 Richards has received numerous awards including two Gemini Awards for scriptwriting for "Small Gifts" and "For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down", the Alden Nowlan Award for Excellence in the Arts, and the Canadian Authors Association Award for his novel "Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace".Richards is one of only three writers to have won in both the fiction and non-fiction categories of the Governor General's Award.He won the 1988 fiction award for "Nights Below Station Street" and the 1998 non-fiction award for "Lines on the Water