The Word On The Street Blog

Last night, the Writers’ Trust of Canada gave out a total of $139,000 to the award winners and finalists at this year’s Writers’ Trust Award ceremony, held at CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio.

André Alexis was awarded the $25,000 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize for his philosophical novel Fifteen Dogs (Coach House Books). Alexis, a finalist for the Toronto Book Awards and the Scotiabank Giller Prize (which will be awarded next week on Tuesday November 10), read at The Word On The Street this year on September 27.

In Fifteen Dogs, the gods Hermes and Apollo wager on whether “human intelligence” is a gift that makes creatures happy or “an occasionally useful plague”. To decide this, they grant human intelligence to 15 dogs who happen to be in a kennel at King and Shaw. The reader watches along with the gods as the dogs struggle with their new perspective on life and on themselves.

Others shortlisted for this year’s fiction prize included:

• Elizabeth Hay for His Whole Life (McClelland & Stewart)
• Pamela Mordecai for Red Jacket (TAP Books)
• Russell Smith for Confidence (Biblioasis)
• John Vaillant for The Jaguar’s Children (Knopf Canada)

Annabel Lyon won the $25,000 Writers’ Trust Engel/Findley Award, given to a mid-career writer for their body of work and the anticipation of their future contribution to Canadian literature. In her speech, she spoke about how writing is anything but a lonely profession, considering the amount of editors, publishers, and readers that surround her, and remarked that “I am not alone in what I do.” Past winners of the Engel/Findley Award include Lisa Moore, Nino Ricci, Miriam Toews, and Michael Winter.

The second annual $25,000 Latner Writers’ Trust Poetry Prize was awarded to Karen Solie for her body of work. The first Latner Poetry Prize was awarded last year to Ken Babstock. Solie’s newest collection, The Road In Is Not The Same Road Out, was published by House of Anansi.

Richard Wagamese received the $20,000 Matt Cohen Award. Each year, an independent jury selects the winner from any permanent Canadian resident who has dedicated their life to writing. Wagamese has worked as both a journalist and author for over 35 years. His work includes The Indian Horse, Medicine Walk, and Runaway Dreams.

The $20,000 Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, awarded to a Canadian writer for their body of work in children’s literature, was given to Jan Thornhill. Thornhill writes enthusiastically about science and remarked last night that both literature and science are about the free dissemination of ideas.

Deirdre Dore won the $10,000 Writers’ Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize with her story “The Wise Baby,” published by Geist magazine. Dore said she was truly humbled by the experience of sharing the stage with such literary giants.