Finalists for W.O. Mitchell Book Prize announced
Prize recognizes literary achievement by Calgary authors
W.O. Mitchell Book Prize part of Calgary Awards
Three Calgary authors, Betty Jane Hegerat, Suzette Mayr and Cathy Ostlere have been nominated for W.O. Mitchell Book Prize.
Betty Jane Hegerat published In The Boy, a book that mixes fiction and non-fiction about a true-life murder case in Alberta in the 1950′s. In the end, a son was convicted of his father’s murder and hanged. Betty Jane is a social worker, but for the past ten years has been writing and teaching creative writing. In The Boy is Betty Jane’s fourth book.
Monoceros, by Suzette Mayr is a tragicomic novel about the after-effects of the suicide of a 17-year old high school student. It is a story about love, death, unicorns and Wonder Woman drag queens. The book is described as a study of grief and unexpected joy. Born and raised in Calgary, Suzette Mayr teaches creative writing at the University of Calgary. Mayr is the author of four novels.
Cathy Ostlere has written In Karma, a book about 15-year old Maya, a young Hindu/Sikh girl who travels from India to Canada in 1984. On her travels, she is carrying along the ashes of her mother. She has left a country in turmoil after the assassination of Indira Gandhi and young Maya becomes separated from her father, throwing her life into deeper chaos. Cathy Ostlere was born in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba and moved to Calgary in 1985. Karma is her first novel written for young adults.
The short list of nominees was announced by the City of Calgary, the Writers Guild of Alberta and Uptown 17 BRZ. The award is one of 17 awards presented at The Calgary Awards.
The W.O. Mitchell Book Prize is part of The Calgary Awards and will be presented on June 13. The City of Calgary established the book prize in honour of the late Calgary author, W.O. Mitchell. The prize for outstanding book published in the award year comes with a cash prize of $5,000.
In 2010, the winner of the W.O. Mitchell Book Prize was Clem Martini and Oliver Martini for Bitter Medicine.
Category: Calgary
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