Toronto –Maurice Vellekoop has been awarded the 2024 Toronto Book Award for I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together, published by Random House Canada. The award was announced last night at the Toronto Reference Library in partnership with the Toronto Public Library (TPL). I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together is the first graphic novel ever to win the Toronto Book Award.
The 2024 Toronto Book Awards jury praised I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together as a tribute not only to love but to longing, a cogent exploration of desire.
Vellekoop’s memoir explores his journey to live authentically within a traditional family and the often-intimidating Toronto arts scene of the 1980s and ‘90s. With vulnerability and humour, he depicts his experiences across Toronto from suburban Etobicoke to downtown’s dynamic neighborhoods, blending humour, insight and richly-illustrated scenes.
Vellekoop, born in Toronto in 1964, is a graduate of Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University) and has had a 35 year career in international editorial and advertising art, zine and comic publications and art exhibitions. I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together marks his debut as an author.
I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together was chosen from a list of finalists that included:
- Reuniting with Strangers by Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio (Douglas & Mcintyre)
- The Roosting Box by Kristen Den Hartog (Goose Lane)
- The Rasmussen Papers by Connie Gault (Thistledown Press)
- The Suicide Magnet by Paul McLaughlin (Dundurn)
TPL has created a reading list of the 2024 Toronto Book Awards shortlisted titles, available on the TPL website. 
The 2024 jury, comprised of past winners or finalists, includes authors Desmond Cole, Anthony De Sa, Jane Farrow, Rabindranath Maharaj and Kerri Sakamoto. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Toronto Book Awards, established in 1974 to celebrate books of literary merit that are inspired by Toronto. The award provides $15,000 in total prize money, with $10,000 for the winner and $1,000 for each finalist.
This year, the Toronto Book Awards received 116 submissions that reflected the creativity and diversity of the city’s literary community.