A small Vancouver Island publishing company scored its first Governor General's literary prize when the awards were announced simultaneously yesterday in Ottawa and Montreal.

The Sunshine Coast's John Pass won the poetry award for his book Stumbling in the Bloom, published by Lantzville's Oolichan Books. The award means $15,000 for the poet, plus $3,000 for the Island publisher.

Founded by publisher Ron Smith, the 32-year-old press is no stranger to Governor General's Award nominations. Its poets have received four in the past six years, said managing editor Hiro Boga, one of three full-time employees.

Yesterday's announcement was not a surprise.

"We learned several weeks ago, but we weren't allowed to tell anyone," said Boga, who got the news about the win in a phone call from Smith.

"Are you sitting down?" he opened, a question that made her nervous as a small-press employee.

"In small-press publishing, the ground shifts under your feet from time to time," explained Boga, who then asked Smith. "Is it good news or bad news?'

It was definitely good, Smith told her.

Read Jim Gibson's complete article at the Times Colonist, click here.

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