Guidelines for the Literary Awards Selection Committee

I.          Kouhi Award

Purpose

The Kouhi Award was established by NOWW in 1999 to recognize “outstanding contributions to the literature of Northwestern Ontario.” It is named in honour of poet Elizabeth Kouhi.

Eligibility

• The recipient should be living when selected to receive the award.
• Current members of the NOWW Executive are not eligible to receive the award.
• The recipient is not required to be a NOWW member.

 

Nominations

• The call for nominations should be widely publicized.
• Nominations may be made by anyone, including non-members of NOWW and including members of the Selection Committee.

 

Selection Criteria

• Recipients should have a significant history of contributing to the literature of northwestern Ontario and should be evaluated on the breadth and depth of their full body of work.
• Nominees will be respected members of the literary community and will have been recognized as such by their peers, by means of publications, grants, and other awards.
• If the committee feels there is no worthy nominee, the award should not be made.
• The recipient should be informed in advance but asked to keep the matter secret. This allows the recipient to participate in the Literary Awards Party and prepare a response.

 

Previous Recipients

The first recipient of the Kouhi Award was Elizabeth Kouhi. Since then, Elinor Barr, Charles Wilkins, Thunder Bay Writers Guild, Rosalind Maki, Penny Petrone, Mary Frost, Jean E. Pendziwol, Dorothy Colby, Joan Skelton, Hazel Fulford and Bill MacDonald have been honoured.

II.        Burnford Award

Purpose

The Burnford Award was first awarded in 2009 to recognize a “builder,” someone who has made outstanding contributions to publishing, promoting, or supporting the literature of Northwestern Ontario. This award represents an effort to separate recognition for writing, in the Kouhi Award, from recognition for supporting writing and literature.

Eligibility

• If the nominee is an organization, the organization should be active at the time of selection. If the nominee is an individual, the recipient should be living at the date of selection.
• Current members of the NOWW Executive are not eligible to receive the award.
• The recipient does not need to be a NOWW member or affiliated with NOWW.

 

Nominations

• The call for nominations should be widely publicized.
• Nominations may be made by anyone, including non-members of NOWW and including members of the Selection Committee.

 

Selection

 

• Specific and important contributions in the service of literature and writing in NWO, or continuing and ongoing support of the literary community of NWO
• If the Selection Committee feels there is no worthy nominee, the award should not be made.
• The recipient or a representative from the recipient organization should be informed in advance but asked to keep the matter secret. This allows for participation in the Literary Awards Party.

 

Previous Winners

The first Burnford Award was given to the Thunder Bay Public Library; the 2010 winner was the Sleeping Giant Writers Festival. The 2011 winners were Barb Matousek and Wendy MacDonald.

The call for nominations for these awards is issued in January. The awards are presented at the annual Literary Awards Party, usually held in May.