Local author Diane Pinch has won the 2020 George Ryga Award for her book about the history of Sierra Club B.C.
Passion and Persistence: Fifty Years of the Sierra Club in British Columbia won the $2,500 top prize presented to a B.C. writer who demonstrates “an outstanding degree of social awareness,” according to partners the George Ryga Society, B.C. BookWorld, CBC Radio (Kelowna) and Okanagan College. Pinch, who lives in Victoria, is a longtime Sierra Club volunteer. She spent five years researching the book, which included mining the club’s archives at the University of Victoria.
The retired psychologist is donating all royalties from the sales of Passion and Persistence to Sierra Club BC. “I am thrilled to win this award and honoured to follow in the footsteps of its amazing past winners. Its support means a lot to me,” Pinch said in a statement.
The public reception at the Vancouver Public Library to celebrate the award has been postponed until further notice, due to COVID-19 virus concerns.
