Awards and Honours

2009 Member of the Order of Canada - "For his contributions to Canadian literature as a writer whose work celebrates the people and landscape of Vancouver Island, and for his leadership as a teacher and mentor to many."

2006 "Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence"

2006 Terasen Lifetime Achievement Award "for an outstanding literary career in British Columbia"

2004 Honorary D.Litt, University of Victoria

2004 Distance: short-listed for the inaugural City of Victoria book award

2004 Distance: long-listed for the IMPAC/Dublin Award

2000 Broken Ground: the Torgi Talking Book of the Year

2000 Broken Ground: long-listed for the IMPAC/Dublin Award

2000 Broken Ground: the Ethel Wilson Prize for fiction in British Columbia

1999 Broken Ground: The Drummer General Award (Different Drummer Bookstore)

1999 Broken Ground: jury choice as "best novel of the year" in Quill and Quire

1999 Broken Ground: in Globe and Mail "top ten"

1999 Elected to the Royal Society of Canada

1998 Honorary D.Litt, Malaspina University-College

1996 "Finding Merville": (Comox Valley Record) first place in Neville Shanks Memorial Award for Historical Writing.

1995 Honorary D.Litt, University of British Columbia

1988 The Honorary Patron: short listed for the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour

1988 The Honorary Patron: the Commonwealth Literature Prize (Canada-Caribbean region)

1986 The Canada-Australia prize

1979 The Resurrection of Joseph Bourne: The Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction

1978 The Invention of the World: short listed for the Books in Canada First Novel Award

1978 The Invention of the World: the Gibson's First Novel Award

1977 Spit Delaney's Island: short listed for the Governor General's Award

1977 Spit Delaney's Island: the Eaton's B.C. Book Award

1973 "After the Season": the President's Medal, University of Western Ontario