Victoria young adult author Kit Pearson will receive the 2014 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence, it was revealed today.
Pearson will receive the 11th annual award from B.C. Lieut. Gov. Judith Guichon at the B.C. Book Prizes Gala in Vancouver May 3.
The jury for this year's prize were Sarah Ellis, children’s author and 2013 recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence; Sheila Peacock, CBC Producer; and, Jessica Walker, Store Manager at Munro’s Books.
In a statement, the jury described Pearson's work as accomplished, masterful writing and emotionally authentic.
"Kit’s characters are never cute, generic, or remote. They are complicated, individual, and flawed. Sometimes they lie. Sometimes they are unkind. Sometimes they are unlikeable. In other words, they are real. Kit’s readers resonate to this honesty with deep enthusiasm," the jury wrote.
Pearson has lived in Victoria since 2005 with her partner, artist Katherine Farris.