Andre Alexis, Michael Crummey among finalists for Writers’ Trust fiction prize
Posted September 24, 2019 7:33 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO — Previous Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize winner Andre Alexis is among five authors vying for the $50,000 honour.
Alexis is nominated this year for “Days by Moonlight” from Coach House Books, billed as a journey through an “underworld” that seems like southern Ontario. The Trinidad-born, Ottawa-raised writer won the award in 2015 for “Fifteen Dogs.”
St. John’s, N.L.-based Michael Crummey is a finalist for “The Innocents,” a story of two orphans isolated on a craggy cove in Newfoundland, published by Doubleday Canada.
Both authors are also longlisted for this year’s Scotiabank Giller Prize alongside Montreal-raised Alix Ohlin, who made the Writers’ Trust short list for “Dual Citizens” from House of Anansi Press.
Also a contender for the Writers’ Trust prize is Tea Mutonji, who was born in Congo-Kinshasa and now lives in Scarborough, Ont., for her debut short-story collection “Shut Up You’re Pretty” from Arsenal Pulp Press.
Rounding out the short list is Calgary-based Sharon Butala for her book of short stories, “Season of Fury and Wonder,” published by Coteau Books.
The finalists, who each receive $5,000, were selected by a jury composed of authors Dennis Bock, Michael Kaan, and Suzette Mayr.
The 2019 prize will be awarded at the Writers’ Trust Awards ceremony in Toronto on Nov. 5.
Last year’s fiction winner was Kathy Page for “Dear Evelyn.”
The Canadian Press
