The final chapter has been written on the Manitoba Book Awards, for now.
The awards, which were a joint effort between the Association of Manitoba Book Publishers, Winnipeg Public Library, Manitoba Writers’ Guild and Plume Winnipeg (formerly the Winnipeg International Writers Festival), announced Thursday they would be discontinued after 35 years.
“This was a painful decision,” said Charlene Diehl, executive director of Plume Winnipeg. “None of us, took this decision lightly. It is a painful time for us.”
Diehl said the organization had been dealing with difficulties in putting together the awards for Manitoba writers. She said limiting funding and help from people had an impact that they were struggling., an issue facing arts organizations across the country.
Last year, the organization conducted a feasibility study to determine the next step forward.
“We decided we really need to get a very clear picture of what is going on here, so that we’re not just trying to keep something afloat if it’s not actually able …