Prairie Fire lauds literary contest winners

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This article was published 20/01/2024 (984 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Local literary journal Prairie Fire has announced the winners of its 2023 fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry contests presented in partnership with McNally Robinson Booksellers.

In the poetry category, first prize went to John O’Neill of Elmwood, Ont., for The News, while second place went to Winnipeg’s Kerry Ryan for 54th Parallel, Early July and third prize went to Kingston, Ont., author Y.S. Lee for Admission.

The top prize for fiction went to Ottawa’s Morgan Christie for Pride Rock, second place went to Traci Skuce of Courtenay, B.C., for Atmospheric River and third place was awarded to Toronto’s Su Chang for On the Run.

In the creative non-fiction category, Canning, N.S., author Basma Kavanagh won for An Elegy with an Ode at Its Centre: Poets, Planarians, & the Practice of Attention, Sudbury’s Kim Fahner placed second for Before She Went Away and third place was awarded to Trisha Cull of Victoria for Me, You and Oogie Boogie.

The winner in each category receives $750, second place $350 and third place $150. Winning entries will be published in the summer 2024 issue. For a sneak peek at the winning writing, visit wfp.to/jTR.

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Montreal’s Dr. Christopher Labos will visit Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore (163 Lilac St.) on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. to talk about his new book Does Coffee Cause Cancer? And 8 More Myths About the Food We Eat, published in October 2023 by ECW Press.

Labos is a cardiologist with a master’s degree in epidemiology, and hosts the podcast The Body of Evidence. At the launch he’ll be joined in conversation by Michael Bumsted of Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore.

Admission is free — and yes, coffee will be served.

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A virtual launch takes place Thursday at 7:30 p.m. to celebrate a book of essays on the work of prolific and pioneering Prairie author Rudy Wiebe.

Presented by CommonWord, the bookstore at Canadian Mennonite University, the launch of Rudy Wiebe: Essays on His Works (published in November 2023 by Guernica Editions) will feature readings, conversation and more about Wiebe’s work by editor Bianca Lakoseljac as well as Margaret Atwood, Paul Doerksen, Hildi Froese Tiessen, Paul Tiessen, Scot Morrison and George Melnyk.

For more on the essay collection and a link to the virtual launch, visit wfp.to/jTx.

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A book exploring the ways racism has been able to survive and thrive in Canada’s education system will be launched Thursday at 7 p.m. at Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore.

Published by University of Manitoba Press, Dr. Catherine Larochelle’s School of Racism: A Canadian History, 1830-1915 examines the embedded racism and discrimination that continues to be found in Canadian schools.

Larochelle will discuss the findings in the book and take part in a panel discussion with historian and Indigenous studies scholar Dr. Sean Carleton of the University of Manitoba and Dr. Phi-Vân Nguyen, associate professor at Université de Saint-Boniface.

Admission is free.

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Nigerian-Canadian writer/artist francesca ekwuyasi has been named the Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence at the University of Winnipeg.

Butter Honey Pig Bread was ekwuyasi’s debut novel; published in 2022 by Arsenal Pulp Press, it won the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers from the Writers’ Trust of Canada and was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award, among other prizes. Curious Sounds: A Dialogue in Three Movements is ekwuyasi’s most recent project, a collaborative non-fiction work with Trinidadian-Canadian chef Roger Mooking (and also published by Arsenal Pulp).

From Feb. 5 to March 11, local writers, students and members of the community will be able to connect with ekwuyasi during the virtual residency for consultation on their writing. Ekwuyasi will also deliver the Carol Shields Memorial Lecture via Zoom on Feb. 29 and host a virtual reading and Q&A on Feb. 8. Links to both can be found at wfp.to/jXL.

Previous authors who have held the Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence position include katherena vermette, Méira Cook, Souvankham Thammavongsa and, most recently, Zoe Whittall.

books@freepress.mb.ca