Jean Baird
Jean Baird is the co-editor, with George Bowering, of The Heart Does Break: Canadian Writers on Grief and Mourning (Random House, 2009), and the author of The Booker Project.
1990
Jean Baird uploads her evaluation of the 1990 Booker Prize competition, along with a discussion of overheads in Canadian prize budgets
1989
1989 The National Book Trust administers the Booker Prize in the UK. The organization appears to be networked with everyone, with connections to anything and everything connected to books. Its motto is “inspiring a love of books.” Notice that it’s all about books, not about writers. As well as the Booker, the Trust…
Book Prizes and Education
Jean Baird files a think piece about the how Canadian writing is no longer taught in our secondary and middle schools and why it happened.
1988
Jean Baird on the 1988 Booker Prize.
1987
Jean Baird files her report on 1987. It’s an interesting year.
1986
It’s February. But in the Booker Trail it’s 1986, and Robertson Davies is almost the winner. Margaret Atwood gets on the shortlist, and neither wins…
1985
Jean Baird uploads her 1985 analysis, but she’s more interested in the machinations behind Canada Reads.
1983
Jean Baird uploads her analysis of 1983. She thinks Graham Swift should have won for Waterland. J.M. Coetzee did.
1982
Jean Baird files her report on the 1982 Booker, which was won by Thomas Keanally’s Schindler’s List. She also has some choice remarks about Canada Reads.