Canada’s speed skaters may have come up short at the Richmond Oval yesterday but the country’s authors guaranteed themselves at least one podium spot when the winners of the regional 2010 Commonwealth Writers’ Prizes are announced in March. Canadian authors completely swept the shortlist for the Caribbean and Canada Best Book category, which was announced this morning. Nominated for the prize, which includes a £1,000 award, are: The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels, February by Lisa Moore, Euphoria by Connie Gault, Goya’s Dog by Damian Tarnopolsky, Galore by Michael Crummey, and Annabel Lyon’s much-nominated The Golden Mean.
Canadian authors also took five of the six nominations for the Caribbean and Canada Best First Book category. The nominees are: Under this Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell, Daniel O’Thunder by Ian Weir, The Island Quintet: Five Stories by Raymond Ramchartiar (Trinidad), Diary of Interrupted Days by Dragan Todorovic, The Briss by Michael Tregebov, and Amphibian by Carla Gunn.
The Commonwealth Foundation’s website explains the next round of judging: “The eight winners that emerge from the regional judging are announced in March and then go through to the final phase of the competition, to decide the overall Commonwealth winners for Best Book and Best First Book, with prizes of £10,000 and £5,000 respectively.”
