Because of the Covid 19 Pandemic and the consequent restrictions, The Boardman Tasker Short Listed Authors event and the 2020 Award announcement was somewhat different this year. Instead of a Live Show on the Malt Room stage at the Brewery Arts centre, the event this year was online, compressed into a lively and interesting two-hour show, with an All Star Cast, filmed by Henry Iddon, Kendal Mountain Festival Arts & Culture Officer. The event is available to watch here until 31 December.
Henry Iddon filming Martin Wragg
Andy Perkins, KMF, opened the show with his usual positive élan, from a French bouldering site, followed by BT Chairman, Martin Wragg, introducing the five shortlisted books, from the Peak. Again, the interviews of the five BT Shortlisted Authors were carried out, with skill and humour by Stephen Venables, remotely from his home in Spain.
Patrick Baker
The first author on was Patrick Baker, from Edinburgh, with his book ‘The Unremembered Places’. This lyrical exploration of hidden places and often forgotten tales in Scotland, put forward the case for a greater examination of wild histories beyond the most well trodden narratives of adventure. This beautiful book opens up a whole new viewpoint of Wild Scotland.
Emily Chappell
The second author was Emily Chappell with her book ‘Where There’s a Will’.
A book of skill-full prose that sharply captures the physical and mental intensity of ultra distance cycling. It examines the author’s own struggles with depression and grief and the demands of this activity in increasingly wild country.
Peter Foster
The third author talking with Stephen from the KMF Studio was Peter Foster, author of ‘The Uncrowned King of Mont Blanc’, a biography of T.Graham Brown, the Scottish Mountaineer whose contributions to the history of climbing on Mont Blanc and his complex professional life as a doctor made for compelling reading. Always an enigma, his fine biography of Brown throws light on a most important period of Alpine history.
Peter Goulding
Peter Goulding, filmed at his Norfolk home, author of the fourth book ‘Slatehead’. This is an in-depth history and over view of the climbing in the Dinorwig slate quarries of North Wales. At times an observation on obsession and on the persistence of wildness in unexpected parts of a post-industrial location, the book reveals a deep personal affection for a unique climbing area.
Jessica J. Lee
The final conversation, the only one on Zoom, from London was with Jessica J.Lee, author of ‘Two Trees Make a Forest’. This is a poetic and deeply moving account of Taiwan’s mountains, waters and forests. Commenting on the book Katie Ives, 2020 BT Chair of Judges concluded:
“Lee’s book is one that expands the topography of adventure, pushing at the very limits of storytelling. Her journey takes place through overlapping landscapes of summits, mountain legends, political conflict, exile, natural disasters, memories, imagination, immigration and longing----like multiple interwoven paths in a forest and like the numerous possible futures for mountain literature itself.
Back in 1987, during an international festival for mountaineering literature, the climbing writer Dave Cook had pointed out the need to make room for more varied voices, including those of women and people of colour. He’d also urged adventure writers to seek sources of inspiration beyond the narrow formulas of escapist tales, to acknowledge the “interconnections” between experiences in the mountains and the rest of life, and to reassert “some of the values of humanity and fellowship against the imperial colonisation of the hills.”
Today, despite all the challenges of pursuing writing in our era, emerging authors from many diverse backgrounds are increasingly producing narratives that help mountain writing grow in creative and original shapes----beyond what even Cook might have imagined possible. Among such books, ‘Two Trees Make a Forest” represents a work of both literary merit and bold vision. Lee’s story, David Canning explains, is “Beautifully written, and it successfully progresses the genre of exploration writing into new territory.” And for this reason, I’m happy to say that the author of ‘Two Trees Make a Forest, Jessica J.Lee will receive the 2020 Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature.”
Katie Ives, 2020 BT Chair of Judges’ full speech is available at www.boardmantasker.com
Steve Dean
Secretary
Boardman Tasker