Since 1993, A Different Drummer Books in Burlington, Ontario, has given Drummer General’s Awards to books that have been passed over for Canada’s most esteemed literary honours, like the Governor General’s Awards and the Scotiabank Giller Prize. According to a press release from A Different Drummer:
Once again it is our responsibility to provide a corrective to the other awards. Let us begin with an honourable mention for Helen Humphreys’s fine novel, Coventry (HarperCollins Canada). Ultimately, though, we decided our award for fiction must belong to Patrick Lane for Red Dog, Red Dog (McClelland & Stewart)…. For non-fiction, we quickly decided for Russell Wangersky’s powerful memoir Burning Down the House (Thomas Allen Publishers). It has not escaped our notice that our laurels this year are given to titles which, in fact, were both listed for Writers’ Trust prizes. However, we strongly feel that they merited the approval of the GG juries and the full national attention and prestige pertaining thereof.
Lane was given the Drummer General’s Award in 2004 for his non-fiction work There is a Season. There is no cash prize for the Drummer General’s Award – winners receive a certificate hand-printed by artist and illustrator Wesley Bates.
