TouchWood Editions is pleased to announce that Against the Current by Cathy Converse has received an Honourable Mention in the 2018 Lieutenant Governor’s Historical Writing Competition. The award celebrates books that make significant contributions to the historical literature of British Columbia. Prizes were awarded at the Book Awards Gala on June 8, 2019.
Against the Current: The Remarkable Life of Agnes Deans Cameron is the first book on Cameron, an extraordinary woman who was named one of the top 150 most significant individuals in the history of British Columbia. Born in Victoria in 1863, she was the first female school principal in the province, and she worked tirelessly to achieve work equality and voting rights for women. One of Canada’s most well-known writers of her time, she put western Canada on the map through her writing, which was published internationally, including in the Saturday Evening Post. She was also a trailblazer in sports, becoming the first “Lady Centurion” in the West, and a brazen adventurer—she was the first European woman to travel 10,000 miles down the Mackenzie River in one short season.
At the awards gala, Converse remarked, “I feel privileged to be able to share the story of this great Canadian educator, orator, journalist, sportswoman and author—Agnes Deans Cameron. I am pleased that she is finally gaining her rightful place in our history.”
Against the Current is Converse’s sixth book focussing on the intriguing and important lives of women in British Columbia’s history. She has been writing for over thirty years and, in addition to her books, has published numerous cover stories for magazines and journals. She lives in Victoria, BC.