Finalists for politics, poetry prizes revealed
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/03/2024 (930 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Winnipeg-born Astra Taylor is among the five finalists for the Writers’ Trust of Canada Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.
The 2024 short list for the $25,000 prize was announced on March 20, with Taylor a finalist for The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart, from the CBC Massey Lectures series published by House of Anansi Press.
The other finalists for the prize are Rob Goodman for Not Here: Why American Democracy is Eroding and How Canada Can Protect Itself, Benjamin Perrin for Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial, Donald J. Savoie for Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances and Disunity and John Vaillant for Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast.
The winner will be announced May 7.
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On March 20, the Griffin Poetry Prize also announced its 10-book long list, with seven of the 10 titles written or co-written by American authors and only two books with any Canadian connections.
Irish-Canadian writer George McWhirter is a finalist not for his own writing, but for his translation from Spanish of Mexican poet Homero Aridjis’ volume Self-Portrait in the Zone of Silence, while Emily Moorhouse is on the list for her editing and translation work on the late French poet Joyce Mansour’s collection Emerald Wounds: Selected Poems.
The short list for the $130,000 prize will be announced April 17, with the winner revealed June 5 at a ceremony in Toronto. For the complete long list see wfp.to/jC0.
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It’s two-fer Tuesday in the world of Winnipeg book clubs.
Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore’s book club meets at the shop (163 Lilac St.) Tuesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. to discuss Michael Christie’s Greenwood, a Scotiabank Giller Prize-longlisted novel and winner of the 2020 Arthur Ellis Award (now called the Canadian Crime Writing Awards) for best novel.
The Free Press Book Club also meets Tuesday at 7 p.m., albeit virtually, to talk about Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, A White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii), both of whom will be in attendance via Zoom.
Free Press Arts & Life editor Jill Wilson hosts, and will be joined by Free Press multimedia producer Nadya Pankiw as well as Adam Araujo of McNally Robinson Booksellers. For more on the book and the book club see wfp.to/bookclub.
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Young aspiring poets, short-story writers and novelists still have time to get submissions in for Ripple Foundation’s Kids Write 4 Kids Creative Challenge.
The contest is open to students from Grades 4 through 8, with entries up to a maximum of 5,000 words of fiction, poetry or prose written in English entirely by the author. The deadline for the competition is Sunday, March 31. For more information on how to enter see wfp.to/jCC.
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There’s also still time for poets of all ages to tackle the theme of this year’s Writes of Spring contest — Winnipeg 150.
To mark National Poetry Month, the Winnipeg International Writers Festival and the Free Press team up with poet (and Free Press copy editor) Ariel Gordon and co-editor Julian Day, who will read submissions and make selections to appear in the April 27 Free Press (selected poets receive a $75 honorarium).
Up to five poems in English or French (up to 30 lines each) can be submitted, and the deadline is April 1. For more information and to submit see wfp.to/jCA.
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A report by the American Library Association (ALA) shows that attempts to restrict library books have skyrocketed.
The ALA report notes the number of individual titles challenged in school and public libraries rose by 65 per cent overall from 2022, spiking by 93 per cent in public libraries alone.
A recent NPR story quotes Deborah Caldwell-Stone, head of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, saying “We’re seeing organized groups go to school boards, go to library boards, demanding the removal of dozens, if not hundreds, of books at a time, they are simply downloading lists from advocacy groups and demanding removal of those books.”
Nearly half of the challenged books featured themes of race, racism or LGBTTQ+ issues, with the bulk of the challenges coming in Texas and Florida.
books@freepress.mb.ca
Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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