Posthumous honour salutes Vancouver writer Ethel Wilson

Vancouver author Ethel Wilson was recognized Wednesday by Environment Minister Peter Kent for her contribution to Canada’s history.

Wilson, who was born in 1888 and died in 1980, was honoured along with 15 other sites, people and events for International Women’s Week 2012.

Kent said the historical designations recognize the leadership, expertise and creativity of women who have helped create the Canada of today.

“National historic designations like these connect us to the forces that made Canada. By understanding and appreciating our shared history and a sense of common purpose, we become a stronger Canada,” Kent said in a news release.

Wilson wrote novels, novellas and short stories between 1937 and 1964, encouraged and inspired younger writers such as Margaret Laurence and Alice Munro, and received many awards. She also has a B. C. book award named for her, the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.

“She contributed to the creation of a literary identity for British Columbia with her powerful depictions of Vancouver and parts of the interior of the province, which, while capturing the beauty of the landscape and conveying a strong sense of place, are an integral part of her works, revealing character and developing universal themes,” the government of Canada stated in the release.