The Beggar's Garden wins Vancouver Book Award

A short story collection set in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has earned the 2011 City of Vancouver Book Award.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson awarded the $2,000 prize to The Beggar's Garden author Michael Christie at a city council meeting on Tuesday.

Now based in his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ont., Christie is a former professional skateboarder who previously lived in Vancouver and worked in homeless shelters and as a mental health outreach worker in the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood.

The Beggar's Garden was alsolonglistedfor the Scotiabank Giller Prize and is anomineefor the the Writers' Trust fiction prize.

The City of Vancouver Book Award jury found the short story collection to be "an exciting debut that presented a sensitive and playful portrayal of those working and inhabiting this part of Vancouver. Beautifully written, the book humanized the neighbourhood," according to a statement.

Other nominees included:

• Lynne Bowen for Whoever Gives us Bread.
• Wayde Compton for After Canaan: Essays on Race, Writing, and Region.
• Lesley McKnight for Vancouver Kids.

Established in 1989, the Vancouver Book Award celebrates writers who "demonstrate excellence and enhance our understanding of Vancouver's rich history and culture."