A Guelph author who has made the short list for a literary award will find out next month if his book will bring home the $50,000 first prize.
Guelph-based author Thomas King’s newest book Indians on Vacation is one of five finalists for the $50,000 Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, which recognizes Canadian writers of exceptional talent for the year’s best novel or short story collection.
Indians on Vacation tells the story of a couple on a European holiday attempting to retrace the steps taken by a long-lost uncle. It was one of 123 titles submitted for consideration for the prize.
Jurors described Indians on Vacation as ‘a novel that serves grief and anger with a constant yet somehow always-unexpected wit.’
King is also known for his award-winning book The Inconvenient Indian, which was recently made into a documentary film by director Michelle Latimer. That project recently had its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Also in the running for the top prize are Zsuzsi Gartner for The Beguiling, Michelle Good for Five Little Indians, Gil Adamson for Ridgerunner and Maria Reva for Good Citizens Need Not Fear.
Finalists were selected by a jury of authors Elisabeth de Mariaffi, Waubgeshig Rice and Yasuko Thanh. For more information on this year’s finalists visit writerstrust.com/fiction.
The results of the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize will be announced on Nov. 18, 2020, with the winner receiving the top prize of $50,000, while all of the other finalists each taking home $5,000.
Past winners of the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize include: Austin Clarke, Emma Donoghue, Lawrence Hill, Alice Munro, Miriam Toews, Emma Donoghue, and André Alexis.
Indians on Vacation by Thomas King and Clyde Fans by Seth were both longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. On Monday it was announced that neither project made this year’s short list.
