Heather Menzies received the honour of the Ottawa Book Award for Non-Fiction on Wednesday, October 21, 2015.
Here is what the jurors said:
Jury Statement:
“In this eloquent memoir written from the heart, Menzies takes the reader on a fascinating trip to the Scotland of her ancestors to examine and retrace life on the Scottish Commons. With a light and at times poetic touch, she offers her insights into how the venerable wisdom of sharing and caring for the land might be applied today. A unique combination of memoir and manifesto, Reclaiming the Commons urges us to become participants in changing our world for the common good.”
Dr. Richard T. Clippingdale, Suzanne Evans and merilyn simonds
Read more about the city’s Book Award and Announcement.
Ottawa Citizen featured the winners, so read more.
Congratulations – Your book was part of a reading group I was part of two years ago and inspired a community greenhouse project which I and a friend spearheaded in our little village of Bear River, Nova Scotia. You would be interested in an article just recently published in the April 2018 edition of Rural Delivery detailing our success “Hothouse of Community Spirit”. Our mission statement reads “a common goal, for common benefit, on our common ground”.