Far From Botany Bay Wins "One Book One Kootenay"

Rosa Jordan’s Far from Botany Bay Wins One Book One Kootenay Annual Regional Book Club Award

FERNIE, B.C. - Oolichan Books is pleased to announce that Rosa Jordan’s Far From Botany Bay has been chosen for the 2011 One Book One Kootenay Regional Book Club Award. Readers from throughout the British Columbia’s Kootenay-Boundary region selected Far From Botany Bay from a shortlist of three Kootenay titles.

Far from Botany Bay tells the story of Mary Broad, a Cornish convict in the late 1700’s. Broad was one of the first people to be sent to the fledgling Australian prison colony at Botany Bay and four years later she was one of the first to lead a successful escape. And what an escape it was – at sea for forty-six days and traveling five thousand kilometers, she led eight men, with her two babes in arms, as they rowed and sailed a 30 foot longboat through the infamous Coral Sea, bristling with reefs that have wrecked many a boat.

“I'm delighted that so many readers enjoyed Far From Botany Bay and picked it as their One Book One Kootenay favourite,” said Rosa. “It really matters to me that Mary Broad's life isn't forgotten. She was a rare person and her story is as relevant today as it was then. A woman’s independence has always been based mainly on what she has the courage to do for herself.”

The 2011 OBOK is the first Readers’ Choice One Book One Kootenay. This year it was up to readers to select a book that will honour a Kootenay author and engage Kootenay readers. The 2011 nominees were Far From Botany Bay by Rossland’s Rosa Jordan, The Glass Seed by Nelson’s Eileen Delehanty Pearkes and Living in the Shadow of Fisher Peak by Cranbrook’s Keith Powell.

Rosa Jordan is an environmental and social justice activist who explores the world physically and intellectually. Her writings illuminate landscapes where social and political realities intersect with personal courage and compassion. Jordan’s books have been shortlisted for several awards including the Chocolate Lily Award, the Silver Birch Award and the Red Maple Award. She and her partner Derek Choukalos live, write, ski, and cycle in the Monashee Mountains of British Columbia.

Rosa will be touring the Kootenays in October 2011 on a One Book One Kootenay Tour, visit www.obok.ca for details.

To arrange an interview, please contact Rosa Jordan directly by email at rosaj@look.ca or by phone at (250) 362-5546.