published by HarperCollins
- Kenneth Whyte, The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst, published by Random House Canada
The National Business Book Award winner for 2008 was William Marsden for Stupid to the Last Drop: How Alberta is Bringing Environmental Armageddon to Canada (and doesn’t seem to care).
For more information or to arrange interviews, please call:
Mary Ann Freedman Phone: (416) 868-1500
Email: mafreedman@freedmanandassociates.com
www.nbbaward.com